Cubanbread Recipes

CUBAN WATER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water or potato water. Add sugar and salt and mix well. Stir in 7 cups of the flour.
• On a well-floured surface, knead dough for 7 minutes, incorporating in the last cup of flour. Place dough in a greased bowl. Let rise until doubled.
• Using a lightly floured board, form dough into 2 long or round loaves. Sprinkle cornmeal on greased baking sheet; place loaves on top. Slash top with a sharp knife. Cover, and let rise until almost doubled.
• Brush top of loaves with cold water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Place in a cold oven.
• Turn oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 45 minutes, or until nicely browned. Brush twice during baking time with cold water.

CUBAN BREAD

Steps:

• Grease a large bowl, and set aside.
• Take a small bowl and dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup of warm (110 degrees F) water. Place the bowl in a warm place and let it stand until it starts to foam and double in volume, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, measure out 1/4 cup of lard Heat in the microwave until melted.
• Place the water/yeast/sugar mixture in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add the rest of the warm water and the salt. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until blended.
• Take your measuring cup and sift together the two flours.
• Gradually add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the wet ingredients in your mixer -- mixing constantly. At the same time you are adding flour, gradually pour in the melted lard. Keep adding a little flour and a little lard until all of the lard is added.
• Continue adding more flour until you make a smooth and pliable dough. Try to add just enough flour to make the dough elastic -- just as much as necessary so that the dough hook barely cleans the sides of the bowl. Too much flour and your bread will be too dense! You will use approximately 3 1/4 cups of sifted flour to bring the dough to this point. (More or less, this is where the art of baking comes in!) Save any leftover flour mixture for rolling out the dough.
• Now let the machine and the dough hook go to work kneading the dough. Set the mixer on a low speed and knead for about 3 to 4 minutes, no more! Your dough will be fairly sticky at this point.
• Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the greased bowl.
• Flip the dough ball a few times to grease it up on all sides. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm place. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size -- about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, using the leftover flour you have in the bowl. Sprinkle some flour on the dough and use a rolling pin to roll it out. This recipe called for a large loaf, shaped to fit a long baking sheet diagonally -- about 20 inches long. So we try to roll out a 12 x 20-inch rectangle. BUT:( I prefer 4 smaller ones for individual rolls)Sprinkle more flour on the dough and turn it over a few times as you roll it out, to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin. The added flour at this rolling stage should take care of most of the stickiness of the dough.
• Roll the dough up into a tightly rolled long cylinder, with a slight taper at both ends. Wet your fingers and pinch the loose flap of the rolled dough into the loaf, making a tight seam.
• Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
• Place the loaf diagonally onto the baking sheet, seam side down. Dust the top with a little extra flour and cover very loosely with plastic wrap. (You don't want the rising dough to dry out or stick to the plastic wrap.).
• Place in a warm spot and allow the loaf to stand and rise once again until it is about 2 1/2 times it's original size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cuban bread is wider than French bread, so expect your loaf to spread out quite a bit as it rises.
• Preheat oven to 450º F. Place a pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven.
• Use a sharp knife to cut a shallow seam down the middle of the top of the bread, leaving about two inches of uncut top on each end of the loaf.
• Brush the top of the loaf with water and place in your preheated oven on the middle shelf. After about 5 minutes of baking, brush some more water on top of the bread.
• Bake the loaf until it is light brown and crusty -- about 12 to 18 minutes total baking time.

CUBAN-STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• In a mixing machine fitted with a dough hook, add the water, salt, sugar, shortening, and yeast. Add the flour slowly, making a stiff dough that is silky smooth.
• Turn dough out into a large oiled bowl, cover with a cloth. Place dough in a warm place, and allow to double in bulk.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pound and knead the dough, until it is silky smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rise again, until doubled in bulk.
• Meanwhile, sterilize the palmetto leaves or shoe strings by soaking them in boiling water.
• Portion dough into 10-ounce loaves. As a loaf is formed, immediately place a palmetto leaf or shoestring down the length of the loaf, and turn the loaf over onto a baking sheet, leaf/string side down. Repeat with the remaining loaves.
• Let the dough rise, leaf side down, for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake loaves until they are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

CUBAN BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the salt and sugar, stirring thoroughly.
• Add flour, one cup at a time, beating it with a wooden spoon.
• You can also use the dough hook on an electric mixer at low speed.
• Add enough flour to make a fairly stiff dough.
• Shape dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl and grease the top.
• Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and shape into two round Italian style loaves.
• Arrange onto a baking sheet, heavily sprinkled with cornmeal and allow to rise for 5 minutes.
• Slash the tops of the loaves in 2 or 3 places with a knife or scissors.
• Brush the loaves with water and place them into a cold oven.
• Set the oven control at 400° and place a pan of boiling water on the bottom of the oven.
• Bake loaves until they are crusty and done for about 40 to 45 minutes.

