Cuban bread

'Tis recorded that during the eighth century, monks were allowed a daily ration of 3.7 pounds of bread! Delicious as a thick slice of freshly-baked bread with a generous layer of butter may be, 3.7 pounds is A LOT of bread.

It seemed nigh impossible to me, until Candace introduced me to this recipe for Cuban bread. We just loved it and came somewhat close to consuming an ancient monk's ration. ;)

Besides being awfully yummy, it's really fast and fun to make.

4 cups whole wheat flour
2 T honey or sugar
2 T yeast
1 T salt
2 cups hot water
3-4 cups white flour
sesame seeds (opt)

Combine first five ingredients. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Rise for 15 minutes. Shape into two round loaves, brush with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place a pan of hot water on the lowest rack of a cold oven. Place loaves on middle rack and turn the oven on to 375. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a light golden brown. Once done, lightly spray with cold water for a nice soft crust. Enjoy!

Check out more recipes here.

Modified from the Tightwad Gazette

Edit: Oh dear! I typed up this post last week and set it to automatically publish today. Soon afterwords, Candace posted the recipe too and I kept forgetting to cancel this post. Anyway, it's so yummy I'll leave the recipe here, but you really should check out her post 'cause it's hilarious ... and she managed to take a picture of the baked bread before it was entirely consumed!