Pan de Muerto / Day of the Dead Bread

Delicious Pan de Muerto a traditional Mexican bread for day of the dead. Buttery bread with touch of anise and orange zest.

What is  Day of Dead bread ?

This bread is  made during Dia de los muertos which translates into “Day of the Dead” Even google made doodle for Day of the Dead celebrated during November 2nd .

More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish landed in what is now central Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual at least 3,000 years old where died relatives are remembered and celebrated their life during a festival.

They try to eradicate the custom, but couldn’t. So they tried to incorporate the Catholic ideology into their ritual of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2).
Dia de los Muertos is celebrated in Mexico and certain parts of the United States, including Phoenix.

Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology; it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls. It is believed that dead souls might come back and visit to celebrate with us.

They also bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to grave sites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.

In Guadalupe, people spend the day in the cemetery decorating graves.
In the United States and in Mexico's larger cities, families build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead.

They surround these altars with flowers, food, their favorite procession and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar.

This is one of the Altars decorated by my friend Mely of Mexico in my kitchen.  

Remembering  people after their death  in Hindu culture?

In India also we have ritual Śrāddha or Shraaddha to pay home mage to ancestors, especially to dead parents.

It is a way for people to express heartfelt gratitude and thanks towards their parents and ancestors, for having helped them to be what they are and praying for their peace.

It also can be thought of as a "day of remembrance." It is performed for both the father and mother separately, on the days they have passed away.

Where as in Mexican culture, as part of  day of dead celebration, this Pan de Muertos bread is  a must; and it resembles the skull and bones.

It is rich  buttery eggy brioche type bread usually kept in altar.

You can have them with a cup of hot cocoa, recollect and sweeten up the memories of the ones who were no longer with us.

How to make Pan de Muerto

You need following ingredients

• bread flour
• SAF Gold instant yeast
• salt
• Orange blossom water
• whole large eggs
•  leaven
• sugar
•  Orange zest
•  butter
•  anise seed
•  cinnamon

Instructions

First make leavain, then make the dough with  flour, cinnamon, orange zest, yeast, salt, orange blossom water, eggs, and leaven.

Incorporate butter into the dough in the end.

Cover and ferment at room temperature until the dough is nearly doubled in bulk. Once the dough is proofed well, divide into three parts and shape the dough.

Arrange three long bones across the top of each loaf, crossing them at the center and tucking the ends slightly under the loaf. Make an indentation in the center where the bones cross, and place the skull there.

Once the dough is proofed again, brush with egg wash and  bake the Pan de Muerto.  After Baking.

Variations

As any other traditional recipes, there are variations. Some uses anise seeds, and some cinnamon. The orange zest and orange blossom water is must. I try to make this bread with sourdough.

Use a leaven to make this bread.

Adding a little instant yeast to boost the flavor, added anise seed, cinnamon and orange zest and orange blossom water  also increase the flavor profile.

Make sure to increase the amount of dough for the bones and skull about 60g to get a decent size. It  turned out to be very thin with  30 gram dough .
Here is delicious Pan de muerto bread give it try,

Print Recipe

5 from 12 votes

Pan de Muerto for Day of the Dead

Delicious buttery eggy traditional Mexican bread Pan de Muertos for day of the dead.

Prep Time1 day d

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 day d 45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Bread Recipes, Day of the dead bread, Pan de Muerto

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 306kcal

Author: Swathi (Ambujom Saraswathy)

Ingredients

For leaven

• 50 g mature starter
• 200 g bread flour
• 50 g whole wheat flour
• 250 g water

For the dough

• 260 g bread flour
• 2.6 g SAF Gold instant yeast
• 4 g salt
• 3 g Orange blossom water
• 3 whole large eggs
• 215 g leaven
• 88.5 sugar
• Zests of 3 oranges
• 145.5 g butter softened
• 1 teaspoon /1 g anise seed
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

Egg wash

• one egg
• a pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

First make leaven

• Around 8.PM in morning before the day of baking make leaven with your sourdough starter and rest of ingredients .
• Mix everything and set aside for 5 hours.

Make dough

• In the a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, cinnamon, orange zest, cinnamon, yeast, salt, orange blossom water, eggs, and leaven.
• Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
• Turn the mixer speed to medium-low and continue mixing until the dough developed 50 % of gluten.
• Then, add the sugar in 5 or 6 batches while mixer is running. After each addition, mix for a minute or two before adding the next one.
• Continue to mix until the dough reaches full gluten development. The dough should be pulling away from the bowl.
• Add the softened butter all at once. Mix on low-medium speed until it is fully incorporated and the dough has returned to full gluten development.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered container.
• Cover and ferment at room temperature until the dough is nearly doubled in bulk. It took about 3 hours in my case. It varies according to your room temperatures.
• Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Shape the dough

• Turn the cold dough onto a lightly-floured counter.
• Separate off 4 pieces of 60 grams each( I used 30 grams, which made the bones and skull so thin). For each loaf, 3 pieces will be used for the bones, and one for the skull. Divide the remaining dough into a round ball.
• Line a large baking sheets with parchment.
• Place the large ball into parchment lined baking sheet and slightly flatten.
• Shape two of the small pieces into balls for the two skulls. For the bones, roll the remaining dough into snakes about as thick as an index finger about 8 inch long . Using a single finger, roll the snakes to a very thin diameter at several intervals, to give them the look of knobby bones.
• Arrange three long bones across the top of each loaf, crossing them at the center and tucking the ends slightly under the loaf. Make an indentation in the center where the bones cross, and place the skull there.
• Let proof the loaf for about 3 hours or until it spring back very slowly when you pressed with moistened finger.
• Make an egg wash by beating a whole egg with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. When you are ready for baking brush with egg wash.

Bake the bread

• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375F, with the rack in the center.
• When you are ready for baking reduce the oven temperature to 350F. Bake until the crust is a deep, glossy brown, about 45 minutes. If you use an instant-read thermometer, the internal temperature should be at least 185F.
• Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Leave the bread inside for another 5 minutes. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack. While they are still warm, brush them with clarified butter and sift sugar over them. ( I didn’t do this step)
• Let the loaves cool completely before cutting.

Notes

The leaven is adapted from here
Dough and method from Wildyeast

 

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 262mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 495IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @nidhinikhil or tag #zestysouthindiankitchenrecipes!

Swathi

This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread.  All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.