One of the many upsides of being an expat is the privilege of enjoying all the nuances of everyday life in a foreign country until it eventually becomes your new home. Day by day you learn to savor new foods and begin to actually love those traditional dishes that are everywhere during local holidays. "Pan de muerto" quickly became part of our family routine in October ever since we moved to Mexico. We like it so much that even my dad is fond of it. He doesn't live here with us but came over a couple of times around Halloween and actually brought a whole tray home and froze them! So this year I thought: why not making “Pan de muerto” instead of having store bought one? Let me tell you the first one disappeared while it was getting out of the oven. And all of them were gone by the end of the next day, but a wonderful orange scent was still around my house for days. Are you ready to try and bake yours?
Ingredients
Dough
10 g yeast
150 g milk, room temperature
100 g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 orange, zest
20 ml orange juice
1 tsp orange blossom extract
250 g plain flour
250 g string bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
100 g butter
For decorating
1 egg
1 Tbs milk
50 g sugar
30 g butter
Caster sugar (or a mix of sugar and cinnamon or cocoa powder. For a less sweet version, sesame seeds are an option too)
Method
We’ll begin by mixing yeast and milk in a little bowl and let it sit until it’s activated (it usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when you’ll see a lot of little bubbles);
In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, combine eggs and sugar with the above milk and yeast mix. Add in the orange juice and zest, orange blossom extract and salt and mix until combined;
Remove your paddle attachment and replace it with the dough hook attachment. Add in flour 1/3 at a time and keep on mixing until all ingredients come together. Then add in cold butter cut into small cubes;
Place your dough in an oiled container and let it rest until it doubles in size (45 minutes to 2 hours);
Divide your dough into 5 equal parts. Take one part of dough and use 1/3 of it to make two little sausages and a tiny ball: these will be the bones of your “pan de muerto” bread.* Then use the palms of your hands to shape the remaining 2/3 of dough as a ball: this will be your “Day of the dead” bread. Brush your bread with water, then place the bones on top giving it a cross shape and finally place the little ball in the top center of your pan de muerto. Repeat this for the remaining four parts of dough;
Once your pan de muertos are ready, place them on a greased oven tray and cover them with a damp cloth. Let them sit until doubled in size (at least 30 minutes);
Preheat oven to 180 C. In a small bowl, lightly beat one egg and 1 Tbs of milk. Brush egg wash on your Day of the dead breads, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden;
Let them cool off until they’re room temperature. Meanwhile, melt 30 g of butter and pour 50 g sugar in a separate bowl that’s big enough to fit one of your breads. Then brush them all with a little melted butter and drop them one by one upside down in the sugar bowl. Ensure the top is nicely and evenly coated. You made it: Happy Day of the Dead!
*To make your sausages look like actual bones you need to roll them on the table using your index, middle and ring f
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