Do you know what three words absolutely belong together?

Originally Published 05/06/2021

Sourdough Cuban Rolls!

Why you may ask? Well, first of all, sourdough is, hands down, the best bread ever created! Then when you add ghee butter to said bread, you get something even more magical! If a sourdough loaf and a croissant had a baby, it would be this Sourdough Cuban Roll! It’s hearty and perfect for holding Cuban sandwich fillings, but the butter makes it perfect for toasting and gives it a rich flavor and flakey texture!

These rolls are amazing.

The recipe for these Sourdough Cuban Rolls

is based on King Arthur’s Cuban Sandwich recipe.

Their recipe is not sourdough-based.

If you don’t have a sourdough starter or want to make these rolls in a shorter time, check out their recipe!

Sourdough rises slowly.

The temperature of your house, as well as the strength of your starter, will affect these rolls’ rise time.

For me, the first rise took about 5 hours and the second rise took another 4 hours. You’ll most likely want to start this recipe early in the day so you’ll be able to accommodate the longer rise times!

The recipe for these Sourdough Cuban Rolls is really simple.

In your mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, add 221 grams of warm water, 15 grams of sugar, and 100 grams of active starter. Give that a little swish with the dough hook.

Next add in the 58 grams of ghee butter, 1/2 tsp of dill, 1/2 tsp of mustard seed, 482 grams of bread flour, and 12 grams of salt. The dill and mustard seeds are optional! Cuban sandwiches are all about pickles and mustard so I thought I’d get a jump start on those flavors by adding some to the bread!

Also as a side note, I like to add the salt last after the bread flour. Salt can harm yeast and I figure the flour makes a nice buffer between the salt and your starter! Knead everything together for 5-8 minutes, until a nice smooth dough forms. Then remove it from the mixer, shape it into a ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it and let it rise someplace warm for 4-6 hours. 

Once the bread dough has finished rising for the first time,

it’s time to divide and shape it into rolls. Use your kitchen scale to weigh the dough and then divide its total weight by 6 to get the 6 equal rolls. Form each piece of dough into an oblong shape and then let them rest for 10-15 minutes. This bench rest allows the gluten to relax again so it is easier to shape the dough into its final roll shape. 

King Arthur’s recipe suggests making them 8″ long and tapered. Mine were about 6″ in length. 

After the sourdough Cuban rolls are shaped for a second time, place them on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment that has been lightly oiled. Also, spray the rolls with a light coat of oil and then cover them with plastic wrap to rise. Again, for me, this second rise took about 4 hours. When the rolls are ready to bake, they should be puffy. Gently poke the roll, and your fingerprint should slowly fill back in but not all the way.

After much patience and anticipation,

the sourdough Cuban rolls are ready to bake! Mix 1 tbsp of water with an egg and give them each a little egg wash. Then, place them on the middle rack of the oven and bake them at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. When they’re done, they should be golden brown and have an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Let them cool on a cooling rack before slicing and making mouth-watering Cuban sandwiches with them! 

Traditionally,

the Cuban sandwich is made with Swiss cheese, mustard, ham, roasted pork, and pickles on a Cuban roll… yum!! After all of these delicious ingredients are piled on, the buttered Cuban roll is grilled in a panini press or waffle iron. The goal is to compress the sandwich so the outside gets crispy while the cheese becomes melty! Personally, I used muenster cheese, stone ground Dijon mustard, miracle whip, applewood smoked deli ham, roasted pork loin, and of course sandwich pickles!

Mmm, I could use another one of these sandwiches right now as I write about it! 

Make these Sourdough Cuban Rolls and eat this sandwich!

If you love sourdough, you’ll love these Sourdough Cuban Rolls. Good things take time, and these are worth the time invested! If you love pickles and mustard, you will 100% love this Cuban sandwich! Let me know if you try making these and how they turn out! Also, if you’ve never had a Cuban sandwich and try it out, let me know if you like it!

Print Recipe

Sourdough Cuban Rolls

The perfect sourdough bread roll for holding all a Cuban sandwich’s delicious fillings, soft but hearty and made for toasting!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Rising Time10 hours hrs

Course: Bread

Servings: 6 rolls

Equipment

• Kitchenaid Mixer with Dough Hook
• Kitchen Scale
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Large bowl

Ingredients

• 221 grams Water warm
• 15 grams Granulated Sugar
• 100 grams Sourdough Starter active
• 58 grams Ghee Butter
• 482 grams Bread Flour
• 12 grams Salt
• 1/2 tsp Dill optional
• 1/2 tsp Mustard Seed optional
• 1 Egg + 1 tbsp water egg wash

Instructions

Sourdough Cuban Rolls

• If you keep your sourdough starter in the fridge, the day before baking these, get it out of the fridge and let it warm up on the counter for the day. That evening before bed, weigh out 33.33 grams of starter and feed it 33.33 grams of water, and 33.33 grams of bread flour. This should give you the 100 grams of fed and active starter you need for this recipe. 

Feed the mother and put it back in the fridge. Leave the 100 grams of starter to activate overnight.
• In the morning, in the mixer fitted with the dough hook, add 221 grams of warm water, 15 grams of granulated sugar, and the active 100 grams of sourdough starter. Give that a quick swirl with the dough hook.
• Next, add in the 58 grams of ghee butter, 1/2 tsp of dill, 1/2 tsp of mustard seed (if you’d like), 482 grams of bread flour, and finally the 12 grams of salt. Knead until the bread dough comes together and then let it knead for another 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth.
• Take the dough out of the mixer and shape it into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise someplace warm for 4-6 hours. It will rise some and become puffy but not necessarily double in size.
• After the first rise, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a 5″ long roll shape. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes and then re-shape. Place each roll on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment and lightly sprayed with olive oil. Make sure there are a couple of inches of space between the rolls for them to rise. Lightly spray the tops of the rolls with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise somewhere warm again for another 3-5 hours.***
• Towards the end of the second rise time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• When they are ready to bake, mix an egg with 1 tbsp of water and egg wash the rolls. Place them in the oven on the middle rack and bake them for 25-30 minutes. They are done when they are a nice golden brown color and the internal temperature is 200 degrees.
• Once they are finished baking, remove them from the baking tray and allow them to cool on a cooling rack.
• These are the perfect sandwich roll and make a killer Cuban sandwich! They are especially delicious toasted because of the butter in the dough. Fill them with whatever you’d like though, and enjoy!! 

Store them in a bread bag for up to a week.

Notes

*** Rise times will depend on how active your sourdough starter is and the temperature of where they are left to rise. The rolls are ready to bake when you poke the dough and the indentation slowly fills back in and not all the way. If the indentation does not fill back in they are over-proofed and won’t rise much in the oven. If the indentation fills back in immediately, they will need more time to rise. If you are unsure, it is better to bake them slightly under-proofed than over-proofed.

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