This savory skull bread swaps sweet flavors for spicy chorizo and cheese

A food writer behind the Superabundant newsletter has published a recipe for a savory bread shaped like human skulls, intended for those who prefer a meaty treat over the traditional sweet loaves associated with the dead. The dish, which the author calls 'cabezones,' is a portmanteau of the Spanish word for head and the Italian word for calzone. It features a garlicky bread shell filled with hot, saucy cheese and chorizo, offering a distinct alternative to the typical eggy, enriched breads fragrant with orange zest and anise.

The author notes that eating bread to commemorate the dead is a tradition that dates back to the Upper Paleolithic era, when consuming the dead was a literal mortuary rite. Ancient Egyptians later made the act symbolic by eating bread instead, a practice that persists today in the Eucharist. In North America, pan de muerto is the most recognized bread of the dead, though pre-Spanish cultures in Mexico used funerary tamales and papalotlaxcalli made from amaranth or corn. The Vikings also had their own disk-shaped funeral bread, which evolved over time into the regional delicacy known as Minnesota funeral bread, an open-faced sandwich of sliced cinnamon bread smeared with Cheez Whiz and decorated with sliced green olives.

For this specific recipe, the author decided to move away from sweet preparations to create a more impulsive, fun dish. The recipe serves six people and requires a skull pan, though a large muffin tin works as a substitute. The ingredients include one pound of pizza dough, either homemade or store-bought, along with eight ounces of Mexican-style chorizo, which can be vegetarian, provided it is not the cured Spanish type. Other components include a quarter cup of tomato sauce, five tablespoons of butter, eight ounces of shredded queso Oaxaca or part-skim mozzarella, two cloves of minced garlic, half a teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano, salt, and salsa for dipping.

The preparation begins with cooking the chorizo in a pan over medium heat for eight to 10 minutes until the meat browns and the orange fat renders out. The tomato sauce is then stirred into the meat after the burner is turned off. The oven is preheated to 400 F, and the inside of the skull pan is brushed with one tablespoon of butter. The dough is divided into six pieces, each rolled into a roughly six-inch round to allow for overhang. The dough is pressed into the pan, loosely filled with shredded cheese and a heaping tablespoon of the saucy chorizo, followed by another pinch of cheese.

The edges of the dough are folded over the fillings and pinched shut, then rolled so the seam faces down and gently pressed into the mold. The pan is placed on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any cheese eruptions and baked until the dough is golden brown on top, a process that takes about 20 to 25 minutes. The skulls cool in the pan for 10 minutes before being turned out onto a cooling rack, requiring careful handling as they remain hot. While the breads cool, the remaining four tablespoons of butter are melted with the minced garlic, Mexican oregano, and a few pinches of salt.

The finished breads are brushed with the garlic butter mixture while still warm and served with salsa. The author suggests that if a skull pan was not purchased during the early days of the pandemic, a muffin tin is a suitable alternative for creating the six individual portions. The dish is designed to be a savory, brain-like filling inside a bread skull, fitting for the season of honoring the deceased with food.