If my company decides to invite for a Mexican celebration of the “dia de los muertos”, so All Saint’s Day, I am in. The most important food in Mexico on this very special occasion? Pan de muerto, this is an enriched sweet yeast dough flavored with orange and anise seed. There are many varieties in Mexico. I volunteered that I would like to make this bread for the event. Because I enjoy baking and I like to try out new recipes from Latin America. So I started doing research, I even did a trial run and then I ended up making my beloved enriched yeast recipe, which I enriched with orange zest. Normally I should have also added anis seeds, but I don’t like the flavor. Feel free to add, I included the instructions below. So let’s get started.
Pan de muerto symbolizes the connection between life and death in mexico, this is why you have a circle or ball. The dough stripes are meant to be bones, the small ball on the top a scall. Pan de muerto comes in different styles and flavors, depending on the region in Mexico. The most traditional one is an enriched sweet yeast dough with eggs and butter. Normally the flavors are with orange and/or anise seed. However, since I don’t like anise seed, I left it out. Feel free to add, I included it in the instructions below.
Pan de muerto is an enriched sweet yeast dough from Mexico, which is traditionally served on November 2, All Soul's Day. It is usually flavored with orange and anise seed. Kindly note that you can either start two days in adance in the evening or you start one day in advance in the morning. You can see how I make them here. For pre-dough 1 peel half an orange and heat the skin with the milk a little (you still need to be able to stick your finger in it) and mix with the flour and yeast. Keep in a jar or tightly covered bowl at room temperature for two hours, then transfer to the fridge. For pre-dough 2 mix flour and milk in a small pot while stirring on medium and let cook until it becomes denser. Then take off the flame and stir for about two minutes until it becomes a ball and slightly pulls away from the bottom. Spoon onto cling wrap and cover tightly. Transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. Meanwhile leave butter and eggs on the counter to come to room temperature. For the main dough place predough 1 (discard the orange peel) and 2 in a large kneading bowl and add all remaining ingredients except for the butter. Be sure to add the zest of half the orange and the full second orange. Knead for ten minutes on low, then add the butter by the spoonful and knead for another five minutes. The dough may be sticky, do not add flour, but oil your hands, form into a ball. Cover with a damp towel and let rise until double in volume. For me this usually takes about two hours, but this depends on the environment. Box in the dough, weigh it, and divide it by 6, for me this meant 170 grams per piece. Of this take off around 20 grams, which is for the bones and the skull on top. Now work the big part into a nice ball. See video. Divide the 20 grams in half and roll into long strings. Place the strings in diagonal on the ball of dough. These represent the bones. You may indent them to be more bone-shaped. Cut off overhang and use this to roll into a smaller ball you will place on the top, see pictures. Transfer to a large cutting board covered with parchment paper and cover tightly. Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The next morning preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Slip the panes de muerto with the parchment paper below onto a baking sheet. Bake on medium rack for about 22-25 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile melt the butter and place some sugar into a bowl. Once out of the oven, brush with butter and dunk in sugar, best is if you dunk them upside down, so that they are fully covered in sugar. As is always the case with yeast dough, this is best eaten on the day made.Pan de Muerto from Mexico
Ingredients
Instructions
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