Pan De Muerto

Pan de muerto (Spanish for Bread of the Dead) (also called pan de los muertos) is a type of sweet roll traditionally baked in Mexico during the weeks leading up to the Día de los Muertos, which is celebrated on November 1 and 2. It is a sweetened soft bread shaped like a bun, often decorated with bone-shaped phalanges pieces. Pan de muertos is eaten on Día de los Muertos, at the gravesite or altar of the deceased. In some regions it is eaten for months before the official celebration of Dia de los Muertos. In Oaxaca, Pan de muerto is the same bread that is usually baked, with the addition of decorations. As part of the celebration, loved ones eat Pan de muerto as well as the relative's favorite foods. The bones represent the disappeared one (difuntos or difuntas) and there is normally a baked tear drop on the bread to represent goddess Chimalma's tears for the living. The bones are represented in a circle to portray the circle of life.

The classic recipe for Pan de los muertos is a simple sweet bread recipe, often with the addition of anise seeds, and other times flavored with orange flower water. Other variations are made depending on the region or the baker. The one baking the bread will usually wear decorated wrist bands, a tradition which was originally to protect from burns on the stove or oven.

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Recipe for Pan de muerto see Here and Here.