That's Day of The Dead- aka All Saints Day aka All Souls Day, celebrated every November 1 & 2. Like a good Mexican Catholic holiday, the day comes with a lot of festive food, meant to be shared with family and friends, both living and departed. The skeletons of Halloween trade in gore for color and vibrancy all celebrating the beautiful mysteries of life and death. Celebrate the day with this recipe for the tastiest sweet bread - Pan de Muerto (Bread for the Dead). This recipe was originally published in the LA Times 1980. It was passed down to me by my high school Spanish teacher who encouraged us to make the bread for extra credit.
Once you get past the tedious hand kneading and rising of the dough, it's really easy to make different shapes, all guaranteed to plump up nicely in the oven, and follow with a sweet orange glaze. Get creative and make calaveras (skulls) with colored sugar and raisins. Don't forget the doves, symbols of souls going to heaven, and marigolds, the official flower of Saints Day.

Pan De Muerto
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon anise seeds
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs at room temperature
Place 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, anise seeds and undissolved yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Heat milk, water, butter in a saucepan until very warm. Gradually add milk mixture to the dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Add eggs and 1 cup flour. Beat at high speed 2 minutes. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Remove dough to lightly floured board and hand knead until smooth and elastic. Will take about 10 minutes. Grease a glass bowl and place dough inside, turning to coat and not to stick to bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk. Takes about 2 hours. Punch dough down and turn in bowl. If the dough feels full and elastic, cut into pieces and mold into the shapes of the skull - two balls for the head and jaw and a braided mouth works well. Or make one large ball into a loaf and decorate with flower and dove shapes on top. After dough is shaped, place on a greased baking sheet. Little dabs of water can help glue pieces together or use toothpicks. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees 40 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from baking sheet to cool. Apply orange glaze while still warm.

Orange Glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange peel (not zest)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Spoon or brush over the bread. Decorate with colored sugar, candy sprinkles, raisins, or additional orange peel.

Labels: DIY, food