Cuban Bread

Submitted by Marie

"This bread is wonderfully crusty on the outside and has a chewy interior and is so delicious. Recipe courtesy of The New York Times Cookbook by James Beard."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 2 loaves

ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1⁄4 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 -7 cups sifted flour

directions

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

Reviews

[J. J. Mann]

Excellent! Fabulous! Easy! The BEST ever.

 

[raisdbywolvz]

This bread is really good and easy to make. I'm fairly new to breadmaking, and I didn't know if I should knead this dough or not, but I needed the release that kneading provides, so I did. I found that it's best to line your baking sheet with some parchment paper because when you brush the loaves, the water drips into the cornmeal and turns it into concrete on your baking sheet. This recipe makes a good sandwich bread. Thanks for posting!