Pan Cubano Recipe

Make a pan cubano recipe for a beautiful amber-brown bread with a mild white breadlike flavor and a tender bite for the crust.

An authentic Pan Cubano — a Cuban sandwich slathered with smooth mustard and layered with spicy pork, onions, cheese, and dill pickles — has its genesis in the bread.

It’s all about the shape, texture, and taste. Pan Cubano is slightly rectangular in form, and the texture is soft.

The bread bakes up to a beautiful amber-brown with a mild white breadlike flavor. The crust has a tender bite.

Sliced horizontally for sandwiches, Pan Cubano is sturdy enough to encase the filling but thin enough to be squished a bit when pan-grilled.

What I’ve learned from making Pan Cubano is that its virtues don’t stop with sandwiches.

• Eat it warm from the oven, with a smear of butter.
• Dunk a chunk in a mug of café de leche.
• Make an unusual appetizer by topping toasted Pan Cubano with fig jam and a sprinkle of goat cheese.
• The kids like to make breakfast eggs in the nest with Cuban bread.

Simple and satisfying to make, here’s a recipe that I hope you’ll try.

The bonus? This is a restaurant-quality carnitas filling recipe for the slow cooker! It’s also so good in tacos or tortillas.

Pan Cubano Loaves

Classic Cuban bread usually contains a bit of lard. I don’t add it, and the bread still turns out yummy. If you want, add 2 tablespoons softened lard in with the sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour.

The recipe calls for patting dough down a bit before the second rise to create a rectangular shape. Sometimes it bakes more rounded, but no worries.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Pinch of sugar to feed yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Up to 6 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• Softened butter for greasing bowl
• Melted butter for brushing on dough (optional)

Instructions

1. Stir yeast in warm water, adding pinch of sugar to “feed.” In a few minutes, it will start to foam.
2. Pour into mixing bowl and add sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour.
3. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add enough remaining flour and mix on low to form a soft, somewhat sticky dough.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. It may be sticky at first, but will get smooth. (If using a dough hook on the mixer, time will be cut in half).
5. Place in buttered bowl, turning once to butter top. Bless dough!
6. Cover. Rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour or so.
7. Punch dough down. Divide in half.
8. Shape each into a loaf.
   Two ways to do this:
   1) Form into loaf shape, about 12 inches long.
   2) Roll dough into an approximate 12×8 inch rectangle. Roll up tightly from long side, pinch seams to seal and place seam-side-down on a greased or parchment-lined pan.
9. Slightly flatten tops a bit.
10. Cover and let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
11. With sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across top. Brush lightly with melted butter.
12. Bake in preheated 400 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Brush with more butter.

Yield: 2 loaves.

To make 3 smaller ones, divide dough into thirds and form into loaf shapes.

Tips

• Make this by hand? Sure, and you get a workout, too!
• Measure accurately. Flour settles as it sits. Whisk or stir before measuring. Spoon into cup and level with knife.
• How to tell when dough is doubled: Rising time is a guide.
  Use fingers to make indentation about 1/2 inch into dough. If indentation remains, dough has doubled.
  For the second rise after shaping, make a small indentation in the dough near its side to keep the top shape nice. If the dent remains, the dough is ready to bake.
• Shiny crust: Brush before baking with an egg wash — egg white or whole egg whisked with a bit of water.
• Waste not, want not — Make croutons from leftover bread:
• Cut bread into bite-size pieces, toss with a little oil and a sprinkle of herbs. Bake in single layer in 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes or so, turning once.

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Rita Heikenfeld comes from a family of wise women in tune with nature. She’s a certified modern herbalist, culinary educator, author, and national media personality. Most importantly, she’s a wife, mom, and grandma. Rita lives on a little patch of heaven overlooking the East Fork River in Clermont County, Ohio. She’s a former adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she developed a comprehensive herbal course.

Originally published in the June/July 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.