Bread of Tecomaxtlahuaca

Pan de muerto from San Sebastian Tecomaxtlahuaca
normal pan de muerte


Last week I talked about the rather dark side of the Day of the Dead holiday here in Mexico. I also mentioned some of the more innocent and fun traditions such as "pan de muerto"-- the special bread that is served and hot chocolate.

This week I found out about a small town, San Sebastian Tecomaxtlahuaca, in the mountains of Oaxaca that makes a special type of "pan de muerto". The facts surrounding this bread intrigued me.

Children in bakers' families begin learning how to make this bread around age 6 and they continue with this tradition as their career. Almost the entire month of October is given over to making this bread and the usual bakery items are not made at this time.

In other parts of Oaxaca the bread is shaped into round loaves, often with a skull and crossbones on the top or a small icon. However in Tecomaxtlahuaca, the bread is shaped into the forms of men, women and angels and is elaborately decorated with flowers and designs.

The bread is baked in a clay oven heated by wood for two and a half hours. There is no thermostat. When the baker sees that the wood is white, he knows it is time to put in the bread.

Almost 200 pounds of flour are used each day to make this bread and each piece of bread weighs 14 ounces. It sells for about $3.00.

This small town ships their pan de muerto to the United States, mainly to cities where there are large concentrations of Mixteco indians and also to the city of Oaxaca where it is sold in bakeries.

Just in case you have a clay oven and would like to make a smaller version of this bread for yourself, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lard
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 to 5-1/2 cups flour
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon whole anise seed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs

In a saucepan over medium flame, heat the butter, milk and water until very warm but not boiling.

Meanwhile, measure out 1-1/2 cups flour and set the rest aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 1-1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and sugar. Beat in the warm liquid until well combined. Add the eggs and beat in another 1 cup of flour. Continue adding more flour until dough is soft but not sticky. Knead on lightly floured board for ten minutes until smooth and elastic.

Lightly grease a bowl and place dough in it, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape into men, women or angels. Let these loaves rise for 1 hour.

Bake in a wood fueled clay oven. Remove from oven and paint on glaze.