Pan de muerto – Bread of the dead

Hello, friends and lovers of Mexican gastronomy and culture! Do you want to know about the history of “pan de muerto”? Discover with me a little bit about the history and recipe of this delicious, sweet bread that will leave you licking your fingers.

It is said that the history of "pan de muerto” has its origin with one of the most important sacrifices of the Aztec people. As an offering to their Gods, the heart of a girl was taken, put in a container filled with amaranth and the priest took a part of the heart. With the spread blood a type of bread was made using ground and toasted amaranth.

After the Spanish conquest, this distinctive offering was converted into a delicious wheat bread recipe in the shape of a heart sprinkled with red-tinted sugar.

Over the years, the recipe began to be used to celebrate the dead and ingredients such as sugar, butter, orange blossom essence, yeast, orange zest and milk were added to turn it into the delicious recipe we know today. Today, the circular bun shape represents the cycle of life and death, and the bones allude to the bones of our deceased.

Ingredients

• 60 ml warm water
• 12 gr yeast
• 1 pinch sugar
• 650 gr wheat flour
• 4 eggs
• 200 gr condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla or 2 tbsp. gr orange zest or 2 tbsp. or orange blossom essence
• 80 gr white sugar
• 200 gr butter

Procedure

1. Gather and weigh all your ingredients.
2. Dissolve the yeast with a little water and sugar. Let it ferment.
3. Make a bowl with the flour and add salt, eggs, condensed milk, vanilla and mix. When the dough is incorporated, add the butter alternating with the sugar and knead until the butter is incorporated.
4. Let the dough rest until it doubles in size. Then knead gently and form the bread with the bones and let rest one more time.
5. Bake the breads for approximately 20 minutes at 180°C until golden brown. When they come out, glaze them and add the sugar.

Accompany your “pan de muerto” with a rich sparkling chocolate, we have everything you need to make it! Delicious Mexican chocolate and you can't miss a grinder "molinillo" to make it foamy. You can fill your “pan de muerto” with dulce de leche, cajeta, ate, or anything else you fancy and let us know in the comments.