Tomato Basil Bread

Back in June 2012, I shared a family favorite bread recipe, Tomato Basil Bread, with instructions on making it in the bread machine.  The original recipe came from here at Stolen Moments Cooking.  With THRIVE Tomato Powder on special this month (February 2013), I made the bread by hand this weekend and did a little tweaking to the instructions.  Since it's a little more work making it by hand, I'll probably make it more often in the bread machine so I'm also including tweaked bread machine instructions here too.

My biggest tweak was to not use tomato paste, nor did I make tomato paste from my THRIVE Tomato Powder.  Instead, I increased the water amount and simply added in the THRIVE Tomato Powder dry.  This worked wonderfully.  It was a lot less work as I didn't have to make the paste first, but also because I didn't have to clean the bowl that I would have made the paste in.  The other tweak that I made (and I make this to most recipes) is that I try to use a mix of whole wheat flour, oats and white flour whenever I make a bread recipe (bread, muffins, pizza dough, etc.).  It adds more flavor and more nutrition.

To conserve energy and keep my utility bills lower, I keep my thermostat set to a cool temperature in the winter.  This is great for my finances but not so great for trying to get bread to rise.  One tip I've learned over the years to counter this is to turn my oven on to about 180° and then turn it off.  I then place my dough in the oven to rise.  It works great; but be careful to not get the oven so warm that the dough actually starts baking.

Tomato Basil Bread (by hand)

• 1 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
• 3/4 cup + 1/3 cup warm water
• 2 t dried basil
• 1/4 c grate parmessan cheese
• 2 1/2 t  THRIVE Tomato Powder
• 1 T Sugar
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1 t salt
• 1/8 - 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 1/4 – 2 1/2 c. flour (I use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, and the rest white flour)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast with water.  Stir in basil, Parmesan, tomato powder, sugar, oil, salt, pepper flakes and 2 c. flour.  Stir in enough 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 top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place (like my oven - see tip above) until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; knead for 1 minute.  Shape into a round loaf.  Place on a greased baking sheet (I used a round stone).  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.  With a sharp knife, cut a large X in top of loaf.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Original Recipe and instructions at Stolen Moments Cooking

Tomato Basil Bread for Bread Machine

• 3/4 c. + 1/3 cup warm water
•  1 T. olive oil
• 2 1/4 – 2 1/2 c. flour (I use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, and the rest white flour)
• 2 t. dried basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning
• 2 1/2 t THRIVE Tomato Powder
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1/8 – 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 t. yeast)

Add liquid ingredients to bread machine pan.  Add flour, herbs, THRIVE Tomato Powder, parmesan, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes on top.  Create a well in dry ingredients and add yeast.  Use 1 lb loaf setting for bread machine.


For both of these recipes, if you want to make this while you are waiting for your THRIVE Tomato Powder order to arrive, you can use 2 T tomato paste.  A small can of tomato paste generally contains 10 T of tomato paste.

Sharing this at Finding the Pretty and Delicious at Your Home Based Mom,  The Busy Bee's Thursday Blog Hop, and Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff.  Go check out all the other great ideas and recipes!