guagua de pan

Layla Pujol’s guaguas de pan are sweet bread figures made for the Day of the Dead in Ecuador. This selected unfilled version shapes the dough by hand into babies or dolls, then decorates the baked figures with coloured icing and sprinkles.

Instant yeast is dissolved in warm milk. Half a cup of the listed flour is mixed in to make a creamy paste, which rises for about an hour. The selected processor method combines the remaining flour, sugar, salt and ground cinnamon, then adds butter, four eggs, the risen yeast mixture and vanilla essence.

The dough is mixed until it forms a large ball, with extra flour or milk added if its texture needs adjustment. It is formed into a ball, covered and left in a warm place until doubled, about two hours, then punched down and kneaded a little more.

For the selected rustic hand shaping, three-to-four-ounce dough balls are made into long ovals with a head, resembling a wrapped baby. The figures rise for fifteen to twenty minutes on the selected parchment-lined baking tray, then are brushed with the separately supplied beaten yolks.

The figures bake at 350°F, about 175°C, for fifteen to twenty minutes until golden. They cool completely before the coloured icing and sprinkles are added, and colada morada accompanies them.