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Bread of the Dead (Pan de Muerto)

Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) is a soft, Mexican sweet bread that is baked for the traditional holiday called "The Day of the Dead" (El Dia de los Muertos in Spanish). This popular holiday is celebrated mainly by people of Mexican heritage in many parts of the world. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in conjunction with the Catholic holy days of All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.

Traditional Celebrations of the Day of the Dead

The basis of this Mexican holiday is to honor the dead by building private altars and cooking special foods such as sugar skulls, Bread of the Dead, candied pumpkins, beverages, and other such treats that were enjoyed by the deceased. These are left out in the homes to welcome the dead on these two special days.

The celebration itself has been traced back to an Aztec festival that was held thousands of years ago and was dedicated to a goddess called "Micteacihuatl" (The Lady of the Dead).

Baking Your Own Pan de Muerto

This soft bread is rounded in shape and covered in sugar. On top of the bread, additional dough is added to create a skull shape or bones on the surface. Sometimes fruit juices, like orange juice, are added for additional flavor.

Here are two recipe versions of baking this "Bread of the Dead" to serve to your guests.

Pan de Muerto Recipe #1

Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (half a stick) margarine or butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Directions

1. Bring milk to boil and remove from heat. Stir in margarine or butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Mix well.

2. In large bowl, mix yeast with warm water until dissolved and let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture.

3. Separate the yolk and white of one egg. Add the yolk to the yeast mixture, but save the white for later. Slowly add flour to the yeast and egg, blending well after each addition. Blend well until dough ball is formed.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes). Return dough to a large greased bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise in warm place for 90 minutes.

5. Punch down dough and turn out on a floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and set one aside. Roll the remaining 3 pieces into "ropes." On greased baking sheet, pinch 3 rope ends together and braid. Finish by pinching ends together on opposite side. Divide the remaining dough in half and form 2 "bones." Cross and lay them atop braided loaf.

6. Cover bread with dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix anise seed, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar together. In another bowl, beat egg white lightly.

7. Brush top of bread with egg white and sprinkle with sugar mixture, but not on the crossed bones. Bake at 350 F degrees for 35 minutes.

Pan de Muerto Recipe #2

This Bread of the Dead recipe uses orange juice and orange zest for flavor.

Ingredients

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons anise seed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons orange zest

Glaze:

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Place the milk, water and butter together in a medium saucepan. Heat until butter is melted, but do not boil.

2. In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft, but not sticky.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, approximately 10 minutes.

4. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size - about 1 to 2 hours.

5. Punch the dough down; remove a handful of dough and set aside. Shape the main portion of dough into a large round loaf. Using the small amount you removed, create a cross of "bones" and place on top of the loaf.

6. Place the rounded dough on a greased baking sheet, loosely cover again and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.

7. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Brush with glaze.

8. To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

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