Bread and soul: Chicago bakers take pan de muerto to new heights

Sugar-dusted loaves a Day of the Dead tradition

While candy is the treat of choice for many American children this time of year, it’s a sweet bread that delights the palates of Mexican-American children and adults who observe Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

Pan de muerto, literally “bread of the dead,” is baked throughout the Chicago metro area in Mexican bakeries, a handful of restaurants and in private homes for this major Mexican holiday, celebrated Nov. 1 and 2.

The bread can be consumed as a snack with hot chocolate or coffee or as a dessert, according to Geno Bahena of Los Moles, 3140 N. Lincoln, one of many chefs keeping alive this ancient holiday and its food traditions.

“We serve it with ice cream and a dried fruit compote and warm chocolate on the side or with warm chocolate milk,” he says.

Bahena bakes two versions of pan de muerto — one in a traditional style, topped with anise and sesame seeds, and the other adapted from his late grandmother’s recipe with a chocolate streusel topping.

This year he is serving both for dessert through Monday, as well as giving loaves as take-home gifts after a special Dia de los Muertos dinner at his restaurant Sunday.

Owners of several bakeries that offer pan de muerto are seeing increased business every year. Manuel Castillo, co-owner of three Pierre’s Bakery locations at 2747 N. Milwaukee, 12429 S. Western in Blue Island and 6310 W. Cermak in Berwyn, says he sells about 200,000 loaves, with the bulk of sales between today and Monday.

Crediting his grandfather, also a baker, for his recipe, Castillo describes his version as “a simple, sweet yeast dough with eggs and milk, cinnamon and rum.

“We let it rise two hours, bake it 25 minutes, then brush it with butter and roll it in sugar,” he says. Traditional accompaniments are coffee or hot chocolate, he adds.

Frank Bonilla Jr., owner of El Nopal Bakery at 3648 W. 26th and 1844 S. Blue Island, credits his parents, Cecelia and the late Francisco, with introducing pan de muerto and other Mexican sweet breads to Chicago when they opened the original El Nopal in 1954.

“Our bakers have been baking since they were children; many have been with us over 30 years,” Bonilla says. Typically, they bake round loaves, topped with bone-shaped dough and a small plastic skull.

Some, including El Nopal and Bombon Cafe, 38 S. Ashland, bake pan de muerto to order for customers.

Bombon Cafe’s Laura Perea, a former culinary school teacher who trained in France, makes a rich brioche dough “with lots of eggs, butter and milk, and always with orange zest and orange flower water,” she says. Bakeries in Mexico vary their additions, such as sesame seeds, anise seed or chocolate chunks.

“Some regions like to do more colorful sugar on top of the bread — pink for females and blue for males. The most traditional is regular sugar and shaped like a little child,” Perea says. “You can have some fun with it, or you can go very traditional, as long as we keep ourselves true to the beautiful tradition.”

Perea has fond memories of her childhood in Mexico, when her father drove the family to the best bakery he knew a couple of hours from home for pan de muerto. They would visit the cemetery where their ancestors were buried, bringing flowers and eating pan de muerto there.

“It’s something unique you have to see to understand,” she says. “The whole family goes to the cemetery.”

Juan Gonzalez, chef of two Fuego Mexican Grill locations at 2047 N. Milwaukee and 17 W. Campbell in Arlington Heights, does not bake pan de muerto at his high-volume restaurants but continues to observe Mexican holidays at home.

He and his family enjoy special foods for the holiday, including moles, while remembering the favorite foods of their deceased loved ones.

“I try to show my kids the traditions we have in Mexico,” Gonzalez says. “Dia de los Muertos is one of the biggest holidays in Mexico; it’s like a high holiday for us.” Most working people get those two days off, he says.

In addition to pan de muerto, sweet treats may include a candy made from pumpkin boiled with brown sugar.

Carolyn Walkup is a Chicago-based free-lance writer.

Far from a morbid custom, Dia de los Muertos is a celebration dating back to Mexico’s Aztec heritage that honors the deceased loved ones with altars, or ofrendas, decorated with some of the relatives’ favorite things, including foods.
Some believe the spirit of the deceased returns to earth on Nov. 1 or Nov. 2 and that the aromas of favorite foods, as well as water, help the spirit survive the journey.
When the Spanish colonized Mexico, they incorporated Dia de los Muertos into the Catholic All Souls Day and the belief in life after death.
“Day of the Dead is the best example of the merging of the two cultures and was a main form of colonization,” says Anel Ruiz, development project officer of Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art.
Since this holiday traditionally is celebrated at home, few restaurants here offer Day of the Dead menus. Two that do are Los Moles, 3140 N. Lincoln, through Sunday, and Zocalo, 358 W. Ontario, featuring a special menu Sunday and Monday.
Carolyn Walkup