Pan De Muerto Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the milk and the butter together in a medium saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add them warm water. The mixture should be around 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).
• In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 1 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly then brush with glaze.
• To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

Steps:

• Mound 560 grams of flour in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the sugar and salt. Add yeast, breaking it up with your fingertips. Mix lightly.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In the well, add eggs and 1/2 cup of the lard. With your fingers or a wooden spoon, slowly draw flour into eggs and shortening until they're mixed into the flour. Gradually add the milk. The dough will be messy and very sticky.
• Flour a work surface heavily, and have more flour ready to use. Turn dough onto the surface and begin to knead aggressively, sprinkling with flour liberally until dough is soft, smooth and supple, and rebounds after a touch. Divide into four equal pieces and form into smooth rounds. Allow to rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a large baking sheet with lard.
• Once they have rested, gently flatten three of the four pieces into 6-inch rounds, patting them around the edges so they retain a slight dome in the middle. Place them on the baking sheet several inches apart; if necessary, use more than one sheet. To the fourth piece, add remaining 2 tablespoons lard, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons flour, kneading until well incorporated. This is for decorating the rounds with the traditional skull and crossbones; it will be supple but stiffer than the bread dough.
• To make the crossbones decorations, divide the decorating dough into three equal sections. From one section, break off a ball about 1 inch in diameter and set aside. Divide the remaining part of that section into two, rolling each into a rope a few inches long, with some parts of the rope fatter than the others. (Do this by gently rolling the dough with your hand outstretched, with only the three middle fingers touching the dough, so that the dough between your fingers is puffier than the rest.) Cross the two "bones" in an "X" across a round of bread, and place the small ball of dough in the center. Repeat with remaining dough. Set the breads aside to rise for one hour. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• The bread may be baked plain, or gently brushed with egg white and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Bake until browned and fragrant, about 45 minutes, or until it produces a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. If baked plain, it may be brushed afterward with melted lard and dusted with sugar or cinnamon sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• For the Bread:.
• Pour warm water into a 1 quart bowl and sprinkle yeast over water. Set aside in a warm place that is free of draft until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 1 cup of flour to make a sponge. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until the sponge doubles in volume, about 1 hour.
• Scrape the sponge into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in anise seeds, orange zest, butter, orange liqueur, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour. Beat the batter on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add, one 1/4 cup at a time, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour until it forms a very soft dough that cleans the side of the bowl.
• Knead with hook for 4 minutes (dough will be smooth and very soft, but it should not be sticky, if needed add more flour by the tablespoon to preventing sticking). Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a cloth and set aside to rise in a warm place free of draft until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hour.
• Grease 2 8-inches round cake pans. Gently deflate dough and divide in half, (dough will be very soft). Carefully transfer each half to a greased cake pan, turning the edges under to smooth the top as best you can. Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap, then with damp cloths and let stand in a warm place until dough rises to the top of pan, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bake bread until hollow when thumped, about 35 to 40 minutes. Immediately remove the loaves from pans and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
• For Glaze:.
• Stir everything together until smooth, add more orange juice if necessary to reach spread consistency.
• Spread glaze over cooled loaves and sprinkle with toppings.

Steps:

• For the Starter: Whisk together milk, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Whisk in flour. Cover with a clean kitchen towel; set in a warm, draft-free place and let stand until mixture begins to bubble, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the Dough: Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add orange-flower water, orange zest, anise seeds, eggs, flour, sugar, and salt and beat on low speed until combined. Scrape bowl and beater and switch to the dough-hook attachment. Beat on medium speed until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and starts to make a slapping sound, 10 to 12 minutes.
• On low speed, add butter in four to six additions, incorporating each before adding the next. From time to time, scrape down bowl. When all of butter has been added, increase speed to medium and beat another 8 to 10 minutes, until dough slaps against bowl again. (It will still be sticky, but don't be tempted to add more flour.)
• Butter a large bowl. Shape dough into a ball and place in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Gently deflate dough with your fist, gather it into a ball, and turn over, so bottom is now on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours, and up to overnight.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and set, still covered, in a warm, draft-free spot until it comes to room temperature and rises, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Turn dough out of bowl. Cut off a quarter of dough and divide into two equal pieces; set aside. Divide larger piece of dough into two equal pieces, shape each into a ball, and place on separate baking sheets.
• To make skull and crossbones, cut one of smaller pieces of dough into three equal pieces. Shape one piece into a ball for the skull. For the bones, roll the other two pieces into ropes and pinch at intervals, so they look like joints. Repeat with other smaller piece of dough. Flatten one of smaller dough balls into a 6-inch round. Place 2 bone strips on top of a large dough round, crossing them to make an X and pressing them lightly into dough. Place "skull" in middle and press down lightly to secure. Repeat with other round of dough. If dough seems sticky, dust lightly with flour. Cover breads lightly with kitchen towels and let rise in a warm, draft free spot until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in middle. Bake, one loaf at a time, until lightly browned on top, 25 minutes. Cover bread loosely with foil; bake another 25 minutes, or until bread is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Let cool on wire racks.
• For the Topping: Meanwhile, brush about a quarter of the top of one bread with melted butter and immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar, so it adheres before butter cools and dries. Continue with rest of bread, then top second bread. Let topping cool before slicing. Wrapped in foil or in a cake keeper, bread will stay fresh up to 5 days.