Cuban bread?

Looking for a grocery or bakery that sells authentic Cuban bread for sandwiches.

Thanks for your help.

Josh

No trolling, please.

No one bakes Cuban bread anymore in Chicago, and even Marianao uses a product from Gonella (might be made to M's specs, but it is not quite right). Las Villas, the bakery, used to be Cuban and had ok Cuban bread. It is no longer Cuban, but might still make it. It has been a long while since I set foot in Las Villas, however.

Bread requires people to buy it, and for whatever reason, no one demands real Cuban bread here (or anywhere outside of Florida for that matter, and by this I include NY, NJ, and CA).

Some of the lighter-crusted Italians make good substitutes. Somewhat ironically, Il Liborio (Italian name with big Cuban implications) in particular.

The inability to find good Cuban bread in Chicago has long been a foodie' disappointment. It's been so long that I've come to accept whatever they use at La Unica as the standard. Noone has ever positted a satisfactory answer for this lack. I guess its just not that different from other breads, and the bakers have yet to meet the consumers.

Cuban bread is pretty easy to make well at home. It's been many years since I have done so. I let the bread machine do most of the work and bake it in the oven with a pot of boiling water to achieve the correct consistancy and shape. If anyone wishes, I will dig out my notes and post.

-ramon

Ramon,

Dig out your notes and post, please!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Ramon,

Dig out your notes and post, please!

Regards,

x2!

z

Eeek!

I think the only thing worse than my recipe notes are my tax files .

I'll see what I can come up with this pm.

-ramon

Cuban bread is not that different from other breads, though good Cuban bread maybe is. I know the 100+ year old Cuban bakeries in Florida use sponge that goes back many, many years. The bread also does not keep well at all, particularly the lardier versions. But, as you suggest, neither of these should foreclose good Cuban bread in Chicago. Yet it remains true that Cuban bread does not exist outside of Florida in the US.

Face it, there's barely a demand for good Italian and French breads in most places, even here. As with all breads, there has to be a very high demand to justify such a labor intensive but cheap product. That's why we are lucky to have good tortillas, pita, and Indian breads. Not at all true in most of America.

Ramon wrote:Eeek!

I think the only thing worse than my recipe notes are my tax files .

I'll see what I can come up with this pm.

-ramon

That would be great. I'd love to try to make it sometime.

Thanks!