Día de Muertos! Pan de Muerto

 

In spite of my recipes from New Mexico and from international cookbooks, I have only one recipe in my collection for Pan de Muerto.  It's in the November 2004 issue of New Mexico magazine, but reprinted from Kippy Nigh's A Taste of Mexico.  I had concerns about the recipe, particularly the amount of liquid and the high quantity of rich ingredients.  In addition, many reviews of the cookbook stated that measurements were way off, furthering my concern with quantities.  I looked up a few more recipes on line to compare, but in the end decided to work my way through the recipe I already had.  (What's the point of keeping all these books and magazines if I'm just going to go on-line all the time?)

My first concern was she listed no sugar other than what's used to proof the yeast.  The second was she uses no salt.  Then there was the large amount of eggs, cream, milk, and butter, although I could see she compensated with a large quantity of yeast.  (Still, it sounded way too wet.)  I proceeded with caution and made a few adjustments along the way.  For starters, I cut her recipe in half and adjusted her odd measurements (1/2 quart of milk?) to more common measurements.  Here's what I used, with my changes in italics and strikeout:

1 scant tablespoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon teaspoon brown sugar
4½ - 5 cups all purpose flour
3/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cream or full-fat yogurt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
grated zest of 1/2 one orange (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1 1/4 cup warm milk, approximately
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
butter and sugar for decorating (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the teaspoon of sugar and allow to proof.  In a mixing bowl, combine 4½ cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, yogurt, eggs, egg yolk, orange zest, anise seed, and the proofed yeast mixture; mix well either with your hands or a kneading hook, adding milk or more flour as necessary to bring the mixture to a soft dough consistency.  Knead until the dough has become somewhat springy, then add in the butter 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time, kneading well between each addition.  Continue to knead the dough until it's smooth and can be shaped into a tight ball, about 15 minutes.  Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl and allow to rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.  Turn out onto a board and knead briefly to release the excess gas.

To shape the loaves, divide the dough in half.  Using one of the halves, cut off about 3-4 tablespoons of dough and shape into a small ball.  Cut off about another 1/3 cup to roll out two logs for "bones", shaping them as desired.  Shape the remaining dough into a tight ball and place on a greased baking sheet.  (Be sure to leave room for the dough to rise.)  Mix the beaten egg with the tablespoon of water and brush the larger dough ball with a cross, then place the "bones" where you've placed the egg wash.  Brush the top of the loaf where the bones cross and place the small dough ball there.  Repeat with the second half of the dough.  Cover lightly and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  When the loaves have nearly doubled in size, about 15 minutes later, add the pinch of salt to the egg wash and brush the loaves all over.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool completely on a rack.  If desired, brush the cooled loaves with softened butter, then sprinkle with sugar.

This turned out well; I was happy with
the flavor and the texture.  The dough was

very soft, but not sticky as long as I didn't fool with it too long.  But still, a bit difficult to work with, and ended up being so soft that my loaves slid sideways a bit.  The recipe could probably do with a little less dairy.  None of the other recipes used cream or yogurt and most didn't use milk.  However, a comment on the recipe from Mexico in My Kitchen asked about using all butter instead of lard or vegetable shortening; the author responded that it was fine to do, but the bread might not be as soft.  Since I didn't want to use lard or vegetable shortening either, I knew the milk products would help produce a soft loaf.

Conclusion:  I was happy with the results, but I can't recommend this recipe because it required too many adjustments.  Next time I'll try a different one.

Recipes:  Pan de Muerto from A Taste of Mexico by Kippy Nigh, with tips on technique from Mexico in My Kitchen.  Also referenced, the recipes from The Spruce Eats and allrecipes.