Mexican Bread of the Dead "Pan de Muertos"

Ingredients:

• 500 g of flour
• 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 100 g of sugar (0.5 cup)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 80 g of butter at room temperature + 30 g for greasing the finished buns
• 80 g of margarine at room temperature + extra for greasing the pans
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 60 ml of warm water (45°C)
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom or orange essence
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing the buns
• Sugar for sprinkling buns

Preparation:

1. Place 4 eggs, margarine, salt, and half of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Begin kneading the dough for 2 minutes. Gradually add the flour, alternating with water. Add the active dry yeast and mix thoroughly.
2. Continue adding the butter, orange zest, remaining sugar, and orange blossom essence one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Knead into a soft dough.
3. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and transfer it to a work surface. Knead until smooth, dusting the work surface with flour if the dough starts to stick. Knead for a couple more minutes. Grease the inside of a large bowl with margarine, transfer the dough to the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
4. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a work surface, setting aside 300 grams of dough to form decorative bones later. Cut the remaining dough into 70-gram pieces, or into 2 equal pieces if making 2 large loaves. (Remember to set aside 300 grams of dough to form decorative bones.) Prepare 2 greased baking sheets.

5. Bread shaping

   
   Take one portion of the dough and place it in the palm of your hand. Press it lightly with your fingers and roll the dough on the table to form a firm ball. In Spanish, this is called “bolear” (to play billiards). If you think the balls don't look right, don't worry, they'll get better with practice. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 5 cm apart. Press the dough lightly on top.
6. Now place the remaining 300 grams of dough you set aside on the work surface. Sprinkle with flour if necessary and knead it into the dough (this is the dough for the bones, to decorate our buns).
7. Take small portions of the dough and roll them into small sticks, pressing lightly with your fingers to form bones. Once you've rolled the bones (we need two for each bun), mix a beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water and draw crosses on the buns with this mixture. Then, place the bones in a crisscross pattern, trimming off any excess dough.
8. Finally, form small balls from the remaining dough. Brush the center of the buns where the bones meet with egg wash and place a ball there. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the buns touch and double in size, 1.5 to 2 hours.
9. Preheat oven to 175°C.
10. Add a pinch of salt to the egg and water mixture and brush the buns with it before placing them in the oven. Place the buns in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 15-17 minutes for small buns. If you're baking larger loaves, the baking time will vary slightly. Keep in mind that all ovens vary (the buns are ready when the bottoms are golden brown). Transfer them to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
11. When the buns have cooled completely, brush them with the remaining butter and sprinkle with sugar.
    
    

    Note

    
    According to the instructions, the dough is mixed in a mixer, but it can also be kneaded by hand.