Pan de muertos - how to celebrate life the Mexican way

Published in the Pacific Pearl magazine October 2024
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How can you sum up Mexican spirituality? Nothing reveals more about the national understanding of death than Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). It is celebrated with colorful altars full of candles, flowers, sugar skulls and the long-awaited Pan de Muertos.
The origins of Day of the Dead trace back to the pre-Hispanic civilizations who believed that the dead reside in the underworld or Mictlan. But on Dia de Muertos, which was originally celebrated in August, the dead can return to their homes. The Catholic conquistadores, hoping to assimilate the holiday through their favored tactic of cultural mixing or mestizaje, moved it to coincide with All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd).
How is it celebrated? Many traditional communities still observe it as a religious and spiritual event. For them it might be called Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) because families spend the entire night at the graveyard with the departed. In Mazatlan it is a much more joyous affair involving a street parade ‘Callejoneada’, live music and skeleton ‘Catrina’ dancers.
The center piece of the celebrations is the altar that is set up at home or at the cemetery. It’s decorated with orange marigold flowers, salt, water, candles and the favorite food of the deceased. Most people most look forward to Pan de Muerto, which is an orange-infused bread. Its dome shape reminds us of a skull with bones on the top. You can only find Pan de Muerto in the weeks running up to Dia de Muerto. Don’t worry if you’re not in town, because making Pan de Muerto isn’t as hard as it seems. The recipe was provided by the local La Guadalupana bakery who has been serving it since 1972.
 
INGREDIENTS:
3 ½ cups white flour
½ cup water
1 cup butter
2 eggs + 1 egg for egg glaze
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp grated orange zest
2 tsp dry yeast
7 egg yolks
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp aniseed tea (prepared)
3 tbsp orange blossom tea (prepared)
 
PREPARATION:
Heat the water until lukewarm. In a bowl mix two tablespoons of flour, ½ tablespoon sugar and the yeast and stir in the lukewarm water. Leave to rest until it has doubled its size.
On a clean surface place the flour and create a hole in the middle. Add the remaining sugar, the orange zest, salt and butter.
With one hand slowly mix the ingredients, while with the other hand you add the anise and orange blossom teas, two eggs and seven yolks.
Knead until you get a manageable dough and continue the process for about 10 minutes.
Add the yeast mixture to the dough and continue kneading until it gets a smooth consistency and it doesn’t stick to your hands. The dough is ready when you’re able to stretch it out and it doesn’t break.
Place the dough in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rest in a warm place until it has doubled its size.
Knead the dough again and separate some dough for decoration.
Grease a baking tin and sprinkle with some flour. Make 10-cm or 4-inch sized balls and place them on the baking tin with space in between. Make small balls and strips with the separate dough. These will be the skull and bones to decorate the bread.
Whisk the remaining egg and with a pastry brush attach the bones and the skull in the center. Leave the tray with dough balls to rest in a warm place until it has doubled its size, for about one hour.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C or 390°F for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 170°C or 335°F for 20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
Leave the Pan de Muerto rolls to cool down. Use a pastry brush to cover them with butter and sprinkle with abundant sugar. Pan de Muerto is best when eaten warm, but can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.
 
If you’re ready to learn more about Day of the Dead and its culinary delicacies, make sure to book the limited seats for our seasonal Day of the Dead tour on www.flavorteller.com/bookatour. We will be heading out the last week of October only.