Ingredients
The dough
- 1 kgstrong white flour
- 620 mlwarm water
- 50 glard
- or vegetable shortening
- 15 gdried yeast
- 20 gsalt
- 2 tablespoonssugar
To shape and bake
- flour, to dust
- a long baking tray
- a tray of water, for steam
The traditional touch
- a palmetto frond
- laid along the loaf
- or a length of damp string
To serve
- for Cuban sandwiches
- or split with butter
Directions
- Lay it along the loaf before baking. Remove it right after the baking. It gives a soft and tender crumb. Warm all of the water very gently. Stir the yeast and sugar into it. Let it stand there for ten minutes. The yeast should foam visibly.
- Discard it and start again if it does not. It costs ten minutes to be sure. Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt to one side of it. Salt kills yeast on direct contact. Keep them apart until the water goes in. Add the yeast water and the lard. Bring it together into a dough.
- Rub the lard into the flour first if you like. It should be soft rather than cold. Knead it for about ten minutes. Ten minutes by hand is what it takes. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm. Give it about ninety full minutes. Divide it into two equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle.
- Roll it up tightly from the long side. Seal the seam as you roll it up. Roll it up genuinely very tight. Press as you roll to expel air. Pinch the seam closed along its length. Pinch it firmly all the way along. Set it down seam side downward. Set the loaves on a lined tray.
- Cover them and leave them to rise. Give them about one full hour. Heat the oven to two hundred and twenty degrees. Put a tray in the bottom to heat. Bread needs a genuinely hot oven. Preheat it fully and properly. Give it a good twenty minutes.
- Lay it along the top of the loaf. It must be genuinely soaking wet. Soak it well before you use it. Soak a length of string in water. Lay it along the loaf instead. The damp line stops the crust setting. Remove it once the loaf is baked.
- Pour hot water into the hot bottom tray. Water on a hot tray bursts into steam. Stand back and close the door fast. Never lean out over the hot tray. Steam keeps the crust soft at first. It is what gives the thin crust. Bake it for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes is usually enough.
- Lift the frond or string away. Discard the frond or the string. Lift it out onto a wire cooling rack. Let it cool at least a little. The crumb sets firm as it cools. Cut it into sandwich lengths first. Refresh it briefly in a hot oven.
Technique
- A wet palmetto frond laid along the top before baking keeps that line cool and damp so the crust cannot set there, and the loaf splits along it as it expands — a slash made by an object rather than a blade, giving the long ragged seam the loaf is recognised by. A length of damp string does the same job and is what most people use, since fronds are not widely available; remove either after baking and it lifts off easily.
- Lard is what makes this bread distinctive, giving a soft tender crumb and a thin papery crust — and that thinness is essential, because the Cuban sandwich is pressed flat and the bread must compress without fighting back. A thick crust makes it hard to press.
- Bake it to pale golden rather than deeply browned, which is correct for this bread — the thin crust burns easily. Tap the bottom: it should sound hollow, and a dull thud means it needs longer.
Substitutions
- Vegetable shortening stands in for lard.
- Steam in the first minutes keeps the crust soft so the loaf expands fully; pour hot water into a preheated bottom tray and close the door at once, standing well back.
Variations
- The bread belongs to both Havana and Tampa’s Ybor City, a cigar-factory district where Cuban, Spanish and Italian workers settled — bakers moved between the two and the history is genuinely shared.
- Roll each piece up genuinely tight from the long side, pressing as you go to expel air, since a loose roll gives large holes inside; then pinch the seam closed along its whole length or the loaf splits sideways in the oven.
- Bakery loaves can be a metre long and are cut into sandwich lengths; a domestic oven limits how long you can make them.
History
Bakers in Havana and Tampa’s Ybor City laid a palmetto frond along the loaf to split the crust; it became the base of the Cuban sandwich.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pan cubano?
Pan cubano is a bread & pastry from Cuba: long airy white loaf with a thin crust, used for Cuban sandwiches. Bakers in Havana and Tampa’s Ybor City laid a palmetto frond along the loaf to split the crust; it became the base of the Cuban sandwich.
How long does Pan cubano take to make?
Pan cubano takes 30 minutes plus rising of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes 2 long loaves. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Pan cubano?
Yes, within limits. Vegetable shortening stands in for lard. Steam in the first minutes keeps the crust soft so the loaf expands fully; pour hot water into a preheated bottom tray and close the door at once, standing well back.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pan cubano?
Rub the lard into the flour first if you like. It should be soft rather than cold. Knead it for about ten minutes. Ten minutes by hand is what it takes. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm. Give it about ninety full minutes. Divide it into two equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle.
