My favorite thing about my culture is probably the food. I would say that’s a lot of people’s favorite part of my culture actually.
When Mexican food comes to mind, so do images of tacos, burritos, churros, flan… You know the rest. While maybe one day I’ll share my salsa and guacamole recipe with you, for now, I’ll be sharing my pan de muertos.
Now, I really love baking, ask anybody, but baking in college is hard. You have to go out and buy all the bakeware and all the little spices you usually have at home but don’t have in your apartment. Since my mom has a stand mixer (living the dream) and I only have a small hand mixer, I do a lot more by hand. Lucky for me, God blessed me with a great boyfriend because while I studied for my accounting exam, he selflessly kneaded this dough for about forty minutes.
So what is it that makes my recipe so great? Well, I replace half of the flour with Cocoa Puffs (and sometimes Cinnamon Toast Crunch) for a unique flavor and a sweet twist on the recipe. I also added a little bit of milk to make it more moist than usual. Plus, this recipe goes great in a bread pudding, which I will be sharing with you real soon. It also goes great with coffee in the morning warmed up with a swipe of butter (ask me what I had for breakfast this morning).
Well, I also live in an apartment with an oven that leaves a bit to be desired, so I was pretty bummed when the inside of my bread wouldn’t cook. So to make lemonade with lemons, I scooped out the inside and stuffed it with melted chocolate, which my boyfriend was all about. I can’t say I didn’t like it either. So it was a win-win.
If you’re not feeling this recipe, but still want to get festive, check out the General Mills site to see recipes from other bloggers and find something that you like! There are so many creative ideas out there and so many fun ways to celebrate!
I’ll be celebrating Dia De Los Muertos here in Tucson real soon, but if you’re in the LA area, General Mills will be at the Dia de los Muertos event on Saturday, October 29 from 12-8:00PM!
| Prep Time | 1-2 hours |
| Cook Time | 50 minutes |
| Passive Time | 4 hours |
| Servings |
loaf
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- 1 1/4 ounce Packet dry yeast
- 3 1/3 cups flour
- 2 cups crushed cocoa puffs
- 6 whole eggs
- 1 tbsp anise seeds
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp milk
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- nonstick spray
- extra butter, sugar, and flour
Ingredients
|
|
- Mix yeast, ⅓ cup flour, and ¼ cup warm water in a bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula until a sticky dough forms. This is your starter. Let rest, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free area until starter looks very loose and bubbles are forming on top, about 35 minutes.
- Whisk eggs, anise, salt, milk, and ¾ cup sugar in a medium bowl until foamy and sugar begins to dissolve, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture and remaining 3 cups flour and 2 cups of crush cocoa puffs to starter and mix with a dough hook on low or hand-knead, adding ¾ cup softened butter a few pieces at a time, until a soft dough forms. Continue mixing until sugar is dissolved and dough is shiny and elastic, about 10 minutes (dough will be very sticky).
- Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until almost doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; coat parchment with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface, then cut off a baseball-sized piece of dough (about one-quarter of the dough). Using your hands, re-shape the larger piece into a smooth round ball and transfer to the center of a prepared sheet. Roll smaller piece into an 8"-long log, then divide into 4 equal lengths. Shape one of those lengths into a ball and place on second prepared sheet 3" from the edge.
- Roll another length of dough with the palm of your hand into an 8½"-long rope, pressing out from the center so the middle is thinner and both ends are knobby, resembling a bone. Place on prepared sheet a few inches away from smaller ball. Repeat with remaining 2 pieces of dough, transferring to sheet as you go. Brush all 5 pieces of dough with 2 Tbsp. melted butter and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until almost doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 325°. Remove plastic wrap and carefully pick up one of the bones, lifting from the ends (it will stretch and deflate slightly). Drape over large dough round, positioning at 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock. Repeat with second bone, positioning at 2 o’clock and 8 o’clock. Position third bone at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock. Carefully place smaller ball in the center, at point where bones overlap, gently pressing edges of ball into bones and larger ball, crowning the loaf.
- Bake bread until browned and it sounds hollow when tapped with your fingertips, 50-60 minutes. Working in sections, brush one-quarter of the loaf with melted butter and immediately sprinkle with sugar so that it sticks. Repeat with remaining sections and butter. Let cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour before slicing.
I cut out the center and added a handful of chocolate chips to surprise my boyfriend! He liked it!
Wahhhh! You used cereal to make THAT?! It looks amazing!
I love anything chocolate and this looks SO GOOD!
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
This looks SO amazing! I need to try this – I love the idea of this! And scooping out the middle to add chocolate chips is a great touch! YUM!
This looks SO delicious!!! I love trying new food and food from different cultures!
This looks so yummy, I am just loving chocolate right now so I might have to give this a try!
YUM! This looks so good. I’ll have to try this out. I’ve been in such a chocolate mood lately.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Ooh that looks SO delicious!! I love anything chocolate!
La Belle Sirene
Wow this looks fantastic!! I am going to need to try this asap.
Mmmm…chocolate! this looks amazing – thank you for sharing your recipe!
X,
Cristina / cristinawashere.com
Oh I love pan! This looks delicious!
Rachel | The Confused Millennial
Holy cow does this recipe sound so TASTY!
This looks really good! I’m game for anything with chocolate in it
Yummm …. This looks super delicious. I’m always up for anything chocolate. This looks like something I ‘d love to try someday!
This sounds wonderful! I’ve never had Chocolate Pan de los Muertos but definitely need to try it!
xoxo,
Katie
chicincarolina.blogspot.com
Oh my gosh – give me all the chocolate! Looks so yummy!
Mindy II AMIXOFMIN.COM
WOW this looks fantastic! I have to make this!
That looks so yummy!
http://adoredbyalex.com
Girl everything you cook/bake looks so incredibly delicious! One lucky boyfriend you have 🙂
I have never tried this, but it looks delicious! I love seeing which foods have special meaning in different cultures and anything chocolate is a winner in my book. 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! I need to try and make it ASAP.
Oh wow does this look tasty! I’m going to add it to my November list of things to make 😀
YUM. Looking at this before breakfast and this looks sooooo good. You made me hungry!
http://thealwaysblog.com
OMG YUM! This looks so tasty and perfect for a holiday party 🙂