You can’t just use any old sandwich roll, and this fact was lost on me until I had one on the real deal. Shortly after finishing, I recanted every negative comment I’d previously made.
By the way, if you’ve
never heard of a Cuban sandwich, stay tuned, because that will be the star of
our next video. If you want to get a head start, besides practicing the bread,
you’ll need some type of roasted, or pulled pork; and I’m happy to report we have many
recipes that would work, including our famous paper pork, pulled pork, or
carnitas.
Traditionally, some
of the starter is saved, with a little fresh water and flour added, and kept in
the fridge to make more bread. Not a bad idea, otherwise you can probably just
add all of it to the dough. You’ll probably need a bit more flour, but as I
stressed in the video, we’re going to be feeling for that anyway. So, stay
tuned for the Cubano sandwich video, and in the meantime, I really hope you give
this bread a try soon. Enjoy!
For the starter:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dry
active yeast
- mix well and
refrigerate overnight
For the dough:
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water
- mix and let stand 15 minutes
- add starter from day before (reserve
1/4 cup if you want to keep your starter going), plus:
3 tablespoons lard
2 teaspoons fine salt
2 teaspoons fine salt
about 3 cups flour, or as needed (I
used 1 1/2 cup all-purpose
flour
and 1 1/2 cups bread
flour)
water to spray tops of loaves
water to spray tops of loaves
32 comments:
Seriously, Chef John, you post a new recipe and you make me instantly hungry even when I'm already full after dinner. ;)
All I have is instant active dry yeast that don't need to be activated. Is it alright to use them in this recipe the same way as active dry yeast?
Great video, and I'm looking forward to part two!
Could you substitute bacon grease for lard? or would it affect the flavor too much?
Looks delicious! Chef John, how does this bread differ from the bread used for banh mi?
Thanks for this recipe, looks delicious. I can imagine it also works well as a side bread for parties.
One question: Do you know if this also works with other flour, like rye or spelt?
I take it that actual sourdough starter is incorrect?
can I use instant yeast or does it HAVE TO BE ACTIVE?
CJ, Williams-Sonoma?
What was the name of the non-stick pans you were using?? Thanks
Looks really good, CJ. How does this bread compare to the bread used for Bánh mì? Scott
There are many kinds of yeast, and you say "one package". How many grams does each of your packages have?
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was already planning on doing cubans the following day when this video went up. As one of my favorite sammiches of all time, I am ashamed to say I've never actually had it on real cuban bread before. This was to be the case today as well, as I had planned to try it on some homemade rye. Then... the video went up. It was like a sign from the food Gods. Immediately I put together the starter and began making plans to wake up and get to work on a batch.
As I type this comment now I am busy enjoying the fruits of that labor... and I am impressed. What a disservice I have been doing to myself all these years in making it on kaisers and french loaves. The cruch that developed on the surface is unparalleled. Literally twice as crisp and break-aparty (in a good way) as anything else I have ever tried. I'm guessing that is thanks to the lard? Whatever. It's magical. Can't wait for the video on the cuban itself.
Thanks, Chef!
My husband and I saw this last night and now he wants to have Cuban sandwiches this weekend. So, I'll be doing my starter tonight and making bread tomorrow. YUMMY!!
Chef John is the absolute 'Bono' of the 'Cubano' !!!
It has been pointed out to me that, for the last several months in your voice overs, you've been adding a '?' To every sentence...now it's all I hear every time I watch a new video.. watch some old videos the other day and you talk normal and not like a valley girl in them...
Can you please show us how to make rolls like the ones from subway. The wheat rolls please. I love to make sandwiches and if I can learn how to make those rolls would be so amazing! Thanks chef John 😘
I love you nakiri knife chef John, I would love to know which brand/blacksmith you went with. Thanks.
This Cuban Bread looks real tasty, i wonder if it floats....
I made this! It's tasty but mine came out too dense and without the lightness and airiness it was supposed to have. I've only made bread a few times. Anyone with more experience have any idea what I might have done wrong? I waited to see if my second addition of yeast was alive. I did see a few small bubbles, but it was in no way as bubbly and foamy as the video. My dough did rise, though. Very well the first time, but when I let the loaves rise before baking they did not rise nearly as much. I'm planning to try again. Anything you think I should do differently?
Chef John, Thank you so much I have my dough rising as I type. How long will the starter keep in the fridge?
By 'Flour', did you use all purpse flour/plain four. Or some special type of flour?
I really want to try this. But im paranoid vuz the last time i tried making bread i made a brick
Id make it if there were directions for it. Only ingredients are listed.
Thomas Smith - The directions are in the video. Watch it!
Awesome bread chef john my only question is how do i keep the started going?
Hello!!! Please could you give me the amounts in grams/ml? Thanks! Great recipe. I'm cuban-born and yours is Da Thing!
I made the slurry overnight and it doesn't look as watery as yours. Can you verify the water/flour amounts?
Using Quick-Rising yeast versus just regular active yeast yielded far better results for me. Also having a pan of water at the baking stage really enhances the crust beyond what misting/painting water on the bread does (I'm saying do BOTH!).
Also, I baked this about 5 times before I realized my biggest problem was flour quality. I had to try a few different all-purpose and bread flour types at my local grocery until I found the perfect brand that works for me (WhiteLilly and King Arthur brands) because the Gold Star flour was really bad for this.
And lastly, cutting the bread often causes disaster or the dough to somewhat deflate - so considering using uncolored thick bakers twine (at the first rising stage) instead.. works great.
This reminds me of sour dough starter! Let the starter sit over night so your bread will come out chewier or more elastic texture. I’m trying out this recipe I just made my starter (first part of this recipe) hopefully it will turn out good... thank you for sharing Chef John!
When I started it I thought it would end up dense as a brick, but after the rise it is crusty outside and fluffy inside. My starter looked nothing like the video and more like your french baguette as it had no liquid on it like yours. Yet after the second rise and baking it, it is so fluffy inside and has a nice crust outside. If it were not for the the fact I am making it for sandwiches, I would eat it all right now as it is so good.
This was my first bread ever made and it was mind blowing.
i used Bacon grease and the flavor was incredible!
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