Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Cuban Bread - Pan Cubano ; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cuban Bread - Pan Cubano

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 48 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowCal (Less than 300 cals) LowerCarbs
LowFat (Less than 20%) Veggie

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Starter:
1/3 envelope active dry yeast -- 3/4 teaspoon
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup bread flour -- or all-purpose flour
Dough:
2 envelopes active dry yeast -- (2 1/4 teaspoons each) or at least 2 cakes compressed (0.6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening -- to 4 tablespoons, at room temperature (replacing lard)
1/2 batch starter -- see above
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups bread flour -- to 5 cups, or all-purpose flour

PREPARE THE STARTER: The day before you plan on baking, dissolve the yeast
in the water in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the flour to obtain a thick
paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the starter ripen for 24
hours in the refrigerator. Leftover starter will keep for several days in
the refrigerator and can be frozen.

MAKE THE DOUGH: Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 3 tablespoons water in a
large mixing bowl. When the mixture is foamy (5 to 10 minutes), stir in
the shortening, the remaining water, and 1/2 batch of the starter. Mix
well with your fingers or a wooden spoon. Stir in the salt and the flour,
1 cup at a time, to obtain a dough that is stiff enough to pull away from
the sides of the bowl, but soft enough to knead. The dough can also be
mixed and kneaded in a mixer fitted with a dough hook or in a food
processor fitted with the dough blade.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth,
6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary. The dough should be pliable,
not sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm,
draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down the
dough.

FORM THE LOAVES: Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each out to
form a 14-inch long tube. Divide the tubes between 2 baking sheets with 6
inches space between each. Cover the loaves with dampened cotton dish
towels and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk,
about 1 hour. (The dough ca be allowed to rise at a lower temperature -
even in the refrigerator - but the rising time will be 3 to 4 hours.)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Lay a dampened piece of thick kitchen string or twine (about 1/8 inch
thick) on top of each loaf, running the length of the loaf. Bake until the
breads are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when lightly tapped,
about 30 minutes. Let the loaves cool slightly and remove the strings.
Transfer the breads onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make four 14-inch loaves (12 slices each, for 48 servings).

AuthorNote: Dressed in a white lab coat and hard hat, Gilbert Arriaza
looks more like an engineer than a baker. But ask a Cuban restaurateur or
housewife where she buys her bread and she'll probably name Gilbert's
Bakery. Like thousands of his compatriots, Gilbert left Cuba in 1962 and
began his working life in America as a dishwasher. Today, he owns Miami's
foremost Cuban bakery and wedding cake gallery. "Cuban bread looks like a
French baguette, but the texture and flavor are totally different,"
explains Gilbert. Cubans like their bread to be soft and chewy - ideal for
making Cuban sandwiches. Traditionally a palm frond was laid across the
loaf during baking; Gilbert uses a wet piece of string. The string helps
impede the formation of a hard crust.

Cuban bread owes its distinctive flavor to the use of a starter - made the
day before - and to the enrichment of the dough with lard. The latter may
trouble health-conscious Americans, but is common not just in the Spanish
Caribbean, but throughout Europe. The recipe below calls for lard, but you
can substitute vegetable shortening if you wish to.

Serve Cuban bread as an accompaniment to any of the Cuban dishes in this
book or use it to make Cuban sandwiches. Another popular way to serve
Cuban bread is thinly sliced lengthwise, buttered, and toasted in
'plancha' (sandwich press) or skillet.

Cuisine:
"LatinAmerican/Hispanic"
Source:
"Miami Spice: The New Florida Cuisine by Steven Raichlen, 1993."
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"July 2010"
Yield:
"4 loaves"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 54 Calories; 1g Fat (17.3% calories
from fat); 2g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg
Cholesterol; 134mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0
Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0