This recipe is courtesy of Francesco Ramirez, Head Chef of Enoteca Tredici. Chef Ramirez immigrated to the U.S. in 2003 at the age of 16. He began his culinary career as a dishwasher and worked his way up while honing his cooking skills.
No one can resist this delicious bread. Pan de Muerto is an essential element in the Day of the Dead Altar, with chocolate, tamales, and many other traditional dishes. In Mexico, Pan de Muerto is usually sold at bakeries and supermarkets starting in mid-October.
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. active dry yeast
½ cup sugar
1 t. salt
1/3 cup butter at room temperature, plus more to brush the bread after baking
1/3 cup unsalted margarine at room temperature plus more for the bowl and pans
4 large eggs, room temperature
Orange zest from 2 oranges
¼ cup warm water, about 110 degrees
1 t. orange blossom water or orange essence
1 large egg, lightly beaten to brush the bread
Sugar, to decorate
Place the eggs, margarine, salt, and half of the sugar in a mixing bowl. Using the hook attachment, start working the dough for about two minutes. Add the flour in small amounts, alternating with the water. Add the dry active yeast and mix until well combined.
Alternate adding in the butter, the orange zest, the rest of the sugar, and the orange blossom essence, mixing well after each addition until a soft dough forms.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto the work surface. Knead until smooth, dusting the work surface lightly with flour as needed if the dough begins to stick. Knead for a couple more minutes. Coat the interior of a large bowl with margarine and transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Transfer the dough from the bowl to a work surface. Separate about 11 oz. of dough to form the decorative bones later on. Cut the rest of the dough in two equal pieces if you're making two large breads. Prepare two greased baking sheets, set aside.
To shape the bread: Take one portion of the dough and place it in the palm of your hand. Put your fingers in and add a bit of pressure, and shape each piece into a tight ball rolling the dough on the surface. This is called "bolear" in Spanish. Place on prepared baking sheets two inches apart. Press the dough slightly.
Place the remaining reserved dough onto the work surface, dusting with flour if needed, and knead until the flour is integrated perfectly (this is for the bones to decorate the bread).
To form the bones, take small portions of dough and roll in small logs putting a little pressure with your fingers to create the bones. Once the bones are formed (two for each bread), brush each roll forming a cross on top of each bun with egg wash. Mark the cross with the brush and place the bones on top and around the bread, cutting any extra dough.
The leftover dough forms small balls to varnish the bread's center where the bones come together. Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until buns are touching and doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add a pinch of salt to your egg wash and brush the buns before placing them in the oven. Transfer the buns to the oven and bake until golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes, approximately, for small buns. If you are making the larger version, the baking time will change a little.
Remember that every oven is different (when the bottom of the bread is golden, it indicates that they are ready). Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Once your Pan de Muerto bread has completely cooled, brush with the remaining butter and dust with sugar.
If any of the ingredients are unfamiliar to you, plan a visit to a Latino market. You should be able to obtain what you need.
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