Pan de Muerto

Last year, as I was beginning to teach myself how to bake, I got into a lively discussion with a co-worker about what Pan de Muerto looked and tasted like. According to Miguel, who is originally from Mexico, pan de muerto are little yeast buns that are sweet and covered with colored red sugar, shaped to look like fat little skeletons, or other similar shapes. (photo courtesy of Miquel) No, no, NO, I argued. According to the book Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno, Pan de Muerto is a round shaped loaf of rich yeast bread flavored with orange zest and anise seed and decorated to look like there are crossbones on it. Holding open the book (am I crazy because I bring cookbooks to work?) I made Miguel read the recipe, and yet he was still not convinced. To anyone listening and watching, it must have sounded like I had a lot of nerve to argue with a Mexican about his culture, but Miguel and I are good friends and it was all in good fun. I was honestly trying to learn more about the day, the custom and the wonderful sounding bread. Even with the book in front of him, I could not convince Miguel that he was wrong and he could not convince me that I was wrong, so to settle it, I decided to bake Miguel and his family a couple of loaves of the bread for Dia de los Muertos.

A few days later and coincidentally on Dia de los Muertos, I brought in 2 fresh baked loaves. We shared one loaf with our co-workers and the other, Miguel brought home for his family. The next time I spoke to Miguel, he told me that according to his parents I had been correct. yay! I was right, I was right, ha ha ha The bread that I had baked was the more traditional bread. The bread that Miguel had come to know and love was the commercial version of the bread, a version marketed more towards children than adults. Miguel’s parents really enjoyed the loaf I baked for them and so I decided that every year, as long as I was able, I would make it a tradition to bake a couple of loaves of pan de muerto for Miguel and his family. This year, I had to bake them a few days earlier because I wouldn't be seeing Miguel again until Monday, the day after the holiday.

After looking at different versions of the recipe online and comparing the recipe to one I found in a recently purchased cookbook, I decided to stick with last year's recipe. I figured it hadn't failed me then, so why fix something that wasn't broken. I will now say, that having baked the bread from this recipe twice, the next time, I'd tweak it to better suit my own tastes. For instance, I think the recipe from Ultimate Bread uses too little flour, the dough is supposed to be wet, but not so wet you can't handle it and sadly, following the recipe to a T results in some very wet, hard to handle dough. I had to use so much extra flour, it makes more sense to just incorporate it into the dough from the start. I would also add more sugar than the half a cup the recipe asks for. Normally, I'll be the first to admit that I am not a fan of overly sweet breads and pastries, however, this was a little under sweet, if you know what I mean. I would add more butter, for a richer moister crumb AND I would add more orange zest. The flavor of the orange zest and orange flower water got lost by the anise seed and it would be nice to have the orange flavor stand out a bit more than it does. I'll also need to practice making bones, because mine are seriously lacking.

from Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno-

"The staple flour in Mexico is cornmeal. Pan de Muerto, which is baked specially for the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, which takes place on All Souls' Day, is made instead with a highly prized ingredient: wheat flour. The bread is flavored with orange water and anise seeds and is decorated with pieces of dough that have been formed into the shape of bones. The bread is taken to the cemetary with other gifts, including chocolate, candy, and the symbolic flowers of the dead, yellow marigolds."

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of dry yeast into 4 tablspoons of water (warm water works well) and leave in the bowl for 5 minutes, then stir to disslove. Mix 3 and 1/2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour (aww, my well was a little lacking) and pour in the dissolved yeast.

Use a wooden spoon to draw enough of the flour into the dissolved yeast (it was a little awkward getting the flour not to collapse) to form a soft paste. Cover with a dish towel and "sponge" until frothy, about 20 minutes.

Add 6 eggs, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of anise seed, 1 tablespoon of orange flower water, and the zest of 1 orange to the flour well. (eek! mine overflowed). Mix in the flour from the sides to form a soft, sticky dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. (as you can see my floured work surface wasn't so lightly floured). Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (I'll just say that I added ALOT of flour in order to be able to handle the dough enough to knead it to the smooth and elastic stage, so don't be scared if you should try this and end up adding more flour then the recipe asks for)

Put the dough in a clean, buttered bowl, turning it to coat evenly with the butter. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces and pinch off a quarter of each piece. Divide one of these small pieces in half and shape each one into a ball, 1in (2.5cm) across. Divide the other small piece in 14 equal pieces, and shape each of them into a cylinder, 1/2 in (1cm) thick. Shape each cylinder into a small bone.

Shape the two remaining large pieces of dough into two round loaves. Place on a buttered baking sheet and stick one of the small balls on top of each loaf. Arrange the bones to form four crosses on the sides of each loaf. (heres a close up of my sorry looking bones).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the shaped loaves with a dish towel and proof until risen, about 30 minutes. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze (1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon of water) and sprinkle the loaves with sugar. (Let me tell you, my egg was runny, runnier than I remembered. It made a mess on the cookie sheets but was fairly easy to clean off even after baking). Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack, then sprinkle with more sugar before serving. Makes 2 loaves.

Written by Deb on October 31, 2003 03:00 AM