Earlier this month, Arturo Enciso, baker and owner of Gusto Bread in Long Beach, showed me how to make pan de muerto. Pan de muerto is the Day of the Dead ritual sweet bread decorated with “bones” – or some say the tears of the Aztec goddess Chīmalmā, who weeps for the living when their loved ones are gone.

I've wanted to learn how to make this special pan dulce for years. Especially after food editor Daniel Hernandez told me about Pan de Muerto parties, where friends get together to shape the dough and eat the breads fresh from the oven with hot chocolate or champurrado. I want that!

Gusto Bread owner Arturo Enciso bakes Pan de Muerto with his sourdough, egg yolk and butter, flavored with fennel and orange peel.

(Shelby Moore/Los Angeles Times)

Like the Día de Muertos holiday, Pan de Muerto combines post-Columbian tradition with cultural practices that predated colonization – the baking techniques of Europeans and the belief that an offering of bread will help feed the spirits on their journey to the underworld .

True to Gusto's ethos and flavors, Enciso uses sourdough starter in its Pan de Muerto. For anyone who hasn't started baking sourdough in 2020, this isn't a barrier to entry. Many local bakeries, including Gusto, now sell appetizers if you don't have any on hand. And because Enciso's Pan de Muerto is leavened with a sponge cake dough – the name given to a mixture of flour, milk and yeast used in bread baking – you can skip the leaven.

The crossbones that serve as decorations take practice to shape, but photographer Shelby Moore captured exactly how Enciso does it, rolling logs of dough into gnarled bones. This is probably the hardest part of making pan de muerto—and it hardly has to be perfect.

If you're looking to celebrate with a Día de Muertos feast, this year writer Paola Briseño-Gonzales is making mixiotes. It's chicken marinated in light adobo, topped with butternut squash slices, wrapped and tied in a wad of parchment paper, and then steamed. Traditionally, it is wrapped in a thin film made from leaves or stems of agave plants and then steamed or boiled in a pit. “Mixiote” is derived from a Nahuatl word and refers to both the material in which it is wrapped (mexiotl, or the outer skin of the agave leaf) and the dish itself.

Briseño-Gonzalez honors the memories of her loved ones, writing, “It's an opportunity to cook and collect her favorite foods: mole poblano, corundas (triangular tamales wrapped in fresh corn husks from Michoacán), 'sopa maruchan' (instant ramen ) , chocolate, camote enmielado con leche (candied sweet potato with cold milk).” The ghosts take enough provisions for the whole year so that they can come back for the holidays.

Here are seven LA Times favorite recipes to celebrate Día de Muertos.

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Guava mole with chicken and roasted sweet potatoes

Regional Mexican mole de frutas use seasonal fruits for fragrant, vibrant sauces. This Mole de Guayaba combines guajillo chiles with blistered tomatoes, onions and garlic and is scented with poached guavas, oregano, cinnamon and crushed cloves. Sesame seeds thicken the mixture and overripe plantains provide a silky consistency. Author Paola Briseño-Gonzalez serves it with poached chicken or a slow-roasted salmon and says you can't go wrong.
Get the recipe.
Cooking time: 2 hours 45 minutes. For 6 to 8 people.

(Andrea D'Agosto / For The Times)

Butternut Squash Flautas with Salsa Verde

The fall filling for these flautas is butternut squash, which is cooked until creamy yet retains a firm texture that's easy to bite into. Roll tortillas around the pumpkin filling and fry until crispy. A drizzle of cream, a drizzle of salty feta, and a spoonful of bright, fresh, raw salsa verde make this a festive vegetarian dish.
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Cooking time: 55 minutes. For 4 people.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

Mixiotes de Pollo (chicken wrapped in parchment)

This is one of the most comforting dishes you can eat at a Mexico City market, especially on a Sunday morning, says Paola Briseño-Gonzalez. For mixiotes, chicken, lamb, or rabbit are smeared with adobo and wrapped in parchment paper and steamed. The name comes from the Nahuatl word mexiotlthe leaves of the agave plant. The outer skin is separated from the leaf of the plant and used for cooking. So the word mixiote refers to both the cooking method and the dish. Honeynut, butternut, or acorn squash are great for soaking up the adobo, which turns into a delicious salsa broth.
Get the recipe.
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus marinating time. For 6 to 8 people.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

Pan de Muerto from Gusto Bread

Arturo Enciso of Gusto Bread makes these fluffy, sweet breads scented with orange peel and fennel to celebrate Día de Muertos at his Long Beach bakery. Enriched with egg yolk and butter, they become big and soft – and flavorful – with a little leavening. Shaping is easy once you get the hang of it – and forgiving if you don't.
Get the recipe.
Cooking time: 3 hours 30 minutes (including rising time). Makes 6 large Panes de Muerto.

(Shelby Moore/Los Angeles Times)

Capirotada Tropical (bread pudding with guava and apricots)

This sweet bread pudding is delicious without the aid of custard—it's soaked in piloncillo syrup instead. It gets its tropical flavor from poached fresh guava, dried apricots and nuts. Use your leftover pan de muerto or challah.
Get the recipe.
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes. For 12 people.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

Champurrado

Wes Avila, the chef behind Guerrilla Tacos, Angry Egret, Ka'Teen, and now MXO, flavors his champurrado—a warm, homey drink made with masa and chocolate—with pineapple juice.
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Cooking time: 1 hour. For 4 people.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Atole de Fresas al Rescoldo (corn and charred strawberry drink)

Carlos Salgado, chef at Taco María in Costa Mesa (a restaurant he closed last year), makes atole with masa, charred strawberries, vanilla seeds, cream and milk. Strawberries are charred directly over coals, giving the drink its unique smoky, fruity flavor. Served warm, it tastes delicious with Pan de Muerto.
Get the recipe.
Cooking time: 35 minutes. Makes 2 liters.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)