A tasty offering this Dia de Muertos: Mexican Chocolate Pan de Muerto
For the past 7 years, I’ve have skipped the panaderias on Dia de Muertos season and have created my very own pan de muerto. I love the original version but sometimes I like to experiment with other flavors to keep the recipe and occasion fun and fresh. This year I am making a Mexican chocolate version of the beloved Day of the Dead dessert to enjoy with a cup of hot coffee and as an offering on our Dia de Muertos altar. The recipe is is simple. If you cannot find the Mexican Chocolate already granulated (I used Abuelita granulado) for this recipe, you can granulate the tablets yourself with a cheese grater or a heavy duty blender.
Related recipe: Pan de Muerto with Sesame Seeds
This pan de muerto variety is a perfect dunking bread. It’s not as sweet as the original. It’s perfect for pairing with sweet frothy Mexican chocolate or cafe de olla. Both overly sweet beverages that go well with a mild flavored piece of bread that soaks it all up. Now with a hint of Mexican chocolate, every single dunk is delicious.
You still have time to prepare a couple of these loaves to enjoy this week. Gather around your table and honor your loved ones who have passed with a few delicious offerings on the family altar.
Ingredients
- 1 packet (7 grams) active-dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (about 110° F)
- 6 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ cup low fat 2% milk
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Mexican Chocolate, grated and divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Stir water and yeast in a small bowl until dissolved and foamy; allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
- Place 5 ½ tablespoons butter in a small saucepan; heat over low heat. Add milk; heat until slightly hot to the touch. Remove from heat; let cool. Stir in eggs.
- Combine flour, ¼ cup Abuelita chocolate and salt on a work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add alternating yeast and milk mixture. Knead with hands for about 10 minutes or until a slight sticky dough forms.
- Form a large ball of dough and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; place in a warm place (about 70° F) for 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut off a piece of dough (about the size of a large egg) and reserve. Divide the remaining dough into two rounds and place them on prepared baking sheet.
- Divide reserved dough into 8 pieces. Form two balls with two of the pieces and six rope shaped strips with the remaining pieces of dough. Pinch dough ropes 1-inch apart with a knob in the middle to resemble skeleton fingers. Arrange 3 dough ropes on each dough round, joining them at the center of each round. Place the dough balls on top of each dough round where dough ropes meet. Loosely cover dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Bake loaves for 35 minutes or until tops are golden. Remove from oven; cover with foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until bottoms of loaves are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in microwave. Brush butter over tops of loaves and sprinkle with remaining Abuelita chocolate. Serve and enjoy.
