Cuban Bread
- Ready In:
- 32mins
- Ingredients:
- 5
- Yields:
-
1 loaf
ingredients
- 1 (1/4 ounce) envelope dry active yeast
- 3 cups water
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons solid shortening
directions
- Preheat oven to 300º F.
- Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of water.
- Mix in a second cup of water, the salt, flour and shortening.
- Add enough of the third cup of water to make a pliable dough.
- Knead dough and form into a ball.
- Set aside in a warm place, covered with a damp towel, for about 1 hour.
- Punch down.
- Allow the dough to rise again for about 30 minutes.
- Punch down again.
- Roll the dough lightly into an oblong shape, about 3 inches wide and 12 inches long.
- Set aside again, with crease up, until it doubles in size, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Brush lightly with water to produce a nice, hard crust.
- To create a baker's signature crease along top of the bread, place a strand of thick butcher's string down the middle before baking.
- The weight of the string will press a ridge into the top of the loaf.
- Remove string after baking. (In Cuba, Cuevas and other bakers used a palm frond.)
- Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes.
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<p>Click to feed animals I'm a retired teacher now living in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. I have one daughter, 2 granddaughters, and 1 great-grandson(17 yo Dec '11)! I've travelled a bit throughout Europe and the U.S. as well as Honduras and Costa Rica. I think I may have some gypsy ancestors! I love to travel but am not able to anymore. So I do a LOT of reading instead. My current craft passion is knittng but I have dabbled in just about everything. I've done leaded glass work(stained glass), which I love; am working on counted cross stitch; and am willing to try any craft, at least once! I've also worked for a major insurance company as a case analyst. I have 2 cats, Teddy BB 11 .o. on the 19th of Feb, and CiCi who will be 5 years old on Mar 6th. src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/orn.jpg></p>