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–+ servings

Pan De Muerto Recipe

By: Nadia Aidi
|
Servings: 4 servings
We are at the beginning of Dia De Los Muertos and I've been missing my great-aunt (almost grandma) a lot. Pan de muerto, or "bread of the dead", is a sweet Mexican bread that symbolizes the cycle of life and death, and is central to the Day of the Dead holiday. So here is my recipe and this is for you my great-aunt Norma ♥️
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Rise Time 2 hours
Freshly baked Pan De Muerto sprinkled with sugar.

Equipment

  • 2 baking sheets
  • 1 large bowl
  • plastic wrap
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • ½ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
  • 4 ¼ cup bread flour + 1 tbsp for the bones
  • 10 ½ tbsp melted unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ oz active dry yeast
  • 1 orange zest
  • 1 tbsp orange blossom water
  • ¼ tsp anise seeds
  • ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Add yeast to the warm milk with 1 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix and activate for 5 minutes.
  • Mix your flour and sugar. Add the yeasty milk and mix well. Add eggs, mix until all the flour is incorporated. Add vanilla, anise, orange blossom water and orange zest. Mix. Add butter and salt. Mix with your hands & knead for 5-7 minutes. Let it rise in a warm place in a greased bowl covered in plastic wrap for 1 hour.
  • Once it doubles in size, punch it and divide the dough in 5. Set 1/5 aside. Form the other 4 parts into a ball and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You’ll need 2 sheet trays.
  • Mix in the tbsp of flour to the remaining dough, once again cut that into 5 parts. Cut 1 of those parts in 4 and form little rounds. Cut the other 4 in 2, and form your bones (see video)
  • Place 2 bones per bread in an x pattern and top with the round one. Let them rise again for 1 hour. Brush with egg wash, bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
  • Brush with melted butter and coat in sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 953kcal, Carbohydrates: 130g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 38g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 209mg, Sodium: 79mg, Potassium: 374mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 1272IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 137mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info