Sunday, January 23, 2011

Fresh Tomato and Basil Loaf

My son loves this bread. He had this both for breakfast and lunch on Sunday! If you are looking for a great sandwich bread, this would be it! This bread is great as a simple sandwich for breakfast, with slices of ham and cheese. Delicious for lunch as well, simply add some lettuce, slices of tomatoes, cucumbers and a thick slice of ham or a patty burger, top with some of your favourite sauce, and you will have a very satisfying lunch, with a glass of cold orange juice! 

This is a lovely loaf of bread. I was looking for a sandwich bread and found this recipe from Jennie Shapter's "Bread Machine", this book belongs to my sis, I borrowed it to try out a few recipes, and I picked the right one! Fresh tomato and garden fresh basil leaves with the addition of ground black pepper makes this a really flavorful savoury bread. I reduced the salt from  1-1/2 teaspoons to just a little over 1 teaspoon, which I think is just about right, if you intend to serve this with ham or other savoury filling. If you are serving this to young children, I would advise to go easy on the black pepper. The taste of the black pepper is wonderful, my son did not complain, but the peppery taste is definitely there, and you can feel it with each bite. Perfect for me!


Simple sandwich of homemade bread with slices of ham and cheese makes a satisfying Sunday breakfast!


Good on its own, dipped in soups too!


Fresh basil leaves from the garden!


After twice folded, roll into a log and shape into an "S". Leave in oiled baking pan to rise.


After about an hour, it has risen above the top level of the baking pan. Brush with egg glaze and goes straight into the oven!


Wonderful aroma!


Really tasty!


Enjoy it spread with plain butter and a cup of hot black coffee!

I'm linking this lovely bread with
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage.
Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen


Fresh Tomato and Basil Loaf
(adapted from "Bread Machine" by Jennie Shapter)
Makes : 1 loaf
15ml/1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, about 200gm/7oz, peeled, seeded and chopped
500gm/1lb 2oz/4-1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour
2.5ml/1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
7.5ml/1-1/2 tsp salt (I use about 1-1/8 tsp, just right)
10ml/2 tsp granulated sugar
5m/1 tsp easy-blend dried yeast
15ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

For the Glaze :
1 egg yolk
15ml/1 tbsp water

  1. Heat the extra virgin oil in a small frying pan or saucepan. Add the chopped onion and fry over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is light golden in colour.
  2. Add the plum tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened. Drain through a sieve placed over a measuring jug or bowl, pressing the mixture gently with the back of a spoon to extract the juices.
  3. Set the tomato and onion mixture aside. Make the cooking juices up to 280ml/10fl oz/1-1/4 cups with water (but see Variation). Set aside. When the liquid is cold, pour it into the bread machine pan. If the instructions for your machine specify that the yeast is to be placed first in the pan, reverse the order in which you add the liquid and dry ingredients.
  4. Sprinkle over the flour, ensuring that it covers the tomato and onion liquid. Add the ground black pepper, then place the salt and sugar in separate corners of the bread machine pan.
  5. Make a small dent in the centre of the flour (but not down as far as the liquid) and add the yeast.
  6. Set the bread machine to the dough setting, use basic dough setting (if available). Press Start. Then lightly oil a 23x13cm/9x5in bread tin.
  7. When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough from the bread machine and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knock it back gently.
  8. Knead in the preserved tomato and onion mixture and the chopped fresh basil. You may need to add a little extra flour if the dough becomes too moist when you have incorporated the vegetable mixture.
  9. Flatten the dough and shape it into a 2.5cm/1in thick rectangle. Fold the sides to the middle and press down the edge to seal. Make a hollow along the centre and fold in half again. Gently roll it into a loaf about 40cm/16in long.
  10. Shape into an "S" shape and place in the prepared tin. Cover with oiled clear film and leave in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  11. Make the glaze by mixing the egg yolk and water together. Remove the clear film and brush the glaze over the bread. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden.
VARIATION :
To intensify the tomato flavour of the loaf, substitute 15ml/1 tbsp sun-dried tomato puree for 15ml/1 tbsp of water when you are topping up the cooking juices in step 3.


