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Let’s talk bread.
Specifically, let’s talk about homemade bread. About this homemade delicious Tomato Basil bread that is super easy to make, even for those short on time (Baby Boy likes to keep us busy), or those not confident in their bread baking abilities.
Let’s talk about the type of bread that you can just throw together in between naps (baby’s, or your own if you prefer) and still have come out looking and tasting amazing.
I’ve always wanted to bake bread, and to be a good bread baker. When I was in college I picked up an advanced bread baking book. It went over in painstaking detail every facet of baking bread, from the types of yeasts and flour to the various baking methods. Being young and naive, I bypassed most of that dry stuff (little bread humor for you) and focused squarely on what I thought was the coolest part of the book; building a brick oven!
I wanted to build my own brick oven so I could bake the most delicious bread and pizza you could possibly imagine. Never mind that I was not in the least handy with tools (I’ve since acquired that skill, funny what owning an old home forces you to learn), or for that matter was not an experienced bread baker who could truly utilize a brick oven. In fact, I had never once made bread before.
And yet I wanted to build a brick oven. Who knows what was going through my head (probably images of delicious looking bread), but I enthusiastically started on my oven. I got as far as digging a 10 foot by 10 foot hole about a foot deep- in my parents’ backyard. Then I graduated college and left for Japan for a year (Have fun with that hole in your backyard, Mom and Dad!).
What good parents, not killing me.
I never did build that brick oven. But I found out that you don’t need one to get delicious bread. And while I’ve had more than my fair share of failures, I’m inspired to keep going. I recently purchased some King Arthur Sourdough Starter after reading a number of delicious sourdough recipes on Sydney’s blog, Crepes of Wrath, that inspired me. I made my first test loaf over the weekend, and am looking forward to sharing many recipes.
But before we get into that, I wanted to kick things off with a simple recipe. And this Tomato Basil Bread is just that. Honestly, this recipe is very forgiving. There isn’t much more to it than throwing all the ingredients in your stand mixer and allowing for two risings before baking. No fancy techniques. No special starters or flours.
Oh, and no brick oven required.
PS – We’re very excited to (pre)announce our very first give away. We’ll be sharing all the details in tomorrow’s post, so be sure to swing by!
Ingredients
- 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees )
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced (may be substituted with 2 tablespoons dried basil)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 1/2-2 3/4 cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in basil, Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, sugar, oil, salt, pepper flakes, and 2 cups flour. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down; knead for 1 minute. Shape into a round loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet (or pizza stone). Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour.
- With a sharp knife, cut a large "X" in the top of the loaf. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.
- Cooking time: 35 minute(s)
Recipe from: Food.com
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Welcome to The Keenan Cookbook! We're your hosts Chris & Rachel. 
this looks fantastic. i’m clearly on a homemade bread kick if you can’t tell from my post today but i love the flavor combo in this bread! would be great would soup! can’t wait to hear how your starter turns out.
Thanks Lindsay! Your new post has me hungry for more bread, they all look delicious! I’m looking forward to sharing how our attempts go
this bread looks fantastic!! great flavor combo.
Thanks Brandi! We had to keep ourselves from eating just the bread for lunch.
This looks SO GOOD. My boyfriend’s college roommate used to make tomato basil bread (in his breadmaker, not quite so fancy) all the time, and it’s my favorite. Maybe *this* will be the post that will finally convince me things that need rising time are not scary…
P.S. I laughed so hard at the image of you digging a giant hole in your parents’ backyard and then jetting off to Japan. Nice touch.
Tara, I thought about you while writing the post. This is definitely a good bread to start with!
Glad I entertained with my hole digging story – my parents are saints for letting me do that!
Heehee, I’m honored to be the proverbial bread-for-dummies poster child!
I seriously hate *gasp* tomatoes but your bread looks perfect!
Noooo!! Heheh, jk. Glad that even with your dislike of tomatoes you like the look of this bread.
I had a good chuckle over that 10 foot hole in your parents’ backyard. How patient parents can be! This bread is so pretty to look at and I’m sure it tastes even better.
They are great role models, I hope I’m as patient when Baby Boy does something as silly to us (which he will – it always comes around)
Looks great! I can’t wait to see what you do with the starter!
I’ve got a ways to go before I’m baking like Kramer, but he’s inspired me
The bread looks awesome! It’s funny you dug a hole for your own brick oven. I hope you tried many kinds of bread in Japan.
That looks and sounds amazing. I’m bookmarking this for next summer when my MIL brings us baskets of basil.
Thank you Launie! You will love this bread!
So happy to have found your recipe. I had tomato basil bread with a sandwich at Panera’s and MUST have it at home! I will give this a try and let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh good! Yes, we are Panera lovers here and no joke, this Tomato Basil Bread is a pretty darn close sub to the real deal. Let us know how you like it!
I LOVED your recipe! I posted my photos of it today and linked back to your recipe, thanks!
http://www.abakershouse.com/2012/09/tomato-basil-bread.html
So glad you liked it! Your photos are gorgeous, makes me want to bake it again. In fact, I think I just might
i made a loaf of this lastnight to test it,today i made four.
i absolutely love it,its amazing.im pretty stoked i found this website,i love alot of the recipes ive looked at on here
So glad you liked it Erika, thanks for sharing! And thanks for reading