The Day of the Dead Bread

This delicious treat is a tradition that has been in Mexico for millennia; here is a bit of its history and the secret behind its great flavor.   Beyond a cultural tradition, the Day of the Dead bread is a family institution that has gathered us around the tables of our parents and grandparents for hundreds and hundreds of years. That succulent bread that falls apart in your hands, accompanied by rich hot chocolate, is the reason many consider the Day of the Dead their favorite celebration of the year. The origin of this bread dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Since then, Mesoamerican peoples prepared it specifically for offerings to the gods, and it was considered sacred food. The only difference is that it was made with ground amaranth seeds, toasted, and, according to legend, bathed in the blood of those human tributes offered to the gods. This bread was very much liked by the Spaniards during the conquest, but they did not look favorably upon the use of blood, so they started making the same bread but now made of wheat, shaped like a heart, and coated with sugar, painting it red to emulate the native tradition. It is worth explaining that according to pre-Hispanic tradition, the tip at the center of the bread represents a skull, and the four strands that go toward the base of the bread represent the four paths of the universe that they believed in. In some regions, the Day of the Dead bread is made differently from what we know as the normal one, that is, the bread sprinkled with sugar. Such is the case in Oaxaca, which is actually a large yolk bread with a figure of alfeñique inserted that represents the soul of the person to whom the bread is dedicated. In the Mixteca Poblana, the Day of the Dead bread is prepared with the same dough as bolillo, but it is shaped like a human and is sprinkled with white sugar if it is bread for the children's altar, or with red sugar if it is intended for the adults' altar. Now many have their own recipes for Day of the Dead bread, and some even fill it with whipped cream and cajeta, but there is one essential ingredient that must appear in every preparation as it is the most traditional: orange blossom water. This distillate from the bitter orange tree gives the distinctive flavor to such delicious bread; in fact, accompanying the recipe with orange zest is also a good idea as it intensifies the fruity flavor within the sweetness and porousness of the bread. Mexico is one of the few places in the world where we honor our deceased around the table with special preparations like the Day of the Dead bread, as this is how we remember them, as a family.   Yolk Day of the Dead Bread Recipe Ingredients: - 575 grams of flour - 90 grams of sugar - 120 grams of melted butter - 3 eggs - 1 tablespoon of anise seeds - 120 milliliters of warm water - 25 grams of yeast - 1 teaspoon of salt - 1 egg yolk for glazing - artificial food coloring of various colors To see the step-by-step process to prepare this recipe click here.   Did you know the varieties of Day of the Dead bread that exist?