Here's a video of us making Miami-style Cuban Bread, with step-by-step instructions. Hope you find it helpful!
Sorry about the background music, this was the only music we could find that we could post without a copyright infringement.
Thanks for watching!


Typed out instructions!!
(Thanks for the suggestion, Ruth Berman! )

Miami-Style Cuban Bread

Starter:
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
(1/3 envelope)
1/3 C warm water
(110-115 deg F)
1/3 C bread, or all purpose, flour

Add 1/3 C water to bowl. Next, dissolve 3/4 tsp yeast in water. Now add 1/3 C flour to the mixture, and mix until well combined. It should make a thick paste.
Now cover with plastic wrap and allow the starter to ripen in the refrigerator for at least 24hrs. Leftover starter will keep for several days in the refrigerator, and can be frozen.

Dough:

4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (2 envelopes)
1 T sugar
1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 deg F)
3-4 T lard or vegetable shortening (at room temp. Lard is greatly preferred for authentic flavor.)
1/2 batch of starter
1T salt
4-5 C bread or all purpose flour

Pour 1/3 C water into large mixing bowl. Dissolve sugar and yeast into the water. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 min to proof, until foamy. When foamy, stir in the 3T of lard, then add remaining water and mix well. Next, add the half-batch of starter and mix well. Then, mix in salt. Add first cup of flour and mix well. Keep adding flour and mixing. When it gets too thick to mix, begin kneading by hand. Continue kneading for about 8 minutes. Add flour if dough gets sticky. Dough will be ready when smooth and elastic.

Lightly grease or oil a large bowl for rising. Place dough in bowl and press down. Flip the dough over and cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rise in a warm area for about 45 min, or until double in size. You can check readiness by pressing two fingers 1/2 in into the dough. If the dough stays indented, it is ready.

Punch down dough and bring the edges to the center. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Pat each ball out and fold in half. Roll out the dough to make 14in tubes with rounded ends. Place dough sticks, seam end down, into lightly oiled baking pans. Place wet string, or skewers onto tops of loaves. After preparing all loaves, cover with dampened towel and allow to rise for about an hour, until doubled.

Bake until bread is lightly browned, about 30min, at 350 degrees.
Finished bread should sound hollow when lightly tapped. If using skewers, remove them before transferring loaves to cooling racks. Loaf should have a hard, thin, almost papery, toasted crust, and the center should be soft with large air pockets.

(Note*
I have not made this bread in a few years. In this particular instance, my husband wanted to show his mother how to make the bread, and so he made this video for her. Yes, the end result has too fine a crumb, as many people have mentioned. The flavor was correct though, and the crust was pretty good, but could have used more browning. I think the lack of air pockets was due to not letting it rise long enough. It HAS come out correctly before. At any rate, I hope you find it helpful!
And yes, the music is annoying! I know! We didnt want to get in trouble for copyright infringement, and were total noobs as far as video editing and publishing goes. By all means, mute it if you want!
Have a blessed day!)

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