This Day of the Dead, vegan Day of the Dead bread is so easy to prepare and delicious that I’m sure you’ll bake it more than once. Day of the Dead bread or Pan de Muertos in Spanish is a sweet bread shaped like a bun, it is sweet, lightly flavored with orange zest, and topped with sugar.
Why is it vegan? Because the authentic recipe calls for eggs and milk. My recipe does not contain eggs or dairy like the original recipe. This bread is soft and with a hint of orange. It is a delicious Day of the Dead bread.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD?
The Day of the Dead is a huge holiday in Mexico, and it is not a day to celebrate or venerate death. On this day, our deceased loved ones are honored and remembered.
In honor of them, the Day of the Dead is celebrated. Our loved ones who are no longer among us are celebrated and honored by placing an altar of the dead- Altar de Muertos. On this altar, we put flowers, the favorite food of the person we are celebrating, a picture of them, and the Pan de Muerto (on my altar is the vegan day of the dead bread). The idea is to feed the souls of the dead that come back to visit us and are tired and thirsty.
We also do ofrendas, which are offerings family leaves next to their loved one grave. In Mexico, you can start seeing pan de Muertos as early as September in the panaderías (bakeries).
Day of the Dead in México is a big celebration. And it is not to celebrate death, is to celebrate the people that left us. It is a way to keep giving love and respect to our loved ones. The Day of the dead holiday starts October 31 to November 2.
Best way to pay respects to our loved ones
The most common way to pay our respects to the deceased is to do an altar. This altar is to let the dead know that they are welcome to visit and that we still love them and miss them. Usually, there is one altar per person. It does not have to be big or fancy, just some flowers and food will do. A simple ofrenda will also do the trick.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE BREAD OF THE DEAD?
The Day of the Dead is one of the most typical and meaningful foods for this day. This bread is decorated with pieces of bread dough forming bones and skulls. The bones are set in a circular shape to represent the circle of life. Each state in Mexico has its shape and recipe for the pan de Muerto. In some states, the bread is made in the form of animals, flowers, or dead people.
✨Note The Day of the Dead is not a day to be sad or crying, it is a day where life after death is celebrated. This is a celebration of the memories we have of the person that left us physically, but it is here with us in spirit.
What is pan de muerto?
Pan de Muerto is a round loaf of bread, slightly sweet and with a soft crumb texture. It is lightly flavored with orange zest and in some places, they add anise seeds as well.
HOW TO MAKE vegan day of the DEAD BREAD?
The ingredients for the bread of the dead are straightforward; it contains all-purpose flour (affiliate link), vegetable milk ( I like to use almond milk or soy milk), active dry yeast, orange zest, sugar, and a pinch of salt. The steps to make it are straight and simple. The specific steps are on the recipe card but here is the quick version.
- First, you have to heat the milk and the oil in a saucepan. The temperature should be 95ºF (35ºC) or warm to the touch.
- Second, measure the sugar and flour and put them in the bowl of the electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachement. Add the non-dairy milk and veggetable oil, beat at medium speed until all is well integrated. I like to leave my dough mixing for 5 -8 minutes or until soft and smooth. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel.
- Third, let the dough rise. Form the bread, the round base and then the knobs that represent the bones and at last form a dough ball and place it at the top and center of the loaf. Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown. When you take it out of the oven, glaze it with a simple syrup or brush with melted vegetable butter and sprinkle it with white sugar.
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✎TIP The dough of the pan de muerto is sticky, it is normal. Use flour in your hands and flour the area where you are going to knead the dough balls so that it does not stick. Specially when you are forming the little "bones" that go on top.
When to prepare this bread?
I make this vegan Day of the Dead bread for my family every year. And we all love it, it really is delicious with a cup of coffee on the side or if you want to serve it more Mexican have it with a hot chocolate or with a horchata. I am from Mexico City and this is how we take our pan de dia de los muertos.
Here is the recipe for this vegan day of the dead bread and I hope you like it very, very much, and bake it to celebrate all the people who are still with us and those who are no longer around. Bake this bread to celebrate the lives of the people who came before us and to celebrate their legacy, but above all to celebrate eternal life.
Other recipes that you may like:
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Vegan Day of the Dead Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1/2 cup safflower oil
- 4½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Bring the milk and oil to 95ºF. It should be warm.
- Put the flour in a bowl of an electric mixer and make a well in the middle. Sprinkle the sugar and the yeast. Pour the warm almond milk and oil and mix on slow speed with the hook attachment for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Transfer the dough to a heavily greased bowl.
- Cover and let the dough rise for an hour.
- Prepare one oven sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to the oven sheet and take three small pieces, with the rest form a ball. The dough will be sticky, flour your hands to prevent it from sticking.
- With one piece of dough form a ball, with the other two form two logs. Place the logs in form of an X on top of the big piece of dough and place the small ball on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on the top. While the bread is still warm brush some oil or melted vegan butter on top and sprinkle with sugar.
Notes
- The dough will be sticky, it is important to knead for 10 minutes.
- It is easier if form three Day of the Dead pieces of bread, they will hold their shape better and will cook faster.
- Use thick almond or other vegetable milk, nothing too watery.
Nutrition
information
Nutritional information of this recipe is only an estimate, the accuracy for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This post was sponsored by Kroger in October 2018. The recipe, pictures, and opinions are all mine.
Tengo una Certificación Profesional en la cocina vegana; en el mundo de la cocina basada en vegetales, frutas, granos, leguminosas… en comida limpia, orgánica y vegana.
My cookbook is called Yo Cocino Latino..
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