Vegan pan de muerto

Ingredients

• 500 g bread flour
• 100 g sugar, for the dough
• 7 g dry baker's yeast (1 sachet) or 21 g fresh yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 240 ml lukewarm soy milk, for the dough
• 100 g vegan butter at room temperature, for the dough
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• The zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon aniseed
• 1 tablespoon soy milk, to stick the bones on
• 30 g melted vegan butter, for the topping
• 80 g sugar, for the topping

Missing an ingredient?

• What to use instead of sugar
• What to use instead of all-purpose flour
• What to use instead of soy milk
• What to use instead of vegan butter

Instructions

1. Warm the soy milk for the dough: it should be lukewarm, not hot (about 35°C). Dissolve the yeast in it with a tablespoon of the sugar and leave it for 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, the rest of the sugar, the salt, the orange zest and the aniseed, lightly crushed in a mortar. Add the soy milk with the yeast and the orange blossom water and knead for 5 minutes.
3. Add the vegan butter in pieces and knead for 10-12 more minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. It sticks at first: keep kneading without adding flour, or the bread will be dry.
4. Put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it and let it rise somewhere warm for 1½-2 hours, until doubled in size.
5. Punch the dough down and set aside about 120 g for the bones. Divide the rest in two, shape two smooth balls and put them on a tray lined with baking paper, slightly flattened.
6. With the dough you set aside, make two walnut-sized balls and four long strips. Roll each strip with your fingers spread apart so the knobs of the bones form. Brush the loaves with the soy milk, cross two strips in an X over each one and put a ball in the centre.
7. Cover them and let them rise for 45-60 more minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.
8. Bake them for 25-30 minutes, until golden and they sound hollow when you tap the base. If they brown too quickly, cover them with foil for the last few minutes.
9. As soon as they come out, brush them with the melted vegan butter and sprinkle them with the sugar until covered. Let them cool on a rack.

Nutrition facts

Approximate, per serving (about 119 g). Calculated with data from USDA FoodData Central.