The origin of the Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) is located in the time of the Conquest, which was inspired by pre-Hispanic rituals when human sacrifices were practiced and today is one of the greatest representatives of the Día de Muertos and one of the most important components of the altars. The creation of this bread was because the Spaniards found this practice very violent, so they suggested preparing a wheat bread covered with red sugar, which simulated the heart of the maidens without going to the extremes where they had to lose their lives. It is known that in Mesoamerica a bread made of ground amaranth was prepared, which, after being mixed with the blood of the sacrifices, was offered to the gods, being these the first signs of the Pan de Muerto, which has been modified until becoming what we know today. The circle in the center symbolizes the skull of the deceased and the enhanced strips that are covered around are the imitation of the human body bones, in some cases, you have to add orange blossom essence, which evokes the memory of the dead.

Facts about Pan de Muerto

1. Pan de Muerto has been an essential part of the dead´s altars in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times. The tradition of waiting for the dead with a rich meal is older than people might think.
2. Bread is flavored with orange blossom or orange essence. This is related to the belief that the dead can only recognize places by the smell of flowers, candlelight, and bright colors.
3. In pre-Hispanic times, amaranth figures were made, being related to blood and sacrifices to the gods. When the Spaniards arrived, the use of amaranth was substituted by wheat. This is the origin of Pan de Muerto as we know it today.
4. In some regions of Mexico, the sugar in the Pan de Muerto is dyed red to remember the blood represented by the amaranth «bread» offered in the ceremonies.
5. In the Mixteca Poblana, the sugar on the bread is dyed red in the altars dedicated to adults and remains white in the children’s altars.
6. The most typical thing is to find four bones, representing the four directions of the universe. Although it could also be a representation of the four ages, with the little ball in the center representing the fifth sun, which is the age in which we live.
7. Some people think that the round shape of bread represents the universe or life as a cycle.
8. In some regions of central Mexico, the shape of the bread is easier to imagine, because it consists of a human figure with arms crossed over the chest and covered with sugar.
9. Otomi communities in the State of Mexico make bread in the form of boxes representing coffins.
10. In Oaxaca, Pan de Muerto is just a giant version of the traditional pan de yema (bread made only with egg yolks). This bread includes a little figure representing the soul of the deceased.
11. In 2003 UNESCO declared the Día de Muertos as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. According to the declaration, it is “one of the most relevant representations of Mexico’s and the world’s living heritage and one of the oldest and strongest cultural expressions among the country’s indigenous groups in which the Pan de Muerto plays a leading role»

Ingredients:

• 500 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 180 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 1 cup of milk
• Orange zest
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
•  15 g dry yeast

 

How to make Pan de Muerto

1. To start, preheat the oven to 200°C and leave the butter out to make it softer. In a pan, heat 36 milliliters of milk for about a minute, as it should be warm.
2. Place the milk in a container, add the 15 g of instant dry yeast, and stir. Add two tablespoons of flour and mix until it has consistency. Add three spoonfuls of sugar and stir so that the yeast starts to ferment. It does not matter if the consistency is too watery or harder. Put it in a place where the heat of the oven reaches it, which will make the dough start to grow.
3. Spread the remaining flour on your work table; then give it a screw shape, in the middle add sugar and stir with your hands. Add the two pinches of salt and the stick of watery butter, mix it until it joins the flour.
4. Now you will add the eggs and stir with one finger. Little by little, put milk and start shaping it until you get a dough. If you still have flour left on the table, add a little milk to give it shape. Add the grated orange, so you must grate the peel of the orange until they look white, and add two spoonfuls of vanilla extract. Knead it for five minutes or until you get a dough with butter, a little bit greasy, and with an orange smell.
5. Extend the dough with your hands and incorporate the other dough that has already been inflated by the yeast and the heat. Mix it, give it strong blows against the table, this will make the dough fill with air and cool down until the dough stops being chewy and no longer sticks to the table.
6. In a tray with Teflon, in case you don’t have one, spread some butter on the metal tray. Separate a small ball from the dough, that is, a half cup of dough. At the base spread a little flour to give shape to the dough ball and then place it on the tray. Cut another piece of dough and form a tube with the dough and with your fingers separate it to make the little bones that will go on top of your ball of dough. This way you make it until the dough is finished.
7. The tray where you have the bread, put it on top of the stove so that the heat makes it sponge, but cover it with plastic to prevent it from getting hard. Let it rest there for an hour.
8. You will see that the bread has already expanded. Then remove the plastic. Lower the temperature of the oven to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes to brown on the outside. Place a bar of butter in a container and melt it in the microwave oven. Take the bread out of the oven and with a brush varnish the bread with the butter. In the plate where you put the sugar, dip the bread in the sugar or sprinkle the sugar on the bread.