Pan Dulce for Cuba!

I was asked by a friend to make a Cuban sweet bread for his presentation of Cuba in his dorm.  He and his co-RAs decorated the whole lobby as Cuba and his job was to bring an authentic dish.  I have always been intimidated by bread recipes that require the use of yeast, and I've kept my distance.  Until now!

He gave me a recipe for Pan Dulce, brought me the ingredients, and I got to work.  This was on Superbowl Sunday, so my friends were over as we also made dip and guacamole and chocolate chip cookies.

So.... the recipe said to leave the dough in a bowl covered with a dish towel for a few hours.  When you come back, it will have quadrupled in size!  When I came back, it was exactly the same size.  Not sure what happened there.  But I baked it anyway and the good news is, everyone liked the bread!  So my first time making bread from scratch was a semi-success.

 And here's a shot of Sarah's Ghiradelli chocolate chip cookies and our white bean artichoke dip.

Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of Leigh Ann's fresh guacamole, but trust me, it was delicious.  Even though she had to leave out the cilantro because she bought parsley instead on accident.