This recipe is the bread recipe used by my college roommate when making the Sandwich Cubano Recipe #286122. A traditional loaf of Cuban bread is approximately three feet long and somewhat rectangular as compared to the rounder shape of Italian or French bread loaves. In the early days, the dough was stretched thin to make it last, creating the bread's distinctive air pockets and long shape. A shallow trench in the upper crust is created using a moist palm frond but it can also be made using a greased wooden dowel in place of the palm frond.