By Angela Gomez-Lippiatt
Special to the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol
I found a picture of the most perfect conchas I have ever seen in my life! Growing up Mexican, you get to know these sweet breads very well.
A ceramic cup filled with chocolaté Ibarra, rich and steaming hot, its thick smell fills the room, and a plate of Mexican sweet bread alongside it.
Chocolaté and Conchas.
We lived two blocks away from a Mexican bakery. I think its name was “Panaderia Guadalajara,” and on the occasional Saturday morning, my mom and I would take the short walk to pick up “una docena,” a dozen of the still warm sweet breads, to have with a cup of chocolaté for our “desayuno,” the first light meal of the day, eaten before “el almuerzo,” aka lunch.
As we opened the door, a tinkling bell would sound, thus announcing our presence in the small bakery, while the aroma of fresh baked breads announced their fragrant presence to us.
Light yeasty Bolillos; golden brown, crispy crusted french like rolls are laid on large trays. The rich fragrance of anise and cinnamon, baked deep within the porcine-shaped Cochinitos. Teleras, Semitas, Cuernos and many more, were placed on shelves, behind glass display cases; very much like the way a jeweler might display precious gems for admiration and purchase.
To me, the ones that stood out in the collection were the “conchas” or “shells” if you will. These had to be purchased while very warm, so the sweet egg bread would be soft, tender and ever so lightly sweet. If you waited too long they would get somewhat dry, but they would still be good, just not as delectable.
The real punch to these babies came from their decoration of sugar that was somehow compressed onto the tops of these pan dulces and made to resemble seashells.
Picking these up off the tray, I had to make sure to be very careful not to disturb the artfully placed sugar design with the metal tongs that were made available to us. I did this out of respect for the creative baker, because I had some idea that it took time to learn to do this, and because I looked forward to devouring one of the breads whole and complete.
It was a little kid thing I guess, and as we all know, little kids have their quirks!
These sugar designs came in brown, which I assumed had cocoa powder mixed in, vanilla and strawberry, the latter which I associated its taste to Nestlés Quick, which was a big deal for kids in the 70’s.
The lady at the counter was quick to package our purchase in neat white paper bags. The conversation she and my mother were having took longer than the payment and packaging, which irritated me to no end. That’s when I learned the art of the ‘strategic whine,’ which usually worked because my mom would figure I was whining due to lack of breakfast…which sat in that crisp white paper bag.
So after the proper goodbyes were said, my mother and I would start back home. The fact that she held the bag meant that we would soon be appreciating every bite as we sipped our hot chocolaté.
Holding her free hand I would skip and sing for us all the way home, stopping to pluck an unsuspecting random flower to give to my mom, the morning sun shining down on us both.