Hello Friends!
Monday when I posted about the weekend and mentioned making Cuban Bread, Kim in Oregon said she hoped I would share the recipe. Today seems like a good day. Here's the picture (again) from Sunday's baking:
The bread has a very good crust and a nice, chewy interior. It is good plain. Good slapped with butter. Good toasted. Good dipped in EVOO or some kind of soup. It's good any way you choose. It's bread! So yummy!!
Cuban Bread
- 5-6 Cups of flour
- 2 TBS sugar
- 2 TBS yeast
- 1 TBS salt
- 2 C Hot Water
Put the HOT water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile, mix together 4 cups of flour with the salt and sugar.
Pour that flour mixture onto the yeasty water and beat for 100 strokes. Add the remaining flour (a little at a time - I only needed one more cup) and knead for 8 minutes (adding additional flour as you knead to keep it from sticking to you or the surface on which you are kneading). cover with a towel and let it rise for 15 minutes.
Punch it down; divide and shape into two round loaves. Set the loaves on a greased upside down cookie sheet and cut an X on the top of each loaf.
Place in a COLD oven - do NOT preheat the oven. Place a pan of shallow water under the rack. Turn the oven on to 400 and bake for approximately 50 minutes.
That's it! Easy peasy and so tasty. We are, in fact, having it again tonight along with grilled sausage and a green bean casserole.
On another note, I can't remember if I mentioned or not, but the two lemons forming on our lemon tree fell off! I found them both on the floor. But, now the tree is blooming again (and is so fragrant!), so I'm hoping for at least one more lemon to form.
Time for me to get to work! Have a wonderful Thursday.
