Name: Traditional Mexican Day of the Dead Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Mexicana
Ingredients: 2 cups wheat flour, sifted; 1 cup butter, melted; 100 grams lard, vegetable; 7 egg yolks; 1/3 cups water, cold; 2 tablespoons anise, prepared; 2 tablespoons dry yeast; 100 grams orange zest; 1 tablespoon salt

Preparation

15 mins

Medium

In a plastic container, dissolve the yeast in warm water and add enough flour to form a paste of approximately 15 tablespoons. Make a ball with the paste and let it ferment near heat until it doubles in size (between half an hour and an hour and a half). On a flat surface, sift the flour with the help of a sieve, setting aside one tablespoon. Make a well in the center and gradually add 15 tablespoons of sugar, salt, 2 whole eggs, 7 egg yolks, orange blossom tea, anise tea, orange zest, lard, and margarine. With clean hands, knead for 20 minutes, taking the dough from the edges and bringing it to the center. To this dough, add the fermented dough from the first step and continue kneading (form an elongated ball, take one of its ends and slap the other on the table as if it were a hammer; then bring the slapped end together with the one in your hand and slap again. Repeat this process four times until bubbles form, the dough feels like plastic, and it easily separates from the table). Form a ball with the dough, spread it with a little vegetable shortening, and place it in the pot, then cover with a damp cloth and let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in size (approximately two and a half hours); expose it to sunlight or place it on the turned-off stove. Once the time has passed, knead lightly again and set aside 2 cups of the dough to form the bones and the top ball. Place the dough on the greased baking sheet with vegetable shortening and shape it into an oval. For 30 minutes, let it rest next to the bones and the ball. Once half an hour has passed, beat the remaining egg with a fork and use it to attach the ball and the bones; place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes, bake for 15 minutes at the same temperature, then reduce to 170°C and leave in the oven until fully cooked (approximately 10 more minutes). To glaze, mix in a small bowl the tablespoon of flour reserved in step No. 1 with a tablespoon of sugar and two cups of water; put it on the fire to form a syrup. Once it is cool, glaze the bread and sprinkle with sugar.