Easy Cuban Bread

I have said it before, I'll say it again, I l have learned a lot from the Tightwad Gazette! I own the big huge, all 3 editions plus the bonus edition, which I bought for $19.95 years ago, and then I also have all the editions separately, which I have bought at garage sales or thrift stores. Why all these extra ones? I lend them out all the time! It makes me so happy to slide one of those books into some one's unsuspecting hands! It is full of simple recipes made from ingredients you actually have!!!!
This is Cuban Bread modified. I thought I'd add a little goodness to it. This is a great bread to use for dipping, with soups or stews. The key is it's fast. From start to finish it takes only 1 hour and 15 minutes, that's with rising time! The thing to remember with this recipe?? Start with a cold oven! This is the hardest part for me to remember, so I put it in bold for you!
Cuban Bread
5-6 cups all-purpose flour(you can substitute up to 1/2 the flour with whole wheat, what I did was a substituted a cup of flour for ground flax and wheatgerm)
2 Tbsp dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
2 cup hot water
1 Tbsp sesame or poppy seeds or oats
Mix 4 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in hot water and beat 100 strokes, or 3 minutes with a mixer. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead 8 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with damp towel. Let rise 15 minutes.Punch down. Divide into 2 pieces, shape into 2 round loaves and place on baking sheet. Cut an X 1/2 inch deep on top with sharp knife. Brush with water and sprinkle with seeds or oats.(I actually didn't do this this time) Place on the middle shelf of a cold oven. Place a cake pan of hot water on the lowest shelf. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake 40-50 minutes until deep golden brown.