Day of the Dead bread (Pan de muerto)

1. Lightly crush the anise seeds in a mortar and finely grate the orange zest. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk with a spoonful of sugar and leave to froth for 10 minutes.

2. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, anise, orange zest, eggs, orange blossom water and yeasty milk to the flour and knead for 5 minutes, then work in the soft butter little by little; knead for another 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

3. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1½-2 hours until doubled.

4. Set aside about a fifth of the dough. Shape the rest into two round loaves and place on a lined baking tray. Roll the reserved dough into thin ropes, pressing along them with your fingers to shape "bones"; lay them crosswise over the loaves and put a small ball in the middle.

5. Cover and leave to rise for another 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 °C, then bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.

6. While still warm, brush with melted butter and sprinkle generously with sugar. Serve with hot chocolate or champurrado.

Tip: The "bones" and the ball in the middle recall the dead (the ball stands for a teardrop or a skull) – the holiday is 1-2 November, but it's delicious any day of the year.