Traditionally served on November 1st to honour our ancestors and to celebrate the cycles of Life and Death.

3/4 cup lukewarm water
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 lb medium firm tofu, pureed until smooth
1 tbsp orange blossom or rose water
1 tbsp orange or lemon zest
1 tsp salt
up to 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
up to 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 tbsp soy milk

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the yeast with the warm water and let sit for five minutes. Stir in the melted Earth Balance, the pureed tofu, the sugar, the orange blossom or rose water, the zest, the salt and 1 1/2 cups of each flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between the whole wheat and the unbleached, until the dough forms a sticky ball. Turn this onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Allow to rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size — about 90 minutes.

Punch the dough down and knead a couple of times. Lightly oil baking sheets (I used two pizza pans), and form the dough into two round loaves. You can break off a bit of dough and roll it into long snakes or strips to form skull shapes or bone shapes to arrange on top of the loaves, if you like. Let these loaves rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour on the pans, preheat your oven to 375 F, then brush the loaves with the 1 tbsp of soy milk and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the loaves from the oven, brush with a little extra melted Earth Balance, and immediately sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Serve warm with small cups of hot chocolate (see below) for dipping.

Serves 8 – 12.

Spicy Hot Chocolate

3 cups thick soy milk (Vitasoy is good)
2/3 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup
3 oz pure, unsweetened baker’s chocolate
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is thick and creamy. Serve hot as 1/2 cup portions in wide cups or bowls, sprinkled with extra ground cinnamon on top. Dip chunks of the Pan de Muertos into the hot chocolate and enjoy. This can also be thinned with extra soy milk or water to make a lovely drinking hot chocolate.

Serves 6.