28 comments:

  1. I adore tomatoes and basil so I think this look amazing!!! gloria

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  2. this sounds great, i would love to try this one day..i dont think i want to get the sundried tomato puree, do you think i can subsitute with some tomato juice or rather just leave it with the original juices and top up with water like you mentioned?

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  3. Your bread looks and smells lovely! Joy I love the technique to shape the loaf into an "s" shape, that helps keep end ends from being so small once baked. Thanks!

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  4. Yum, I am a big bread lover. Your bread sounds far better than anything I can get at the grocery store bakery here. Wish I had a loaf of that right now to munch on.

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  5. You've just got to love those bread machine recipes- they make bread making so simple! I love the flavors in your bread, and I know that it would definitely make a great sandwich!

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  6. Oh, this sounds delicious! Here, we have a chain called Panera Bread where they make bread and also serve soups and sandwiches. My favorite is their tomato basil bread sandwich. I must try your recipe to see if it comes close to the bread I love. Thank you!

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  7. Joy this Fresh Tomato and Basil Bread looks heavenly. I can almost smell it and sure wish I had a piece right now. Thank you so much for bringing it to Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next Thursday!

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  8. What a lovely bread with the tomato and basil! I can see the deliciousness in it!

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  9. I am sure it is yummy but my kids would be removing the tomatoes, cucumber...

    If you need extra basil, you can get some from my bouquet today. :)

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  10. Thats a wonderful looking bread, looks soo prefect..

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  11. We love homemade breads and I bake at least 2 loaves every week. This sounds like a really tasty loaf!

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  12. Hmmmm..I love bread of any kind, especially the spicy one like this.I want to try it! Is it ok if I substitute with butter instead of olive oil, not that I dont like it, maybe to try another option. I see you have lots of bread recipes...they all look sooo delicious!

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  13. This sounds perfect. Your bread has a wonderful crumb and it looks delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  14. I am a huge fan of homemade loaves! This loaf looks so good with fresh tomato and basil!

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  15. Thank you for the follow....this bread screams yummy! Can't wait to make it....Blessings, K

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  16. You are lucky to have fresh basil for your bread. I never got good luck with basil, they are always chomp off by caterpillars before I can harvest them *sign*

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  17. Hi everyone,
    Thank you for all your lovely comments. If you're trying this bread, hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

    Hi Lena,
    I just top up the juice (which is not much actually) with water. I did thought of using canned unsweetened tomato juice, but I was lazy to go to the store! Hope you try this out. Happy Baking and enjoy the bread!

    Hi p3chandan,
    I have just left a comment on your site! Happy baking!

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  18. Hi, got here through Malar's blog...
    Woah, this tomato-basil bread looks so delicious... hope to persuade my partner to try out your recipe one day...
    and she is saying 'in the summer'...

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  19. I love the bread as your son ..
    I will du it ....
    Thank you :)
    Magda

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  20. What a great recipe that I am saving and hope to try preparing in my bread machine but baking it in the oven. Anything with basil draws me to it. It looks really really good.

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  21. I like bread, and I liked your cook. Simple sandwich is great. Thank you.

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  22. Your loaf looks so delicious!

    Barbara

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  23. What a wonderful idea - I love tomatoes and basil (a match made in heaven after all) and never would have thought of combining them in a bread. A must try!
    Sue :-)

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  24. Very tasty! I would probably have put oven-dried tomatoes in the bread.

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  25. Hi friends,
    Thank you for stopping by! Wishing all of you a lovely day!

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  26. This is so easy to make and great for adults and kids. I think you've got the combination of basil and tomato just right. I really want to make this and might even put some small bits of capsicum in when I try it.

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  27. thanks for yr reply, maybe i try using some tomato juice.

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  28. Hi stopping by from Mom's Sunday Cafe, I included this wonderful post in my Wednesday and wandering series. Have a great day!

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