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It is common to see the Pan de Muerto on the table, or even on the altars at the door of the house, at the end of October and in the month of November, to follow a very Mexican tradition: the Day of the Dead. This is an easy, inexpensive and delicious recipe, so prepare for the visits and accompany it with a rich coffee or chocolate.

Pan de Muerto Fácil | Las Recetas de Laura

November 2; day of the Dead

The celebrations of the Day of the Dead and Halloween are coming; Therefore, a delicious Pan de Muerto, made at home with an easy and inexpensive recipe, should not be missing on the table or on your altar.

First of all, let me tell you a little about the Day of the Dead, which is a markedly Mexican holiday, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The reason for this is its symbolism and identity of a whole country that remembers its loved ones in a party of joy, colors and flavors.

During those days (November 1 and 2) verses or songs (the so-called calaveritas) are written to friends, partners or colleagues, highlighting their strengths or weaknesses in a fun way.

Day of the dead traditions

It is also a tradition to eat the bread of the dead and offer it to visitors at home. In addition, on the altars at the entrance of the house, bread and some other foods (tamales, mole, etc., which were favorites of the deceased) are placed next to the photo of deceased loved ones. So these are days of flowers and music in cemeteries, in an allegory for life and death at the same time.

In today’s recipe, I show you not only how to make it at home the easy way, but also how to reduce sugar and flour levels (that’s why we used applesauce). I suggest you watch the video where I show you some options to decorate this delicious bread.

Another tip that I mention in the video: preheat the oven for about 10 minutes and turn off. In that heat is where you put the bread dough already prepared for about 40 minutes to speed up the process by which the bread is fluffed. The result is that your bread will be very fluffy.

Finally, accompany it with a coffee or homemade chocolate. Just remember to moderate the amount of bread you eat per day – I’d say one serving.

Ingredients of the bread of the dead

8 cups wheat flour
21 g yeast or ¾ oz
180 grams margarine 2 bars of margarine
5 pcs eggs
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 tbsp orange zest
½ cup orange blossom water or orange blossom tea
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ cup applesauce
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract

How is the bread of the dead made?

Put the yeast and orange blossom water in a bowl. Stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add a tablespoon of sugar and two tablespoons of flour – mix everything until well integrated and leave to rest.
In another container, mix the egg together with the applesauce, a pinch of salt, and the zest of an orange. Integrate everything very well. Reserve

In another large one, sift the flour (leave a little flour last to use only if more consistency is needed). Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, a teaspoon of salt (I do it to activate the flavors) and a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Mix everything.

To make the dough, in the middle of the flour I make a hole where I add the yeast and the egg mixture. Once it is well integrated, add the butter. It should be a uniform mass. Mass is struck against the table surface. And let it rest for 40 minutes so that it grows at room temperature

Another way to rest, and accelerate the rising of the yeast, is to preheat the oven for about 10 minutes and turn off. Let it rest in the oven for at least 40 minutes.

Once the dough is fluffed, flour is cut to remove the air and knead again.
With little more than half of the dough, make the bread balls the size of your hand. Shape it into buns by squashing the balls and placing them on a baking tray (put wax paper or cooking spray if you don’t want them to stick to you) with enough distance between them because the bread will fluff up when baking

To decorate: make strips with the remaining dough (not so thin) to form the ball in the center of the bread as a finish and the bones – the bones are made with the fingers of the hands, crushing the strips of the dough.

Another way to decorate is with braids. To do this, make several strips of the dough. Three strips are joined at one end and the braid is made. The braid is placed on each loaf in the shape of a cross and finished with the ball in the center.

Bake until the bread is fluffy and brown.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. It can be decorated with toasted sesame seeds, with melted butter and sprinkled sugar or with orange syrup (you heat orange juice and add brown sugar) by varnishing each bread with a brush. and Ready to accompany with a delicious coffee or hot chocolate