Pan de Muerto is a soft, round, sweet yeast-risen bread –– similar in texture to challah –– with a crunchy cinnamon sugar glaze studded with fresh orange zest and spiced with orange flower water, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. We lay two crossed links of dough over the top to symbolize crossbones, representing those no longer among the living. The bread is excellent sliced and toasted for breakfast or dipped in Mexican hot chocolate as an afternoon snack.

History of Pan de Muerto

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Sometimes you want to shake things up when making apple pies in the fall. I love using phyllo dough for its crisp and light texture, nicely contrasting with the baked apple filling. Phyllo layers are found in the freezer section of most grocery stores and offer many options for savory and sweet treats. If the thought of working with pastry intimidates you, rest assured phyllo is your friend. The key is to prevent it from drying out as you assemble the braid. Simply keep it covered with plastic, and you should be fine. The end result? A stunning braided pie with a buttery, flaky crust.

Printable PDF of this recipe here.
Makes 4-6 Servings.

  
3 large Granny Smith apples
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
1 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 sheets of phyllo dough, 9 x 14-inch (covered with plastic and defrosted)
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

  
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 2 rimmed baking pans by lining them with parchment paper.

Peel, core, and slice the apples into ½-inch wedges. In a medium bowl, toss the apple wedges with ¼ cup sugar, flour and cinnamon. Spread evenly in one layer on one of the lined baking sheets.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. This step evaporates some of the juices, helping prevent the base of the tart from getting soggy.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a separate small bowl, make the vanilla sugar by mixing the remaining ½ cup sugar with the vanilla extract.

On the second baking pan, lay a sheet of phyllo dough with its long side parallel to the long side of the baking sheet. Lightly brush the surface with melted butter. Layer on the second sheet of phyllo and brush again with butter. Add the third layer, lightly brushing with butter, and sprinkling a heaping tablespoon of vanilla sugar evenly over the sheet. Repeat this same procedure for the next 4 sheets. For the 8th sheet, lightly brush with butter, then arrange the baked apples lengthwise in the center, forming a 3-inch-wide row.

Along both lengthwise edges of the phyllo, use scissors to make 5 evenly spaced cuts, each about 2½-inches long, at a slight angle toward the center. This will leave you with six strips on each side. Fold these strips over the apples, braiding them in the center (start at one end, crossing alternating strips to create a braided pattern). Brush the braid with the remaining butter and sprinkle any remaining vanilla sugar on top.

Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake the apple pie braid on the center rack for 40 to 45 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Before serving, dust the braid with powdered sugar. Enjoy with sweetened whipped cream or your favorite fall ice cream!

We’re celebrating our 30th Anniversary by sharing some of our staff’s favorite recipes using Macrina Bakery products.

You know those nights when you want a break from cooking, but you and the kids are famished? Matt Galvin, co-owner of Macrina, knows them all too well. With four kids — hungry from soccer, ballet, and life — he would often turn to the cheesy, saucy, messy splendor of a meatball sandwich made with DeLaurenti’s meatballs, marinara sauce, and melted fresh mozzarella on Macrina’s Bui Buns. “The whole thing comes together in minutes, and you can scale it if, say, one of your kids brings a friend or three.”

Matt found a love of food working in many local restaurants and developed a fondness for Italian food while living in Italy. “The meatball sandwich is an Italian-American creation,” he says. “Like most Italian dishes, it’s just a few ingredients in the right proportion. The quality of the ingredients makes all the difference. Use excellent meatballs, fresh mozzarella, and the right bread, and you’ve got a dynamite meal.”

Macrina’s head baker, Phuong Bui, designed these buns specifically for the banh mi, the famous sandwich from his native Vietnam. It boasts a crisp crust and tender, airy crumb that Matt says is perfect for the ultimate meatball sandwich.

“DeLaurenti makes the best meatballs,” says Matt. “I heat them in DeLaurenti’s marinara sauce, slice up a few balls of Ferndale Farms fresh mozzarella, fill a Bui Bun with a couple of meatballs, top it with a spoonful of marinara and a few slices of mozzarella, then broil it briefly to melt the cheese. It’s pretty simple.”

We’re celebrating our 30th Anniversary by sharing some of our staff’s favorite recipes using Macrina Bakery products.

Corrina Steffens-Highley, the Assistant manager at our Kent café, oversees the staff and operations at the café. When asked about the best compliment she has ever received, Corrina doesn’t hesitate: “Someone told me I have a glowing personality.” As the morning rush begins, that glow fills the café as she greets many regular customers by name. “It’s not just work to me,” she explains. “It’s like a second family.”

At the end of the workday, Corrina returns home to her first family. Hailing from a large Italian-American family, she has always found meals to be central to family life and takes pleasure in hosting meals at her home and sharing food with her extended family.

