Tip your hat to Mexico with Day of the Dead Bread
As families across Mexico remember and honour lost loved ones for Day of the Dead this weekend, we’ll be paying our respects by crafting this traditional Mexican sweet bread by hand. Typically baked in the weeks leading up to the Mexican holiday and consumed over the first weekend of November, the glazed treat is the perfect way to spend a slow Sunday. We’ve sourced this recipe from Mexican food writer Margarita Carrillo Arronte’s exquisite new tome, Mexico: The Cookbook, which packs a wealth of traditional recipes inside a vibrant pink cover. Roll up your sleeves this weekend and get kneading.
INGREDIENTS
Bread
1 cup milk
4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1-1/2 teaspoons active dry (fast-action) yeast
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1–2 teaspoons orange blossom
water, to taste
3/4 cup cold butter, diced
melted butter, for greasing and brushing
Glaze
1 egg, beaten
pinch of sea salt
pinch of sugar
TO MAKE
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, then remove from heat and let cool. Set aside.
Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well. Sprinkle in the sugar and yeast and pour in the milk. Close the well by flicking flour over the milk and let it sit for 1 hour.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the melted butter, and shape into a ball. Transfer to a clean lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Add the butter and knead again for 10 minutes. Return to the bowl and cover. Let rise for 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Grease two baking sheets with butter. Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Take two of those pieces and roll them into tight balls and then press them gently to flatten a bit. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 200oC.
After one hour, take the remaining piece of dough and divide it into 10 little pieces. Roll two of these pieces into small balls and eight of these pieces into long, thin logs.
To make the glaze, combine all the ingredients and one tablespoon water in a small bowl and mix well. Brush the loaves gently with the glaze. Take four of the logs and drape them in an X shape over one of the balls. Repeat for the other disk of dough. Brush these with egg. Take a little ball of dough and place it on the top of one disk of dough, where the X meets. Press down gently so it sticks. Repeat for the other little ball of dough.
Glaze the dough balls and bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. While they are still warm, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Recipe and images from Mexico: The Cookbook, by Margarita Carrillo Arronte. Published by Phaidon.
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