Pan de Muerto- Day of the dead

Servings: 3 medium breads

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 25 min

Inactive time: 3 hours

One of Mexico's most beautiful traditions is The Day of the Dead or as we know it Día de Los Muertos is celebrated on November first and second. This celebration is a mix of Aztec beliefs and Catholic traditions. When the Spaniards arrived to conquer Mexico, they did not agree with some of the Aztec traditions and rituals that involved the use of real human remains. They tried to eradicate the rituals but they were not completely successful so they lined up these rituals with all saints day celebrations on November 1st and 2nd making it into a Catholic holiday. Now a day this special day is dedicated to celebrate the lives of our loved ones that are no longer with us. An altar or ofrenda is set up in schools, public places and homes decorated with Marigold flowers, sugar skulls, candles, pictures of the family members they have passed away and the traditional Pan de Muerto.

Pan the muerto is a round sweet Mexican bread with an orange flavor. It is decorated with peculiar shapes on top that are meant to represent bones. These breads are usually baked a few days before the celebration to share with the family with a cup of Mexican hot chocolate or to place in the ofrenda.

To make Pan de Muerto you will need the following ingredients:

• All purpose flour

• Yeast: I use instant but any will work

• Sugar

• Orange Zest

• Orange flavor Extract (optional)

• Vanilla Extract

• Milk

• Eggs

• Butter

How to make the bread

If you have an electric mixer with the bread hook, you can use that but if you don't you can do it by hand.

In the bowl, you will add 4 cups of flour with a packet and a half of yeast (about 11grams). Then add 1/2 of a cup of granulated sugar and mix together.

To get the orange zest, you want to get the entire orange but try to only get the orange peel. The second layer of white peel must be avoided as it can make your bread taste bitter. Once you add the orange Zest you can also add 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and also 1/2 tsp of the orange extract if you have some.

For the next step you want to add 3 large eggs room temperature and start mixing them in. Add 1/2 cup of warm milk slowly as you are mixing in the dough and finally your room temperature butter. The temperature of the ingredients is important as cold ingredients might kill the yeast and will not allow it to rise.

Once all the ingredients are mixed, you will need to knead the dough until is fully combined. If you are stretching it and you see large holes, keep kneading until you get a smoother texture. I usually do it for about 5 minutes straight since I do not have an electric bread hook mixer.

Once is ready, place it in a greased bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until it almost doubles in size. This will depend on the environmental conditions of where is rising but mine took about 2-3 hours.

When is ready, roll it in a ball. Divide it into 3 equal sections for 3 pieces of bread. Grab the first one and separate about 1/4 of it and set to the side. Roll the big piece (3/4) into a ball and flatten it out to about 3" thick and place it on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grab the small (1/4) piece and dive it in 3 sections. 2 will be for the "bones" and the third piece for the little ball at the top. To form the bones, form the dough in a ball and roll it with your fingers back and forth to start shaping it into a line. With your index, middle and ring finger you will press down more into those sections to create flatter sides on there. Once you have the 2 strings shaped, dip a cooking brush in water and brush a cross across your bread on the cooking sheet to help the decoration adhere into the bread. Once you add it, make a ball with your last small piece of dough, brush some water into the top of the bones and place it in the center. Repeat these steps for the other 2 breads.

Once all the breads have been shaped and are on the cooking sheet(s), allow them to rise one more hour.

Turn your oven on at 350° and bake them between 25-30 min until they turn golden without burning.

Once they come out, allow them to cool for about 10 minutes and brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on top.

They are so delicious paired specifically with Mexican Hot chocolate. Make sure you check out the video tutorial on Instagram or TikTok.