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Pan de Muerto

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Total Time
Prep: 40 min. + rising Bake: 35 min.
Margaret Knoebel

By Taste Of Home Editorial Team

Recipe by Ericka Sanchez, La Habra, California

Tested by Margaret Knoebel

Taste of Home's Editorial Process

Updated on Oct. 29, 2023

Every year, I make a batch of this Day of the Dead bread to place on my grandmother’s altar. The smell of dough rising in the kitchen is an unforgettable aroma that reminds me of those brisk evenings at my grandmother’s house, the night before we visited the cemetery on Dia de Los Muertos.

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Test Kitchen Approved

Pan de Muerto

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Prep Time 40 min
Cook Time 35 min
Yield 3 loaves

Ingredients

  • 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) quick-rise yeast
  • 1 tablespoon aniseed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
  • GLAZE:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • Colored sugar or coarse sugar
Text Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, aniseed and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk, butter and water to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Add eggs; beat on high 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
  2. Turn out dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 10-15 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  3. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Shape 3 portions into round loaves. Place on greased baking sheets. Shape remaining dough into three 1-in. balls and six 8-in. strands resembling bones, tears, or braids. Lightly score the tops of round loaves where decorative stands will be attached; attach strands to each with water. Top with small ball. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake loaves for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, for glaze, combine sugar and orange juice in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  5. Brush loaves with syrup. Sprinkle with colored sugar; return to oven. Bake until golden brown, 5-10 minutes longer. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Nutrition Facts

1/4 loaf: 324 calories, 11g fat (6g saturated fat), 87mg cholesterol, 295mg sodium, 48g carbohydrate (12g sugars, 2g fiber), 8g protein.

Tester
Margaret Knoebel
Margaret is a culinary assistant at Taste of Home, where she prepares recipes for the photo studio and creates cooking videos. She tests the recipe contest submissions for Taste of Home, so if you submit recipes often, Margaret knows your name and loves to read about how you created each dish! She’s an alumna of the Culinary Institute of America...
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Margaret Knoebel
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