La Granja VIP Contestants Bake Pan de Muerto While Sequestered
The show's participants prepared the traditional Day of the Dead bread during confinement, and the recipe calls for 500 grams of flour, yeast, eggs and orange zest.
By Nadia Singh ·
Contestants on La Granja VIP faced a baking task this week while under confinement on the program: preparing pan de muerto, the traditional Mexican bread tied to Day of the Dead observances. The recipe shared with viewers starts with 500 grams of wheat flour, about four cups.
The ingredient list also includes 100 grams of sugar for the dough plus a separate cup for coating, a teaspoon of salt, 11 grams of dry yeast, two whole eggs, one egg yolk, 200 milliliters of warm milk, 113 grams of room-temperature butter, the zest of one or two oranges, and a teaspoon of orange blossom water.
To begin, the yeast must be activated: mix the warm milk with a spoonful of the sugar and the dry yeast in a small container, then let it sit for 10 minutes until it foams. In a larger bowl, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and the salt.
Once the dry ingredients are mixed, make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, the eggs, the yolk, the orange zest and the orange blossom water. Work everything together, either by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Add the butter in small pieces, a little at a time, until the dough is uniform. Hand kneading takes 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is elastic and no longer sticks to the hands.
Place the dough in a bowl lightly greased with oil, cover it with a clean cloth or plastic, and let it rest in a warm spot for about two hours, or until it doubles in volume.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and press gently to release the air. Divide it into balls for the base, reserving a small amount of dough for the bone-shaped strips and the top knob; a few drops of water help those pieces stick. Set the shaped bread on a lined baking sheet, cover it and let it rest another 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, brush the loaves with beaten egg, and bake about 20 minutes until lightly golden. Let them cool slightly, then brush with melted butter while still warm and coat immediately with sugar.
The Granjeros added food coloring to the sugar for a brighter finish, and the recipe notes that pistachio, chocolate or peanut can be mixed in as well.
