Pan De Muerto Mexican Bread Of The Dead Recipes

PAN DE MUERTOS (MEXICAN BREAD OF THE DEAD)

Steps:

• Heat the milk and the butter together in a medium saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add them warm water. The mixture should be around 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).
• In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 1 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly then brush with glaze.
• To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

MEXICAN DAY OF THE DEAD BREAD (PAN DE MUERTO)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer , combine butter, sugar, aniseed, salt, and 1/2 cup of flour .
• Use dough hook to mix ingredients until they begin to come together.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, water, and orange zest.
• Add to stand mixer bowl, along with another 1/2 cup of flour. Mix until combined.
• Add yeast and another 1/2 cup of flour, mixing to combine.
• Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time, mixing between additions, until a dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute.
• Cover with a clean, damp dishcloth and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 F. Separate about 1/4 of the dough and use it to make bone shapes to drape across the loaf.
• Shape rest of dough into a flat-bottomed semisphere. Position bone shapes on the top of loaf and press gently so they adhere. Let dough rise for an additional hour.
• Bake the loaf for about 40 minutes (30 minutes for smaller loaves).
• Cool and glaze, if desired, before serving.
• Cut pan de muerto into large wedges for eating by hand. Serve with Mexican hot chocolate or champurrado (chocolate atole) if you like.

PAN DE MUERTO (MEXICAN BREAD OF THE DEAD)

Steps:

• For the Bread:.
• Pour warm water into a 1 quart bowl and sprinkle yeast over water. Set aside in a warm place that is free of draft until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 1 cup of flour to make a sponge. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until the sponge doubles in volume, about 1 hour.
• Scrape the sponge into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in anise seeds, orange zest, butter, orange liqueur, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour. Beat the batter on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add, one 1/4 cup at a time, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour until it forms a very soft dough that cleans the side of the bowl.
• Knead with hook for 4 minutes (dough will be smooth and very soft, but it should not be sticky, if needed add more flour by the tablespoon to preventing sticking). Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a cloth and set aside to rise in a warm place free of draft until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hour.
• Grease 2 8-inches round cake pans. Gently deflate dough and divide in half, (dough will be very soft). Carefully transfer each half to a greased cake pan, turning the edges under to smooth the top as best you can. Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap, then with damp cloths and let stand in a warm place until dough rises to the top of pan, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bake bread until hollow when thumped, about 35 to 40 minutes. Immediately remove the loaves from pans and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
• For Glaze:.
• Stir everything together until smooth, add more orange juice if necessary to reach spread consistency.
• Spread glaze over cooled loaves and sprinkle with toppings.