Cuban Sandwich

So in case you end up with leftover roast pork, here's the recipe for you! I don't know about you, but there's just something about a hot sandwich that screams "YES!" to me. The combination of melty cheese, generous amounts of meat, and a good homemade bread makes for a deliciously hearty meal. And hey, what better way to use leftovers?

I planned ahead and prepared a starter for the Cuban bread two nights ago, because it had to set in the fridge for 24 hours. The bread was a little bit dense (in a good way) and very yummy. The bread soaks up butter and juices beautifully. If you have a panini press or anything of the sort, making this sandwich will be made that much easier for you. I, on the other hand, used a pot to press down on the top of the sandwich. Pressing the sandwich really wasn't hard at all, but it's just a matter of convenience. Make sure you use enough butter for grilling the sandwich, it makes the crust nice and crunchy. I am also including the recipe for Cuban bread in this post, but you can use a French baguette as well.

Cuban Bread

Starter

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp active dry yeast(1/3 envelope)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup bread or all-purpose flour

Directions
The day before baking; mix the starter ingredients, dissolving the yeast in the water first. You want a thick paste when you add the flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let "ripen" in refrigerator for 24 hours. Leftover starter will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

I only made half a recipe of the starter and it worked just fine - the dough recipe only calls for half of a starter recipe

Dough

Makes 4-6 sandwiches

Ingredients:

4-1/2 tsp active dry yeast - (2 envelopes or 2 cakes of compressed yeast)
1 Tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 to 4 Tbsp lard or solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 batch starter (see above recipe)
1 Tbsp salt
4 to 5 cups bread or all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 3 tablespoons of water in a large mixing bowl. When the mixture is foamy (5 to 10 minutes), stir in the lard, the remaining water, and the 1/2 batch of starter.

Mix well with your fingers or a wooden spoon. Stir in salt and flour, 1 cup at a time. You want to get a dough that is stiff enough to knead. You can also mix and knead in a mixer fitted with the dough hook or in a food processor fitted with the double blade, as the processor dough hook will not handle this job easily.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary. The dough should be pliable and not sticky.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles its' bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down.

I improvised on the steps below. Instead of dividing the dough into four pieces, I divided it into two. This resulted in two normal-sized loaves.

To form the loaves, divide the dough in 4 pieces. Roll out each to form a 14-inch long tube, with rounded ends (sort of like a long meat loaf) Put 2 of the loaves on a baking sheet, about 6 inches apart. Cover with dampened cotton dish towels and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until double their bulk, about 1 hour. If you want to let it rise at a slower pace, you can do it in a cooler spot and even in the refrigerator, but give it 3 to 4 hours instead.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Lay a dampened piece of thick kitchen string or twine (about 1/8 " thick) all along the top length of the loaf. Bake until the breads are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when lightly tapped, about 30 minutes.

Let them cool slightly and remove the strings. They will leave a distinct little ridge on top. Transfer loaves onto a wire rack for cooling.

I was curious about the reasoning for the string on the bread and this is what I found (history of the Cuban Sandwich).

Cuban Sandwich

Ingredients: use generous amounts of each

Butter for grilling, panini-style

Cuban bread

Roast pork

Ham

Dill pickle slices

Butter or mustard (optional)

Directions

Cut bread in half (like you would to make a sub). Spread desired amount of butter/mustard on inside of bread. Layer (in this order) pickles, pork, ham, cheese (The more the better!). This sandwich can be served hot or cold. For a hot sandwich, heat a frying pan and add butter - make sure its not too hot so you don't burn the bread before the cheese melts. If you're using a pot to smash the sandwich, make sure you have a firm grip on it and press directly down for a few minutes. You want to squish the sandwich so it's at least half its original size. Flip the sandwich and press again.  

Sources

3 Guys From Miami

Taste of Cuba