Dia de los Muertos

Every year we make a special trip to the cemetery to set up an alter for my mom.
I placed some pomegranates on a plate which you cannot see in the picture, a small book of the songbirds she loved so much is also there.


one of the traditional offerings or ofrendas is a bread called Pan de los muertos
which is delicious, I have to bake an extra large batch of it because everyone loves it here..
There are many recipes for this but this is the one I use.
Ingredients
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons anise seed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar
Directions
Heat the milk and the butter together in a medium saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add the warm water.
In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour. Punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly then brush with glaze.
To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

sugar skulls and marigolds are also added to the alter.
I love this tradition, the colors are so rich and the artwork and creativity you will see while walking around the cemetery is remarkable.
Here are a couple more Day of the Dead pieces I have made.


I hope you have had a wonderful day today and thank you for coming along as I remember my mother.
I hope the birds are singing, the flowers are in full bloom and the rain is lightly tapping your windows, wherever you are Ma.