Pan dulce is Mexican sweet bread, a panaderia case of conchas with their crackled shell-shaped topping, marranitos shaped like little pigs, empanadas, and bigote.
Where to eat it: 6 restaurants across 2 cities.
Pan dulce arrived with Mexican baking traditions and became a fixture of San Antonio's West Side panaderias and Market Square. Mi Tierra has baked it around the clock since 1941, and family bakeries across the city keep the conchas, marranitos, and seasonal pan de muerto coming. The self-serve tray-and-tongs ritual is a daily part of Mexican-American life in the city.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Tip from the editors. Score the topping deeply so the cracks open into the classic shell shape as the conchas rise and bake.
Mi Tierra's 24-hour panaderia at Market Square turns out traditional pan dulce around the clock, from everyday conchas to Day of the Dead pan de muerto.
Tip: Open 24 hours, so pan dulce is available any time. The conchas and seasonal pan de muerto are the classics.
Worth the queue: Conchas and Day of the Dead pan de muerto
Panifico Bake Shop on the West Side makes scratch Mexican pan dulce, with pig-shaped marranitos and raisin-topped piedras the picks; go early for the bake.
Tip: The marranitos (pig-shaped cookies) and raisin-topped piedras are the picks. Go early for the freshest bake.
Worth the queue: Marranitos and piedras
Bedoy's Bakery is a long-running Tobin Hill family panaderia where conchas and empanadas are the staples, cash-friendly and busy through the morning rush.
Tip: A long-running family panaderia; the conchas and empanadas are the staples. Cash-friendly and busy in the morning.
Worth the queue: Conchas and empanadas
La Panaderia's downtown cafe does a Mexican-bakery brunch of chilaquiles and breakfast tacos with a cafe con leche; finish with a concha from the counter.
Order: Chilaquiles, breakfast tacos and a concha.
Tip: The chilaquiles and a cafe con leche make the brunch; finish with a concha. A walkable downtown brunch stop.
La Estrella Bakery at Mercado San Agustin in Tucson sells the city's canonical pan dulce since 1986: conchas, empanadas and a strong cafe de olla under $5.
Try: Concha and cafe de olla
La Estrella Bakery 12th Avenue (Mexican) in Tucson: Visit early on Sundays for the freshest conchas and empanadas de pina. Cash or card both work fine.
Why locals love it: 1986 Jalisco-style panaderia hidden inside the South 12th Avenue Mexican grocery corridor, the city's best pan dulce since 1986.
Tip: Visit early on Sundays for the freshest conchas and empanadas de pina. Cash or card both work fine.
More cities are in research. Want pan dulce (mexican sweet bread) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.