Beautifully Soft Cuban Bread | How to Make Pan Cubano

lard

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: vegetable shortening

Olive oil offers healthier fats while maintaining moisture.

milk

🥗Healthier: almond milk

💰Cheaper: water

Almond milk reduces calories and is dairy-free.

Cook 100 grams of smoked bacon lardons in a pan on medium to high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Strain the cooked lardons to obtain 25 grams (about 0.9 ounces) of lard.

In a bowl, combine a portion of water, a tiny pinch of yeast, and some flour to make a pre-ferment. Mix until no dry flour remains and leave to ferment for 10 to 14 hours.

The next day, in a large bowl, combine the remaining water, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix to dissolve the salt and hydrate the yeast.

Add the lard, the pre-ferment, and the remaining flour to the bowl. Use a dough scraper to mix until no dry flour remains.

Tip the dough out onto a table and knead for about 6 minutes until smooth and not too sticky.

Place the dough in a bowl and check its temperature; it should be around 25 to 26 degrees Celsius (77 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit). Cover and let it ferment for 1 hour until it gains volume.

After 1 hour, flour the dough and release it from the bowl. Flatten it out and fold the edges over the middle to build tension, then flip it smooth side up and cover to ferment for another hour.

Once doubled in volume, dust the dough with flour and release it from the bowl again. Stretch it gently into a rectangle shape, then roll it up and seal it.

Place the rolled dough into a non-stick paper lined tray, dust the top with flour, cover loosely, and leave for final fermentation for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit) during the final fermentation.

Remove the cling film from the dough, score the top if desired, and then place it in the oven.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens