This Pan de Muerto recipe is easy to make even for beginner bakers. This Mexican sweet roll is eaten for the Dia de los Muertos and also placed as an ofrenda on the altars. 

Pan de Muerto, a traditional sweet roll that is made on November 2nd for el Dia de Muertos is an important part of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.

We always celebrate the Day of the Dead at home; it gives us an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of those loved ones that have passed away. We usually build an altar with photos of my grandparents and my aunt and uncle and we tell the kids stories about those family members that they never got to meet. They love hearing about their ancestors about their roots.

I have never been much of a baker but I found this recipe of Pan de Muerto on the ViveMejor website and decided to give it a try because the recipe looked so simple and straightforward. So I have a confession to make: this is the first time I bake bread from scratch and I have to say that it was much easier than I thought. The Pan de Muerto came out delicious and everyone at home devoured it, even the grandparents wanted some more.

The Pan de Muerto bread has decorations that resemble the bones of the dead and they also represent the tears shed for loved ones that have passed away. I tried making a skull in the center as well, but not too sure that it looks like skull. The round decoration on the top represents a skull. The round bread represents the circle of life.

Easy Pan De Muerto Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water (about 125°)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup Country Crock® Buttery Sticks, melted
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds o anise seed
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. colored sugar o granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine yeast with warm water in a medium bowl and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in milk, whole eggs, and melted Country Crock® Buttery Sticks; set aside.
2. Sift flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in fennel seeds. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Stir yeast mixture into flour mixture with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Add a little more flour if the dough is too wet or a little more milk if it is too dry.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth but slightly sticky, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to large, lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray baking sheet with no-stick spray. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 3 minutes. Cut about 1/5 of the dough off; reserve. Shape remaining dough into a round loaf on a prepared baking sheet. Roll reserved dough into a thick rope, then cut into 5 portions. Roll one portion into a ball and arrange it on top of the round loaf. Roll the remaining 4 balls into ropes with knobby ends resembling ”bones”. Arrange ”bones” around loaf. Cover loosely and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. Beat egg white with water, then brush loaf with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 35 minutes or until top is lightly golden brown. Remove to wire rack and cool.

 

Easy Pan de Muerto Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water (about 125°)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds o anise seed
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. colored sugar o granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Combine yeast with warm water in a medium bowl and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in milk, whole eggs, and melted butter; set aside.
3. Sift flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in fennel seeds.
4. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Stir yeast mixture into flour mixture with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Add a little more flour if the dough is too wet or a little more milk if it is too dry.
5. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth but slightly sticky, about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer dough to large, lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray baking sheet with no-stick spray.
8. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 3 minutes.
9. Cut about 1/5 of the dough off; reserve.
10. Shape remaining dough into a round loaf on a prepared baking sheet.
11. Roll reserved dough into a thick rope, then cut into 5 portions.
12. Roll one portion into a ball and arrange it on top of the round loaf.
13. Roll the remaining 4 balls into ropes with knobby ends resembling ''bones''.
14. Arrange ''bones'' around loaf.
15. Cover loosely and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
16. Beat egg white with water, then brush loaf with egg wash.
17. Sprinkle with sugar.
18. Bake 35 minutes or until top is lightly golden brown. Remove to wire rack and cool.

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Paula Bendfeldt-Diaz

Paula moved from her native Guatemala to SW Florida with her husband and two children and together they are discovering what it means to live life between two languages.

Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .

When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.

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