10742 Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead Bread) 3 hrs 40 mins 25 mins 2 loaves Fri Oct 27 11:41:00 -0700 2006 Thu Oct 30 09:55:18 -0700 2008 Medium Mexican CHOW http://www.chow.com/recipes/10742 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:55:18 GMT A yeasty sweet bread from Mexico A yeasty sweet bread from Mexico. During the Day of the Dead festivities in the first two days of November, graves are decorated with flowers and offerings of food and drink in honor of the departed, including this pan de muertos, a yeasty, sweet egg bread flavored with anise.

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  • Combine sugar, salt, anise seed, and yeast in a small mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is just melted; do not allow it to boil. Add milk mixture to dry mixture and beat well with a wire whisk.
  • Stir in eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and beat well. Add remaining flour, little by little, stirring well with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and knead until it is smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky, about 9 to 10 minute . Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow it to rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. Cut 3 small (about 1-ounce) balls from each half and mold them into skull-and-bones shapes. Shape large balls of dough into round loaf shapes, and place skull-and-bones on top. Place breads on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise another hour.
  • Brush loaves with egg yolk mixture and bake. Halfway through baking, about 20 minutes, remove loaves from oven and brush again with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Return to oven and bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about another 20 minutes.
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com/assets/2006/10/skullcrossbones_290x210.jpg Adapted by Richard Sandoval of Pampano and Maya restaurants in New York City 54 Sweet/Dessert 298 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

    ]]>     301 1 teaspoon kosher salt

    ]]>     268 1 teaspoon anise seed

    ]]>     1/2 ounce (2 packets) active dry yeast

    ]]>     1/2 cup whole milk

    ]]>     1/2 cup water

    ]]>     8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

    ]]>     4 large eggs

    ]]>     4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    ]]>     1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

    ]]>     19 bread 476 anise 154 sweet 23 cake 513 mexico 1553 yeast 2321 brioche 2322 sweet bread 2323 day of the dead 144 egg 50 dessert 318 snack 288 baked dessert 435 vegetarian 1619 omnivore 762 chef 273 party 755 travels well 156 bake 776 fun 216 holiday 11570 dia de los muertos 11571 richard sandoval 2747 make ahead