Dia de los muertos is the Mexican equivalent of our day of the dead: the only difference, which I personally appreciate very much, is its interpretation.
While we celebrate our deceased loved ones by sadly remembering their death, in Mexico death is seen as a nautical continuation of life and for this reason recalled with great festivities and joy.
The Pan de los muertos is usually prepared a few days in advance and then tasted in front of an altar made in honor of the dead, along with other foods that they used to eat.
Let's fasten the apron and let's get started!
INGREDIENTS for a sweet loaf for 6 people:
390 g Manitoba flour + 2 tablespoons for the leaven preparation
80 g soft butter (not cold from the fridge)
25 g fresh brewer's yeast
2 g salt
100 g white granulated sugar
3 medium eggs (one whole and two yolks, but keep the egg whites, we will need them to brush the surface of the bread before putting it in the oven!)
120 g whole milk (if you use semi-skimmed or lactose-free milk, remember to add a teaspoon of extra sugar to the leaven)
1 orange (zest and juice)
PROCEEDINGS
Prepare the juice and grated zest of an orange and keep them aside:
Lightly heat the milk (30 seconds in the microwave at maximum power will be more than enough, otherwise it will become too hot and could damage the yeast), add the crumbled yeast and two tablespoons of flour (and possibly a teaspoon of extra sugar if we use lactose-free milk or partially skimmed milk) and knead with a fork:
Cover with cling film and let it rise for 30 minutes:
Pour the 390 g of flour on a pastry board, add the sugar and salt and make a hole in the center, where we will pour the leaven:
Add the egg yolks, the whole egg, zest and orange juice:
Trust me, even if you can't see them, the ingredients are all there ... they have only been incorporated by the big leaven!
Knead by hand, adding the butter a little at a time, well incorporating it into the dough:
Continue to knead by hand until we obtain a uniform and slightly sticky mixture, which does not break if we pull it lightly:
If the dough seems too sticky and you find it difficult to knead, you can add a sprinkling of flour: be careful, however, just a sprinkle! Otherwise the dough will make it much harder to rise.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise in the oven for a few hours:
I made the dough in the morning and then went to work; after about 11 hours, this is the result:
Then transfer the dough back to the lightly floured pastry board, knead it into a loaf and cut out three small portions that we will have to shape to transform into two salami and a ball for the final decoration:
Brush the surface of the loaf with the egg whites we had kept aside, lay the two strips of dough, brush these too and close the decoration with the ball in this way:
Gently transfer the decorated loaf onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated STATIC OVEN at 175 ° C for 35 minutes, using the medium-low shelf of the oven (not the lowest one).
Let it cool in the off oven with the door slightly open and then, finally, let's taste!
We can keep the Pan de los muertos for a couple of days, in a closed container at room temperature.
If you want to download the card of this recipe, click on the link below:
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