There are some great flavors going on in this Tomato Basil Bread.
Homemade white bread and wheat bread are certainly fabulous. But sometimes it’s nice to shake things up a bit and make something different. Enjoy this Tomato Basil Bread with pasta, or use it to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Yum!
Ingredients needed:
- granulated white sugar
- warm water
- active dry yeast
- whole fresh basil leaves
- white whole wheat flour
- salt
- canned crushed tomatoes
- extra virgin olive oil
How to make Tomato Basil Bread:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
In a large bowl, dissolve ⅛ teaspoon of sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Stir and then let rest until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer, do this in the bowl of your stand mixer).
Using kitchen scissors to prevent bruising, snip the basil leaves into small ribbons and set aside..
Add the basil to the yeast mixture, plus 3 cups of flour along with the remaining sugar, salt, well-drained tomatoes and olive oil. Stir vigorously to form a dough, adding remaining flour as needed until dough comes together and isn’t so sticky. (If you have a stand mixer, add these ingredients to the bowl and let the dough hook do the mixing. Then you can let the dough hook do the kneading for 5 to 10 minutes. Add basil and knead until smooth and elastic. Skip to step 5).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle the dough with the basil and incorporate as you knead.
Lightly oil a large bowl. Place the dough inside, turning it over in the oil, and cover with a clean dish towel. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Return the dough to the floured surface and punch it down. Shape into a 9×5-inch loaf. (You can either shape it freeform and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or place it into a greased loaf pan.) Cover with the dish towel and put loaf in warm place to rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until hollow sounding when tapped. Cool on a wire rack
Note: we opted to bake this version of tomato basil bread in a loaf pan. That makes it turn out more like a sandwich loaf, and it’s easy to slice for sandwiches. If you prefer, you can shape it into a round and bake it that way. If you do this, it’s more functional to use it for serving with pasta and salad.
Little flecks of fresh basil and plenty of tomato flavor make this bread quite unique. I think you’ll be happy with the results. Enjoy!
The Best Bread Recipes:
- Portuguese Sweet Bread
- Rosemary Sea Salt Italian Bread
- Easy Homemade French Bread
- Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread
- Brioche Loaf Bread
Tomato Basil Bread
This recipe makes one loaf of a uniquely delicious yeast based bread.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, divided
- ¾ cup warm water (105°F. to 115°F)
- One .25-ounce envelope active dry yeast
- 30 whole basil leaves, stems removed
- 3 to 4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes (drained)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve ⅛ teaspoon of sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Stir and then let rest until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer, do this in the bowl of your stand mixer).
- Using kitchen scissors to prevent bruising, snip the basil leaves into small ribbons and set aside..
- Add to the yeast mixture, 3 cups of flour along with the remaining sugar, salt, well-drained tomatoes and olive oil. Stir vigorously to form a dough, adding remaining flour as needed until dough comes together and isn't so sticky. (If you have a stand mixer, add these ingredients to the bowl and let the dough hook do the mixing. Then you can let the dough hook do the kneading for 5 to 10 minutes. Add basil and knead until smooth and elastic. Skip to step 5).
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle the dough with the basil and incorporate as you knead.
- Lightly oil a large bowl. Place the dough inside, turning it over in the oil, and cover with a clean dish towel. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Return the dough to the floured surface and punch it down. Shape into a 9x5-inch loaf. (You can either shape it freeform and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or place it into a greased loaf pan.) Cover with the dish towel and put loaf in warm place to rise for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until hollow sounding when tapped. Cool on a wire rack
Notes
- Drain your crushed tomatoes well. Sometimes they can end up adding more liquid to the bread and thus making the bread a little more sticky. If it appears too sticky and isn't coming together, just add more flour until it feels right.
- To simulate a warm place for rising, turn your oven to 400 degrees for 1 minute. Turn off the oven and turn on the oven light. Place the bread bowl in the closed oven to rise, with a dish towel covering the top. Make sure the oven is OFF!
- Serve as bread with an Italian dinner, or sliced up for sandwiches.
Nutrition
Serving: 1loaf, Calories: 160kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 408mg, Potassium: 95mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 98IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have not tried this yet. But really would love to try it with my fresh tomatoes that are in my garden.
Can you put the dough in a bread pan?
sure!
Is there a conversion for a measurement of dried basil instead of the whole leaves?
not sure- you could try googling “sub dried basil for fresh” and see what is recommended.