Mexican Day Of The Dead Bread recipe is a traditional Dia de los Muertos food for Souls bread. This bread of the dead is part of Mexican sweet breads and fun baking recipe for fall for kids and celebrating Day of Dead.
Bake A Mexican Day Of The Dead Bread Recipe!
Although this is an involved homemade bread recipe, kids will have fun with the pan de muerto Day of Dead bread. We made it more fun by learning about Day of the Dead holiday history and Dia de los Muertos celebrations in between the bread resting times for Dead Bread (what my daughter called this Mexican bread for the holiday).
What is Day of the Dead bread made of?
- Butter
- Milk
- Water
- All-purpose flour
- Active dry yeast
- Salt
- Anise seeds
- Eggs (beaten)
- Orange zest
- Orange juice
Get the free printable recipe card below, but be sure to read through the recipe tips before printing the recipe!
About Traditional Food for Day of the Dead: Pan De Muerto Recipe FAQs
Just like any celebration in any culture, food is a major part of it and the food associated with Day of the Dead is no different!
Day of the Dead traditional food is an important part of the holiday celebration and the Day of the Dead altar.
There are a ton of different Day of the Dead food and drinks, but we’re going to focus on Dead Bread recipe (pan de muerto) here — which is like brioche Mexican sweets recipes.
What Is Pan de Muerto?
Day of the dead food history includes Pan de Muerto. Pan de muerto, is also called pan de los muertos in Mexico. It is a pan dulce, or a Mexican sweet bread or pastries. Traditionally, pan de muerto is baked for Day of the Dead celebrations (and right before).
Traditional dead bread, or hojaldras, is round and dusted with white sugar. There is also a dough ball on top that represents the skull of loved ones who have died.
There are also sometimes four flaps of dough that are placed over the round bread that form a cross.
The cross represents four compass points:
- Quetzalcóatl (representing god of light and wind)
- Xipe Tótec (representing god of death and rebirth)
- Tláloc (representing god of rain and storms)
- Tezcatlipoca (representing god of darkness and sorcery)
There are also other shapes like hearts, instruments, humans, sheep, and angels. What shapes and ingredients are used often depend on the regional traditions for Day of Dead.
Sometimes, when a loved one is a child has passed, a day of dead bread offering will be made in the shape of a toy.
It’s definitely something to add to your Day of the Dead food list to try or to your Day of the Dead menu!
Is pan de muerto sweet?
Pan de Muerto, or Day of the Dead Bread, is a dense bread that is often flavored with orange and anise. While some call it a bread dessert, it falls somewhere in the middle of regular bread and dessert in terms of sweetness. This bread is a dense, plain-ish bread that the kids (and you) may find boring if you like a sweeter bread.
(But, we spruced it up in the recipe below, so don’t miss it!)
Since the recipe has some orange zest in it (kids loooooove to use a zester!), we thought it would be yummy with an addition of chopped fresh cranberries (and give it a little extra fall recipes taste).
IMPORTANT RECIPE NOTE: Traditional Day of the Dead bread does not contain cranberries. (Don’t think that traditional Dia de los Muertos foods bread is made exactly like this.)
However, our version of Dia de Muertos food bread did not disappoint!
If you’re trying to stay true to the Mexican recipe, don’t add cranberries if you want to stay the way that Day of the Dead Mexico food bread is really made.
ALSO TRY MORE DAY OF THE DEAD PARTY FOODS HERE
Why is Pan de Muertos used for Day of the Dead?
Pan de Muerto is also called Bread of the Dead or Souls Bread was always considered a sacred food. Each round bread is symbolic to show the circle of life and death and is provided as an ofrenda (offering) to provide energy to the family spirits to return home. It is a special bread and many families wait all year to make and eat pan de muerto.
DAY OF DEAD FOOD FUN FACT: Day of Dead Bread (pan de muerto) is sold in Mexico only at the end of October through Dia De Los Muertos, which is the first couple of days of November. It generally isn’t sold in stores the rest of the year!
What is pan de muerto eaten with?
Pan de muerto can be eaten alone, but it is often served as dinner bread as part of the traditional Day of Dead dinner meal.
How To Make Homemade Day Of The Dead Bread For Dia de Muertos Celebrations
For our Dia De Los Muertos learning and food for Day of the Dead party, we decided to make Pan de Muerto, or traditional Day of the Dead Bread.
This is probably the Day of the Dead food that is most closely associated with this holiday!
RECIPE NOTE: This is fun to add to your Day of the Dead activities, but is a time consuming recipe (as is any time that you make bread from scratch) because you have to allow time for it to rest/rise. We used the time while the bread was rising to learn more about Day of the Dead and read some Day of the Dead books and learn more about what food is eaten on Day of the Dead. If you’re looking for quick and easy Dia de los Muertos treats or quick Dia de los Muertos desserts, take that into consideration.
Mexican Day of the Dead Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons anise seeds
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
- 1 cup fresh, uncooked cranberries (optional)* coarsely chopped
FOR GLAZE
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar for glaze
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and the butter until the butter melts completely. Remove from heat and add warm water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, yeast, salt, anise seeds, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture. Add 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. Add chopped cranberries (optional) and stir completely.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and stretchy when pulled.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about 1 to 2 hours)
- Punch the dough down and pinch off a small portion. Shape the remaining dough into a large round loaf. With the dough you pinched off, make a ball on the top and then 4 long pieces coming off of each side of the ball (like a cross that goes across the top of the loaf - see picture). Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until it has almost doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bread on baking sheet and bake bread for 35 to 45 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
- FOR GLAZE: In a small saucepan combine 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Over medium heat, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
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I hope you enjoy our version of a Mexican Day Of The Dead Bread Recipe!