“I love to find creative uses for Macrina products,” she says. One of her recent favorites is a spin on the classic cream cheese and lox on bagels. “Our Savory Pinwheel is a lot lighter than a bagel and the flavors go really well together. Simply cut it in half horizontally, wam it gently, spread one side with cream cheese and top it with the salmon. It’s so good.”Another favorite is using the Mini Casera loaf as a soup bowl. “I cut the top off the loaf, hollow it out, and fill it with clam chowder or tomato bisque,” she says. This works well with both fresh and day-old loaves.

Corrina excels at transforming Macrina’s leftover breads into tasty appetizers. “Butter boards are an excellent starter. Basically, you soften butter and add whatever you like. Roasted garlic is great, as is lemon dill,” says Corrina. She creates crostini with old bread by slicing it, brushing both sides with olive oil, and baking them at 350°F for 10–15 minutes. The crostini are perfect for dipping into flavored butters.Crostini (or Sardinian flatbread) also work well on charcuterie boards. Corrina uses a large cutting board as a canvas. “I think of it as a big picture,” she says. “You fill in the picture with sliced meats, cheeses, olives, and crostini. In the end, it looks beautiful. It’s my art.”

Macrina is a Proud Supporter of DanceChance.

In 1994, Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) launched DanceChance, a program aimed at discovering ballet talent in Seattle’s public schools. Nearly three decades later, the initiative has impacted over 1,400 students across 20+ schools. Each fall, PNB educators visit third-grade classrooms, offering interactive dance sessions that serve as many students’ first exposure to ballet.

Selected students, showing promise in attributes like flexibility and focus, are invited to train at PNB School for free, including transportation and attire. The program not only democratizes access to ballet but also instills valuable life skills such as teamwork and perseverance.

DanceChance has produced professional dancers, including current PNB members Kuu Sakuragi and Joh Morrill. Others have joined renowned dance companies worldwide.

At Macrina Bakery, we’re proud to support DanceChance, a program that brings joy and opportunities to deserving young talents.

We’re celebrating our 30th Anniversary by sharing some of our staff’s favorite recipes using Macrina Bakery products.

As we all know, many of the best things in life are unplanned. This delightful creation was serendipitously born when Leslie Mackie, the founder of Macrina Bakery, found herself with a leftover loaf of our Columba Pasquale — a brioche-like Easter bread enriched with brandy, interspersed with candied orange peel, and topped with sliced almonds — and a bag of fresh Bing cherries, just in time for a Mother’s Day brunch.

“It was one of the best bread puddings I’ve ever made,” she says. “Columba Pasquale has a great texture for bread pudding, and the sliced almonds, candied orange peel, and brandy in the bread were great with the tart cherries.”

Since we only bake Columba Pasquale for Easter, Leslie adapted the recipe to our Brioche loaf, which is available throughout the year. (Challah is another delicious alternative.)

This recipe calls for fresh cherries, but you can also use dried cherries. Just reduce the amount to ¾ cup and soak them in warm water for 10 minutes to rehydrate before adding them to the bread.

Leslie’s Brioche Bread Pudding Recipe

Use one 10-inch Pie Pan; Serves 6

Ingredients

1 loaf of Macrina’s Brioche bread
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup Bing cherries, halved and pitted
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups whole milk
3 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp brandy
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp candied orange peel, diced
⅓ cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cut ⅓ off the Brioche loaf and reserve for another use. Remove crusts from the remainder then cut into ¼-inch thick slices. Cut each slice in half to create “tiles” (roughly 2-inches by 4-inches).

Place the sliced bread on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Flip the bread pieces, then toast for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the toasted bread from the oven and let it cool slightly. Brush both sides of the bread with melted butter (reserve a little bit to brush your baking dish to prevent sticking).

While the bread is toasting and cooling, pit and halve your fresh cherries. Toss them in 1½ Tbsp of sugar and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, milk, eggs, remaining sugar, brandy, and vanilla extract. Whisk well and set aside.

Brush a 10-inch pie dish with some of the remaining melted butter.

Arrange the toasted and buttered brioche “tiles” in the pie dish in a rosette format. Start by forming a circle with the “tiles” along the edge of the dish, then continue to arrange them in smaller, concentric circles, moving towards the center of the dish. Cut half-sized “tiles” for the center of the rose. Layer in the candied orange peel and sliced almonds. Scatter the sugared cherries evenly over the bread.

Pour the cream mixture over the bread and cherries, ensuring all the bread is soaked. Press down lightly with a spatula to make sure all the bread is in contact with the liquid. Let it sit for about 10–15 minutes so the bread can absorb the custard mixture.

Cover the baking dish with foil and place it into a larger pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the pie dish to create a water bath.

Bake the pudding for 50–60 minutes, or until the custard is set.

Remove the foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.

Serve warm.