Vegan Pan de Muerto

Pan de Muerto is a type of traditional pan dulce in Mexico. There are many different types of pan dulce in Mexico, with some of them being unique to local regions. Pan de Muerto, in contrast, is made throughout Mexico as well as by Mexican Americans in the United States. It is a traditional ofrenda offering on the Day of the Dead, where food is put out for deceased relatives, but it's also popular with the living.

I was enamored with this practice when I lived in the Southwest. However, I avoid eating animal products as much as possible, while the traditional version is made with lard and milk. I decided to make a vegan instead. If you search for "vegan recipes", you will find recipes wth all natural ingredients like flax seeds. These recipes are at least somewhat healthier and appeal to vegan aesthetics, but create the impression that the vegan version is never as good as the real thing. After weeks of experimentation, I was able to create a version that even meat eating Mexicans will accept as real Pan de Muerto.

Ingredients

The Bread

• All Purpose Flour - 525g
• Solid Oil - 120g
• Sugar - 6 tbs or 75g
• Salt - 1.5 teaspoons or to taste
• Quick Baking Yeast - 2 tbs
• Orange Extract - .75 teaspoon
• Anise seed - no more than 1.5 teaspoon seeds or .75 teaspoon extract
• Orange Peel - 1.5 teaspoon
• Soy Lecithin Powder - 9g
• Great Value or Silk Original Soy Milk - 1.25 cups or less, use the minimum for it to stick together
• Aquafaba, the water from 1 can chickpeas

The Glaze

• For Juice Glaze - Mix ¼ cup Lemon Juice or Orange juice with ¼ cup sugar
• For Oil Glaze - 2-4 tbs of liquid oil or an oil sprayer
• Toppings - Sesame seeds, granulated sugar, or your favorite topping like ground chia

Note on Solid Oil

The oil is ideally the texture of softened butter or margarine when you mix it in. If you use a liquid oil, it will still work and be tasty, but the texture will be less flaky.

Options include vegetable shortening, coconut oil at 76 °F or below, or extra virgin olive oil hardened in the freezer. What matters is the texture of the oil when you mix it in - if it's too hard or soft then it won't work. Vegetable shortening is neutral tasting and the easiest to work with, olive oil is the healthiest and my favorite tasting, while virgin coconut oil seemed to have the most mass appeal despite the non-traditional tastes.

You can also use margarine, but you must pick one that has at least 11g of fat per tablespoon and has no dairy added. Expect to use a different amount of soy milk than with oil.

Steps

1. If not confident about your yeast, warm up the soy milk slightly, mix the yeast in, and wait until it foams. Otherwise, you can add the yeast directly in with the other ingredients.
2. Preheat Oven to 175°F.
3. Except for the soy milk, add the bread ingredients into a stand mixer.
4. Slowly add the soy milk while mixing. Once the dough forms a ball and the oil is thoroughly mixed, proceed to the next step. If you add too much soy milk, it will be sticky and impossible to shape.
5. Switch to your kneading hook. My Hamilton Beach Mixer does 3 minutes on speed 2. If the stand mixer is having a hard time, do half at a time.
6. Once the oven is preheated, turn it off and crack open the oven door. Wait 3 minutes.
7. Cover the dough and place it in the oven for 90 minutes.
8. Remove the dough and repeat the previous steps with the oven to prepare for the second rise.
9. Reserve some dough and divide the remainder into 6 balls. Shape the dough according to other instructions online like Pan de Pan de muerto tradicional or Day of the Dead Bread. I like to brush the bones with aquafaba to help them stick.
10. Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350°F . Before the last 5 minutes, take them out and brush with the aquafaba again before returning them to the oven.
11. Place them on a cooling rack. They are done when they have browned sufficiently, but you can test with a toothpick if unsure. When nothing sticks to the toothpick when you insert it, they are done.
12. Once they have cooled completely, brush with the glaze and add your topping. Sesame seeds or sugar are traditional, but I also like ground chia.
13. Once the glaze has dried, they are ready to eat. Since they are pretty big, you can cut them into slices and have it with hot chocolate or your favorite bread topping.

Note on Special Ingredients

Why no Margarine? Most traditional recipes will include margarine. However, most margarine is non-vegan (eg Land of the Lakes Margarine Sticks), has too low oil content (eg Country Crock, Imperial), or is expensive (Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread). Coconut oil also compliments the taste of the bread well, which is otherwise a bit bland due to the all purpose flour.

Can I use whole wheat flour? I prefer whole wheat flour myself, but it can be polarizing. The best to use is called "Whole Grain Soft White Wheat," which is sometimes called Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. You will need more liquid and/or oil.

Can I use splenda instead of sugar? You can, but it will change the bread. Splenda adds less bulk, so the volume of liquid needed will be lower. With no sugar, the browning of the bread is drastically decreased. Expect to use a longer baking time or higher temperature. Coating with oil instead of aquafaba before adding the bones can aid in browning, but you must add aquafaba for the final 5 minutes of baking.

Credits (Non-vegan Reference Recipes)

1. Receta de Pan de muerto tradicional, Ana Victoria Vázquez

(https://www.recetasgratis.net/receta-de-pan-de-muerto-tradicional-23903.html)

2. LA MEJOR RECETA DE PAN DE MUERTO, Michelle Chavez

(https://thesweetmolcajete.com/la-mejor-receta-de-pan-de-muerto/)

3. Pan de Muertos (Mexican Bread of the Dead), Lorna

(https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7224/pan-de-muertos-mexican-bread-of-the-dead/)