PANADERIAS ACROSS STOCKTON and Lodi currently have racks stocked up with Pan de Muertos. The bakers continue to knead more dough while some bake in the oven. The bread is soft and tastes sweet with hints of orange, and comes with toppings such as sesame seeds, sugar or nuts.
Pan de Muerto, also known as the Bread of the Dead, is a type of pan dulce or sweet bread made in the Mexican culture for Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.
“We make this bread to honor the dead and leave it on the ‘ofrenda,’ or the altar for our ancestors, alongside the food they like,” said Willy Mejia, a baker at La Flor de Puebla, in Lodi. Mejia said the tradition is that the food along with the bread is offered to their ancestors, who are believed to visit their families on the first and second days of November and would eat the food.
Sugar skulls, made for the Day of the Dead, are displayed for sale at La Flor de Puebla in Lodi on Nov. 1, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Mari Mejia layers balls of dough to prepare Pan de Muerto at La Flor de Puebla in Lodi on Nov. 1, 2023. Mejia said she prepared about 600 pieces of the Mexican bread the day before. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Rows of Pan de Muerto, coated in sesame seeds, sugar and nuts, are ready for sale at La Flor de Puebla in Lodi on Wednesday. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Different types of pan dulce are displayed for sale at Mejia Panaderia Y Pasteleria in Stockton on Nov. 1, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Pan de Muerto, also known as the Mexican Bread of the Dead, is served alongside champurrado, a warm chocolate drink, at Mejia Panaderia Y Pasteleria in Stockton on Nov. 1, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Jorge Mejia weighs dough for Pan de Muerto for Dia de los Muertos, at Mejia Panaderia Y Pasteleria in Stockton on Nov. 1, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Jorge Mejia, the owner and baker at Mejia Panaderia Y Pasteleria in Stockton, places a batch of bread in the oven to bake on Wednesday. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Jorge Mejia flips over orejas — an ear-shaped puff pastry — while baking them at Mejia Panaderia Y Pasteleria in Stockton on Nov. 1, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local)
Mejia said the main ingredients of the bread are butter, sugar, a lot of orange and orange zest. ‘Pan de Muerto is a lot like the concha bread we make, but it also has orange and raisins.”
Harika Maddala is a photojournalist based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. They are a Report for America corps member and a CatchLight Local Fellow.
