Pan de Muerto
As we have decided to explore different continents for our reading challenge this year, we decided we had to explore a couple of traditional dishes. So, for the first one, we decided to try a Pan de Muerto.
Pan de Muerto is a Mexican bread that is traditionally eaten in early November. The name translates to ‘the bread of the dead’ and is an important element of the Day of the Dead celebrations. Traditionally, these sweet breads are eaten at the gravesides of relatives. The decorations on top are meant to symbolise the bones of the dead that you are honouring.
Originally, the plan was to bake a traditional Pan de Muerto, however, as we are still in a lockdown, it was a struggle to find some of the spices needed. Our supermarkets tend to be reducing a lot of their stock to only the essentials.
Pan de Muerto is often eaten with hot chocolate and so, to counteract the missing aniseed, chocolate was added. We’ve included both variations of the recipe so you can decide which you’d like to try.
Ingredients:
- 75g (room temperature) butter
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 tsp aniseed (for a traditional version)
- 4 cups white bread flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of warm water
- Zest of 1 orange
- 10g yeast (1 ½ packets)
- 150g dark chocolate (for a non-traditional version)
Method:
- In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar, aniseed (if using) and ½ cup of flour. Mix with a dough hook (this can be done by hand but will take a lot longer).
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, the water and the orange zest.
3. Add this to the buttery mixture with another ½ cup of flour. Mix until combined.
4. Add another ½ cup of flour and the yeast. Mix until combined.
5. Add the remaining flour a cup of a time (another 2 ½ cups) and mix until a dough forms.
6. When adding the penultimate cup of flour, add the chocolate chunks (if using).
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes (15 if you mixed by hand). Don’t worry about it being a sticky dough, you can add more flour as you go.
8. Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and sit in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours.
9. Once the dough is done proving, separate ¼ of the dough and roll it into balls to decorate the top of the loaf to make the bones.
10. Place the loaf on a baking tray, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for another hour.
11. Bake at 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4 for 40 minutes (30 minutes for a smaller loaf).
12. To check if the loaf is cooked all the way through, turn it over and knock on the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it is cooked all the way through, if not, it needs a little longer.
13. Whilst the bread is cooling, make the glaze. Place ¼ cup of sugar and the juice from the orange in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Brush over the bread once cool.
14. Cut the bread into wedges and enjoy! It goes especially well with our slow cooker hot chocolate.
C🌙 and M🌸
