This month, Ivonne, a Na’atik English student, biochemist, teacher, business entrepreneur, and baker, has shared her recipe for the special bread made on and around the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), called Pan de Muerto, literally translating to ‘Bread of the Dead’. 

Ivonne owns a bakery, La Tierra Dulce, and loves to bake as well as to share this passion through community baking classes. Last week, she invited parents and hosted a cooking class to make Pan de Muerto in the local high school, CONALEP, where she teaches. She also made it with friends and their young children this week in preparation for their Day of the Dead celebrations. Ivonne told us that when she was very young and just learning about Pan de Muerto she was very confused trying to understand how she was going to chew the ‘bones’ on the top of the bread. We also heard one of her earliest memories of having Pan de Muerto with us:

“I’ve had Pan de Muerto for as long as I can remember. We have it each year in my family during the Day of the Dead season and usually have it with hot chocolate. I remember when I was in the third grade and was about 7 years old and my teacher gave each of us our own individual-sized Pan de Muerto accompanied with hot chocolate. I can remember the giant pot full of approximately 40 breads seeming like an enormous number of breads. Our teacher also had a very big pot full of hot chocolate and I remember thinking the pot was so big that I could actually fit in it.

I remember being in the second of four rows and when my teacher got to the third row I’d already finished eating my pan de muerto and I went up to the teacher to ask for more. She smiled and told me, “Claro que sí (of course) but first let me give all of your classmates one and when I’m done I’ll be able to give you another.” I’ll never forget feeling so excited and embarrassed.”

Mexicans around the country not only enjoy the special, sweet bread in this Day of the Dead season, but they also use it as an offering on their Dia de Muertos altars so their ancestors and passed loved ones can enjoy it with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee when they return to visit with us from the ‘otherworld’.

Although Mexicans across the country celebrate Dia de Muertos and enjoy Pan de Muerto, each region of the country has its own special twists, colors, and fillings. In some regions, there’s an added ball on top to represent a heart, in Mexico City and in states such as Morelos, Mexico, and Puebla, red sugar is sprinkled on top to represent blood. Most Pan de Muerto is round to represent the circle of life, but in the state of Oaxaca, they’re known to make it in a variety of shapes. 

Here in the Yucatan Peninsula, Pan de Muerto is round, has a cross of ‘bones’ on top, is commonly filled with cream cheese, topped with sugar and sometimes has melted chocolate lightly dribbled on top.

Although Pan de Muerto is an offering for our returning lost loved ones, those of us still alive and well also love to indulge in it; especially if we can dip it into our cinnamon-enhanced hot chocolate or coffee for breakfast and dinner.

We hope you enjoy this easy, traditional recipe. Even if you don’t celebrate Day of the Dead, it can’t hurt to give a toast to those you’ve lost so they can share in your enjoyment of this delicious snack. 

Pan de Muerto Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups flour (500 g)

1 cup butter, softened (95 g)

⅛ cup fresh yeast (15 g)

1 tsp salt (4 g)

1 cup sugar (130 g)

2 eggs

½ cup warm milk (120 g)

Orange zest for taste

1 dash of orange blossom water

Sugar for decorating

Instructions

Mix the yeast and milk together in a bowl and then slowly add the flour, salt, sugar, zest and orange blossom water. 

Mix well until smooth.

Add the eggs.

Add the softened butter and continue mixing until the consistency is smooth and even.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour. Then, place it in the fridge for two hours.

Remove it from the fridge and let it get to room temperature. 

Once the dough is at room temperature, heat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

Separate a small amount of dough for ‘crossbones’ for the top of the bread.

Begin to make small balls and place them on a baking sheet. 

Roll out the small strips of dough to make the ‘bones’ and place them in an ‘X’ pattern on top.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until they’re golden brown. 

Sprinkle them with sugar, cool, and serve with your favorite cup of hot chocolate or coffee!

If you would like to read more about Mexican culture, history, cuisine and language, check out our blog page for our latest monthly articles. You can also sign up to our newsletter to receive these straight to your inbox along with the latest news about our non-profit school for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto. 

The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.