He Day of the Dead is approaching and since mid-September we begin to find in the bakeries the delicious bread of the dead in different areas of Mexico and Yucatán.
There are different varieties of this traditional dish: sugary, without sweet, with sesame seeds, stuffed and in small or large sizes.
Here we explain everything you need to know about bread of the dead: origin, meaning and how it is made, so you can include it in your Altar of the Dead or offering.
Meaning of bread of the dead
He bread of the dead that we normally see is round and represents the cycle of life.
He bread of the dead it’s a fraternal offering in the shape of a tomb in which the skull is at the top and on the edges there is a simulation of bones.
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It is type of bread of the dead is sprinkled with white sugar or pink, the color depends on the area of Mexico.
What does sugar in bread mean?
The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples points out that the pink sugar color “remembers the ceremonial use of the color red in pre-Hispanic times.”
It is important to mention that throughout the national territory the bread of the dead varies.
In Aguascalientes, Baja California, Colima, Coahuila, Jalisco, Nayarit and Chihuahua, pan de muerte is traditionally round.
History and origin of bread of the dead is reflected in its name
The names also vary a little, such as in Mixquic (Mexico City) the famous “despeinadas”; in it State of Mexico the “deaths”, in Texcoco the “rabbit bread”.
Guerrero It is known as “shrimps”, “tortas” and “bitters”, or in Tixtla “souls with sugar”; those of Acámbaro, Guanajuato They call it “souls”; in Hidalgo the “hangers”.
In Michoacan It is the “bread of offering”, “the rubber bread”; in Oaxaca the “reganadas” or the “cassava bread”; and in Puebla the “golletes.”
According to the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, the bread of the dead that we currently know would be a “huitlata model“a kind of tamale, of the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico.
How is bread of the dead made? Delicious recipe to prepare it
According to AnimalGourmetthis recipe guarantees a delicious bread of the dead.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 20 grams of fresh yeast or eight of dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons orange peel zest
- 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water (if you can’t find it, you can substitute it with 2 tablespoons of well-prepared anise tea)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 80 grams of butter
- 1/2 stick of pomade butter
- white sugar
- 1 egg yolk
How to prepare it?
- In a container, put the warm water and the yeast with a little flour (a teaspoon) to activate it. This happens when a thin layer of foam begins to appear.
- On the table at home or in a mixer (to make bread), add the flour, sugar, orange zest and salt.
- Add the egg and yolks followed by the milk, orange blossom water and yeast.
- Knead until the mixture is smooth and manageable. Don’t worry if at first the mixture seems like a kind of paste that you can’t peel off the table, it’s normal.
- As soon as it can be removed from the surface, add the butter at room temperature and in cubes. At first it will become a little rubbery, then it will take shape.
- Knead until the mixture separates from the table and does not break. Let the dough rest, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm part of the kitchen until it doubles in size thanks to the effect of the yeast. This takes approximately two hours.
- Pour in the mixture and knead again, eliminating the gas that formed.
- Divide into three: reserve a third in the refrigerator to make the bones.
- With the rest, form a uniform ball and place it in a tray large enough for it to double in size.
- Form the bones with the flats of the fingers and the skull (the ball) of the bread.
- Beat the egg that was not used and varnish the large dough. As a payment, use it to place the bones on the bread as well as the ball in the center.
- Let it rest for approximately one hour, in a warm area of the kitchen so that it doubles in size.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius, put the breads in for 25 minutes.
- Let it cool and, meanwhile, temper the butter so that it has an ointment-like consistency.
- Varnish and cover with white sugar.
