Gluten-Free Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead Bread) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the biggest challenge of making gluten-free bread? ›

One of the main challenges in making gluten-free bread is achieving the same texture and rise as traditional wheat bread.

It is a sweetened soft bread shaped like a bun, often decorated with bone-shaped phalanx pieces. Some traditions state that the rounded or domed top of the bread represents a grave. Bread of the dead usually has skulls or crossbones added in extra dough.

- Bread of the Dead is consumed by the majority of Mexicans who celebrate the Day of the Dead, but eating it in excess is harmful to health, so the Mexican Insurance Institute Social (IMSS) issued a recommendation.

One such delicacy is "pan de muerto," translated as "bread of the dead," a seasonal pan dulce (sweet bread) placed on the altars to pay homage to the departed. Interestingly, it's also a sought-after delight among the living in Mexico, with people eagerly anticipating its arrival to enjoy themselves.

Eggs are natural leaveners that help boost the rise and volume of bread. Eggs also add moisture, flavor, and protein to gluten-free bread recipes. If you select a gluten-free bread recipe that includes eggs, you have a better chance that the resulting bread will have good color, more volume, and softer texture.

When decorated with white sugar or frosting, the bread symbolizes a child who has passed. The largest pan de muerto gets decorated with colored sugars.

Most pan de muerto is based upon a pan dulce—the sweet, soft enriched bread similar to brioche. The recipe I have to share with you today is a very different version, a traditional one from the tiny Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

Here are some variations from different states in Mexico: In Mixquic, Mexico City, they make some breads called "despeinadas", red sugar donuts, the typical dead bread with sugar, sesame and granillo. In the State of Mexico there are other breads called Muertes, which is an anthropomorphic bread made from egg yolk.

There is no place for sorrow or weeping, for this could be interpreted as a discourteous to the dead relatives who are visiting gladly. Indigenous people believed that souls did not die, that they continued living in Mictlán (Place of Death) a special place for them to finally rest.

What is the English of pan de muerto? ›

This pan de muerto is a version of the bread made for the November 2 celebration known as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. You can also mold the bread into different shapes like angels and animals.

For example, some people begin celebrating it on Oct. 31, known as All Hallows Eve, followed by Nov. 1 as All Saints Day, until Nov. 2, which is Day of the Dead.

Red Pozole

A common Day of the Dead food in Mexico City, this savory stew of meat, hominy and spices gets an extra kick from an abundance of red chiles. Other types of pozole are found throughout the year and around the country, but this spicy red variety is tied to Day of the Dead celebrations in this region.

It has a complex sweetness that comes not just from sugar, but also from anise and orange blossom essence. Manuel Tellez, co-owner of Maroches Bakery in Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood, uses the latter in his pan de muerto.

Running into problems. Gluten is protein that elasticizes dough, providing structure and enabling it to trap the carbon dioxide generated by yeast. (This is why many gluten-free formulations don't use yeast.) Eliminating it often leaves dough that is runnier than conventional bread dough.

Owing to the challenge of gluten-free flours to form a protein network that provides structure and strength to dough, breads produced in the absence of gluten tends to be flatter, denser, crummier, less chewy and less tasty.

The most common reason your bread is gummy, sticky, or doughy in the middle is that your bread didn't bake long enough. Gluten free dough needs to be baked much longer than regular bread dough. There was a high level of liquid ingredients in your recipe. You used a very starchy gluten free flour blend.

If you are currently on a gluten-free diet, your physician may recommend a gluten challenge to allow antibodies to build in your bloodstream prior to testing. NASPGHAN recommends eating roughly 2 servings of gluten, equivalent to 2 slices of wheat-based bread, daily for 6-8 weeks prior to testing.