Pan de Muertos SF Bay Area

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San Francisco Bay Area

Mexican Day of the Dead bread is often sold Oct 30 – Nov 1. Arizmendi and Cheesboard make the best. Also notable are La Renya, Casa Latina,, La Michoacana. Most is a round roll decorated with dough bones on top. The taste of most is similar to a conch.

1. Arizmendi Bakery
1331 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA

The best in the Bay Area. Shaped like a large gingerbread man, it is fragrant with anise and lightly glazed. Similar to a good challah as far as crust and yeasty dense texture, $2.50. Berkeley and Oakland too.
2. Casa Latina
1805 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA

One of the best, almost as light as a sponge cake. Many sizes of the round bread with bones made of dough on top which is sugared or plain.. The cinnamon sugar is also a thing of light loveliness, very subtle dusting. The small roll was $1
3. Central Foods
4352 Appian Way, El Sobrante, CA

Standard round version with dough bones on top.
4. Chapinlandia Bakery
4737 International Blvd, Oakland, CA

Guatemalan version
5. The Cheese Board Collective
1504 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709

Same excellent Arizmendi version
6. Karina's Mexican Bakery
827 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA

Standard version. They carry an excellent selection of sugar skulls, from tiny skulls the size of a fingernail to large decorated skulls as well as sugar skeletons sitting on sugar coffins.
7. La Michoacana
504 Broadway St, Vallejo, CA 94590

Yeasty bread with cinnamon and raisins topped with tasty sesame seeds. Two shapes: standard round with bones and a little corpse with arms folded. Also - huesitos - crackly crisp, slightly flakey pretzel-shaped cookies topped with white icing and red sprinkles - like crunching up some crossed bones ...
8. La Reyna Bakery
8465 Old Redwood Hwy # 720, Windsor, CA

Man-shaped bread that is was faintly sweet with a crumbly yet moist texture. Medium $9.50; large $12+. Also available is a mujer-shape, bones, and large pumpkin-shaped round loaves decorated with bones. They need to be ordered a day or two in advance with a paid deposit.
9. Los Mexicanos Bakery 2
1522 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA

Standard round bones version. Also - red gelatina in the shape of brains.
10. Mi Pueblo Food Center
1630 High St, Oakland, CA 94601

Sloppy cheap-looking ones.
11. Panaderia Mi Guanajuato
3431 MacDonald Ave, Richmond, CA 94805

Standard version 75 cents.
12. Panaderia Michoacan 2
2940 Middlefield Rd, Redwood City, CA

They make it in the shape of gingerbread men. Large one (about 2 feet long) l$16.
13. Panaderia La Favorita
1433 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA

The scariest version. It looked like a shrouded body with wormy eyes, sort of like Munch’s "The Scream" face-wise. $5 There is also the round shape with bones..
14. Serrano Bakery
773 23rd St, Richmond, CA

Standard version with some granulated sugar in the center only. 30 cents, There are also doll-shaped rols with pink icing.
15. Tropicana Foods Bakery
1630 Story Rd, San Jose, CA

Standard version