mexico city in the summertime is truly beautiful. the third spaces are plentiful, well-shaded by lush greenery, the streets are lined by tall trees, plants climb up and spill down the sides of buildings. and the streets are full of vendors with bubbling vats of meat, with bags of vibrant colored snacks, with people bustling across the city, crammed into an incredible network of buses and trains providing very full coverage of a truly massive area.
in the quiet mornings, sitting in a park while watching people walk their dogs and groups jog by, I would lean back and look up into the green-tinted sunlight, awash in a sense of peace. just about every afternoon, it rained for about an hour, waves of heavy pounding droplets glacing off the leaves above. we sat under awnings, eating the best tacos we’d ever had filled with skirt steak, octopus, snapper, red tuna. I experienced bites with japanese influence, with french techniques. after three days and no bad bites, I knew I’d have to come back again.
when I returned home, I wanted to bake something representative of my time in mexico city. the best pastry I had was the hoja santa concha from panadería rosetta, so I decided to try my hand at the concha, but with the grassy greenness and earthiness of matcha, a visual nod to the color that defined my time in the city. after a whole day spent on making the enriched bread dough and hand cutting each shell-shaped craquelin-y topping and pressing them into place on each ball of dough, I felt massive respect for the bakeries in mexico city that make hundreds to thousands of these each day.
places I loved
bosque de chapultepec | beautiful, expansive green space with ample shade and places to sit and people-watch.
cafebreria el pendulo (zona rosa) | bookstore with good breakfast/brunch by day, jazz concert hall by night!
campobaja | if you love seafood, this place is not to be missed! a trendy restaurant with an incredible array of seafood tostadas and a very well-executed gochujang braised octopus tentacle dish.
chocolatería la rifa | very delicious chocolate! the 50% chocolate drink with water was delicious and the perfect welcome to mexico city.
cucurucho cafe | wonderful single-origin coffee from different regions in mexico, brewed with care.
esquina comun | everything, from the lush treehouse restaurant setting to the friendly staff to the beautifully-plated dishes featuring truly original combinations of flavors, was perfect.
francisco cancino | truly stunning pieces! I came back here three times just to admire the structure and tailoring of the clothing, and then on the final day of my trip, I finally had to buy one piece to bring back with me. I was told by the employee there that mexican women in politics like wearing this brand because it exudes feminine power.
incendiarias | a very cute store! the mugs, the small framed wall art, the jewelry, the patterned clothing, the stickers, the cards – I had to really hold myself back. I picked up a very cute framed piece with a cow and strawberries, which I absolutely love.
KOE artesanos | beautiful clothes made by artisans from oaxaca and elsewhere! the employee told me about the woman who made the piece that I ended up purchasing, which made it all the more special.
la once mil | this was my favorite spot in cdmx. the vibes were impeccable, the tostadas and tacos were truly elevated by the best salsas I had the whole trip, and the service was the best I’ve encountered in a while.
lázaro focacceria | very delicious focaccia sandwiches with creative flavors, freshly made.
museo frida kahlo | the house was a vividly beautiful shade of blue, and the story told within the museum about frida’s struggles and resilience, featuring artwork, books, and furniture from when frida and diego lived in the home, was truly inspiring.
museo vivo del muralismo | a somewhat hidden gem, comprised of two quiet courtyards ringed by large-scale murals depicting many aspects of mexican indigenous, political, and cultural life, painted by diego riviera and other artists.
panadería rosetta | totally worth the hype. the millefeuille was incredible and the guava roll was delicious, but my favorite pastry might have been the hoja santa concha, whose delicate herbal flavor I’d never experienced before.
vera colectivo | a beautiful curation of jewelry, clothing, and bags. I sincerely wish I could have perused for longer – I didn’t see any other pieces of jewelry that I liked nearly as much as the pieces at vero.
makes 24 conchas
315g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
340g (2 1/4 cups) bread flour
12g (3 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
(82g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) granulated sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
120g (1/2 cup) cold water
5 eggs
310g (1 cup + 6 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces
concha topping
230g (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
225g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
256g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp matcha
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
egg wash
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk
joanne chang. flour: spectacular recipes from boston’s flour bakery + cafe. san francisco: chronicle books, 2010.
elisabeth m. prueitt and chad robertson. tartine. san francisco: chronicle books, 2006.
2 on low speed, add the butter one piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. then, continue mixing on low speed, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (10 minutes). it is important for all of the butter to be mixed thoroughly into the dough. if necessary, stop the mixer occasionally and break up the dough with your hands to help mix in the butter.
3 once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny (15 minutes). then turn the speed to medium-high and beat ~1 minute. You should hear the dough slap the sides of the bowl.
4 test the dough by pulling at it. it should stretch a bit and have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it (2-3 minutes). it is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.
5 place the dough in a large bowl or plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. let the dough proof in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
6 cut the brioche dough into 24 equal pieces (~58 g per concha). line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7 on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle the dough with flour and roll each dough portion into a smooth ball. place the dough balls ~3 in apart on the prepared baking sheets. cover lightly with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free area to let rise for about 1 hour.
concha topping|1 in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, flour, matcha, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Mix on medium-low speed until all the ingredients are well incorporated and a smooth dough forms. wrap in plastic wrap until ready to use.
2 cut the topping into 24 equal pieces and shape into balls. between two pieces of parchment paper, use a spatula to press each ball into a 3 in circle. with a sharp knife, cut the topping into shapes that mimic the ridges of a seashell.
egg wash + assembly|1 to make the egg wash, combine the beaten egg and milk in a small bowl. brush the brioche dough balls with the egg wash.
2 using the spatula, transfer the cut strips of topping all at once and gently adhere to the brioche. let the conchas rest in a warm place to finish rising (1-1 1/2 hours). to check the rise, gently touch the dough with your finger: they are ready when the indent in the dough from your finger springs back very slowly.
3 preheat the oven to 350°F. bake until light golden brown (15-18 minutes). allow to cool for 5 minutes. conchas are best eaten the day they are baked, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
fort juniper 