I have a Cuban cookbook for more than a decade now but I seldom cook anything from it. I borrowed another Cuban cookbook, The Cuban Table by Ana Sofia Pelaez, and compared the Cuban bread recipes. The bread and the sandwich have become very popular among food bloggers whether they are made at home or bought from restaurants. I haven't tried their sandwich nor have I been to a Cuban restaurant.
My Cuban cookbook uses olive oil and The Cuban Table cookbook has pork lard for the traditional bread, Pan de Manteca and omits it altogether for the Pan de Agua. The bread is okay, not great but it's good enough for a Cuban sandwich. Well, any sandwich with double the porky goodness is more than a-okay in my book. I will make the bread again but with a little sourdough or a preferment for a better flavor and texture.
The recipe has plantain leaf strips that are inserted in a slit on top of the bread. I really don't know why it's needed. There isn't any explanation and the instruction is rather vague. I used it because I always have frozen banana leaves but you can leave it out entirely.