ORIGINAL CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Cut Cuban bread to desired size, common size is 7 inches. Next, slice open the bread down the middle. On the topside of the bread spread 1-ounce of mustard, evenly across. Then place 4 pickles on top of the mustard. You then place 1 slice of Swiss cheese on top of the pickles. Slice ham to desired thickness, recommended size is 1 1/2 ounces per slice, the thinner the better. Now fold each slice of ham in half and place evenly on bottom of bread. On top of the ham, place slices of roast pork, 1 1/2 ounces per slice. You then join both halves of the sandwich. You are now ready to grill your Cuban sandwich.
• Use a sandwich grill if you have one, a waffle iron if not. Spread butter on top of the bread evenly. Close the grill, smashing the sandwich. Leave sandwich in the grill until top of bread turns to a golden brown, and top is crisp. Approximate time is 4 to 6 minutes. After the sandwich is crispy and the cheese has melted, remove the sandwich carefully and slice it diagonally, from corner to corner. DO NOT USE A MICROWAVE OVEN!

CHEF JOHN'S CUBAN BREAD

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk the starter until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Place 1 package active dry yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in 3/4 cup warm water. Let rest 15 minutes to ensure yeast is alive (bubbles will form on surface). Add lard and salt to bowl; add 1 cup of the flour. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and dough forms a sticky ball. Add the starter (reserving 1/4 cup if you want to keep the starter going, if desired. Otherwise add it all.). Sprinkle most of the rest of the flour on the dough, reserving 1/2 cup to be used if needed when kneading.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together in a firm ball, adding additional flour only as needed. Dough should be soft and supple with just a bit of tackiness on the surface.
• Place dough in a bowl and coat surface with a little vegetable oil. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise. Let rise until at least doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little cornmeal.
• Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly press the dough into a rectangle with your lightly floured hands. Divide dough in half and press and shape each half into a long 1/2-inch thick rectangle about 12 inches long. Roll up tightly starting at the long end to form a skinny loaf. Flatten a bit. Transfer each loaf to a prepared baking sheet and dust with a bit of flour. Cover with a light, dry towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut a 1/4-inch deep slit down the top of the loaves with a sharp knife or razor. Mist loaves lightly with water.
• Place pans in pre-heated oven, one pan on lower rack, one on higher rack. After 10 minutes, switch pan positions. Continue to bake until loaves are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer loaves to cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.

RUSTIC BREAD

Steps:

• Using your hands, mix bread flour, salt, yeast, and 2 cups (450 grams) room-temperature water in a medium bowl. Lightly knead, grabbing corners of dough, gently pulling upward, and pushing toward the center, until dough comes together. Dust another bowl with all-purpose flour and transfer dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 12-18 hours.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, and press into a 8x5" rectangle. Fold rectangle in half lengthwise, then roll up tightly at narrow end (like a burrito). Place both hands on top of dough; working against friction of work surface, pull gently down toward yourself to create a rounded boule shape.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with a clean flour-dusted towel. Let rise at room temperature 4 hours, or chill 6-12 hours.
• One hour before baking, arrange rack in middle of oven; preheat to 500°F. After dough has risen, slash dough with a razor blade or very sharp knife in 3 parallel slits at least 1/4" deep. Transfer baking sheet to oven, reduce oven temperature to 450°F, and bake bread until crust is very brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 190-200°F, 30-40 minutes. Let cool before slicing, about 2 hours.

CUBAN FROM MIAMI RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Cut off the ends of the Cuban bread, then slice in half.
• Add mustard, then ham, then pork, then cheese, then pickles, then place the bun on top.
• Place the sandwich on pan or griddle over low heat. Brush top with melted butter.
• Press the sandwich with a panini press, or if you don't have a press use a heavy pot or pie dish and push down.
• Cook 5-10 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
• Enjoy!

CUBAN BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Split bread in half lengthwise; cut into four pieces. Fry eggs in a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray until yolks are set. Layer bread bottoms with salami, ham, egg and cheese; replace tops., Cook on a panini maker or indoor grill for 2 minutes or until bread is browned and cheese is melted.