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Day of the Dead Foods
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There are particular foods that accompany The Day of the Dead festivites, including Sugar Skulls and a special Bread of the Dead. The foods are set on the altars and eventually eaten. (Image: Amelia Quintas and breads)

Day of the Dead Bread
Sweet, egg-rich "Bread of the Dead" is one of the constants of Día de los Muertos, although it varies regionally. Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) represents the souls of the dead. The dead consume the essence or soul of the bread when they visit their loved ones. Most of the bread loaves are shaped as ovals (said to be the shape of one's soul), though each loaf may vary with different ingredients and decorated with "bones". In some parts of Mexico, the bread may be shaped as humans or animals. Bakeries advertise different shapes they would make. Some breads have anise seed. These are purchased from bakeries, which sometimes employ extra bakers to churn out great numbers of loaves to meet the demand.

1 t dry yeast
1/4 c lukewarm milk
4 cups flour
6 eggs
1 t anise seeds
1 pinch salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/4 t orange flavor
egg wash (1 egg white & 1/2 egg yolk)
sugar for sprinkling

1. Combine yeast with water and 1/3 c flour. Let stand until doubled in volume.
2. Place remaining flour in large bowl. Make a well in the center and place the eggs, salt, sugar, aniseed, butter, and orange flavor in the well. Beat together, then add the yeast mixture, combining it with the dough. Knead on a floured board for 15 minutes.
3. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover with cloth an let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 450¾F. Pinch off about 1/3 of the dough and form some of it into a 2 inch ball. Shape the rest into a long rope. Mold pieces of the rope to resemble little bones. Set aside.
5. Shape the remaining dough into a round loaf and brush with egg wash. Place the ball of dough in the center of the loaf and arrange the "bones" in a circular pattern around the ball. Brush with the remaining egg wash. Let rise for another 30 minutes.
6. Bake for 10 minutes in the hot oven. Lower the temperature to 350¾F, and continue baking for 20–30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and serve at room temperature with hot cocoa. Enjoy!

Other foods associated with Day of the Dead include Mole and tamales. Mole is usually set out for adult spirits. The thick sauce made from chiles, sesame seeds, herbs, spices, chocolate and/or fruit is thought to be too spicy for the child spirits. Tamales made from meat, cheese or nuts are also added to the altar. Children might have a sweeter version of the tamale made with fruit.

Alcoholic mescal and pulque, and atole, a corn drink, are pre-European. A glass of water is also essential, because after the journey here, the souls are thirsty, and pretty tired. Atole, a thick beverage, likened to "the original power bar" for its nourishing qualities, is still used in remote communities.

Chocolate also often appears, sometimes in drinks, as does pumpkin candy, made from huge green Mexican pumpkins grown expressly for this purpose. In pre-Hispanic times, according to Patricia Quintana in Mexico's Feasts of Life, candied pumpkin was originally sweetened with honey or the sap extracted from the maguey plant.