Yesterday we shared about the culture and traditions around Dia De Los Muertos, the day of the dead celebrations from Mexico. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is an ancient Aztec ritual celebrated in Mexico, certain parts of Central America and the U.S. Although some nuances of the holiday tradition varies from place to place, a huge part of the celebrations for the day of the dead revolves around food – especially the favorite foods of the ones who are no longer with us. Delicious foods, sweets and drinks are placed on the ofrendas (altars) or even decorated on the graves of the dearly departed as a way to entice them to come visit during the multi-day celebrations. One such staple that is cooked by all during the day of the dead festivities is Pan de Muertos – the bread of the dead.

The Day of the dead bread is prepared all around Mexico and is one of the elements used in the ofrendas set to honor the souls during the day of the dead celebrations. The sweet bread symbolizes a fraternal offering to the souls of those family members who are no longer with us.

This sweet bread of the dead may vary in shape and decoration from region to region. The most common shape is round decorated with small pieces of dough on top that represent bones and skulls. Loaves in the shapes of human beings and animals are also popular. White, colored or powdered sugar is often sprinkled on top of the loaves for a more festive touch.

History of Day of the Dead Bread

History dictates that this ritual of using bread as an offering for the departed souls is more of a Spanish tradition. The Spaniards used to take bread and wine to the cemeteries or churches on All Souls Day as an offering for their dead family members to let them know they remembered them and to ask them for their protection. Even today, special sweet breads called buñuelos and marzipan rolls known as huesos de Santo or saints’ bones are widely made around the Catholic holiday in Spain.

In Mexico, the Pan de Muertos, was said to have originated sometime around the 1940s in Mexico City.

The most common shape for this sweet bread is round.It has a ball and four to eight sticks made of dough on the top which are said to resemble human bones. It is often flavored with orange blossom water and covered with sugar. Although originally thought to be purely commercial, this ritual of making the Pan de Muertos is now more of a norm all over Mexico.

In Southern Mexico every region has its own bread for Day of the Dead and is not made in other parts of the country. In Oaxaca common sweet bread decorated with marzipan heads and shaped like a human body are popular. In Puebla, regular bread is covered with red sugar for grownup ofrendas and white sugar for children’s ofrendas. In other areas sweet bread is shaped like skeletons, skulls, animals, angels or flowers and decorated with seeds, sugar or colored icing.{Photo credit – The Holy Trail}

Day of the Dead Bread Recipe (makes about 15 servings)

Ingredients for the bread

• ¼ cup margarine or butter
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons anise seed, whole or crushed
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons orange zest

Ingredients for the glaze

• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Method

• Heat the milk and the butter in a medium sized sauce pan until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and then add the warm water.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, the yeast, salt, anise seed, cinnamon and ¼ cup white sugar. Stir in the warm milk mixture. Then add the eggs and orange zest and mix until well blended. Stir in ½ cup of flour and continue adding flour until the dough is soft.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic. Then put it in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has almost doubled in size which should take about 1 to 2 hours.
• After the dough has doubled its size punch it and cut 3 small balls from each half and mold them into bones shapes. Shape the dough into a round loaf and place the bones on top.
• Put the dough on a baking sheet and loosely cover and let it rise in a warm place once more for one hour or until it has doubled in size.
• Bake the bread in an oven preheated to 175°C   (350°F)   for 35-45 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool slightly before applying the glaze.
• To make the glaze, combine ¼ cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Brush over the bread while still warm and sprinkle sugar over the glazed bread.
• Traditionally, the dough bones are placed in a circle to portray the circle of life. The bread is topped with sugar. It is believed the spirits do not eat, but absorb its essence, along with water at their ofrenda, after their long journey back to Earth.

For detailed step by step instructions of how to make the Pan de Muertos, check out this post by The Holy Trail.

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