Tomato Bread

Isn’t it fun to try out various flavours in your bread loaf? I enjoy trying out. Just to be on the safer side, I prefer to bake such experimental breads in one of my smaller loaf pans. Also such breads taste better when it is really fresh, so no point in making big standard size loaf for a small family like us. 

This time the experimentation was with tomatoes and indian herbs and spices. If you get cherry tomatoes, please use then or else use normal tomatoes that we use at home. Now how to roast these tomatoes? If you have enough time at hand, you can bake these in the oven at say around 180 degree celsius for around 10-15 minutes. But since, I was a bit busy yesterday and didn’t have much time, I roasted them in a frying pan with a dash of olive oil. Without much write up, let’s quickly see how the recipe goes. It’s simple and quite straightforward like any bread recipe. Btw, this bread is free of maida, eggless and vegan too. What else do we want? Perfect to make a cheese toast with dome veggies and a liberal sprinkle of oregano. This was what went into Neha’s tiffin box for her mid morning snack. Or simple toast it and spread some butter and enjoy with a cup of tea. Use a 240 ml cup.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour 250 gm (2 cups)
• Tomatoes 2 medium
• Salt to taste
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp
• Honey 2 tsp
• Chilli flakes 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves handful
• Sesame seeds as required
• Lukewarm water as required
• Olive oil 2-3 tbsp

Method:

• Wash the tomatoes and slice into big chunks.
• Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and roast the tomatoes till it looks roasted.

• Cool it and puree it in a mixer. No need for a very fine paste.
• Mix the flour, salt, instant yeast, chilli flakes in a big bowl. Add the tomato puree and honey and mix well.

• Sprinkle lukewarm water as required and knead it.
• Sprinkle oil and knead using the stretch and fold method till you get a soft and supple dough.
• Oil a big bowl and place the kneaded dough in it and cover the bowl with a cling film.
• Allow the dough to rise till it is double in volume. This might take around an hour.
• Once the dough rises well, take out the dough and knead it for a minute or two.
• Add the finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
• Roll it into a log and shape it well. Place it in a well oiled tin. I have used a small 7 by 2.5 inches loaf tin.

• Let the bread rise till the brim of the tin. This might take around 30-40 minutes.
• Meanwhile preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius for atleast 10 minutes.
• Apply water wash on top and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
• Bake the bread for 40 minutes or so till the bottom sounds hollow when tapped or the internal temperature reads around 90 degree celsius. 
• Take the tin out of the oven and let it cool in the tin for 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer the loaf onto a wire rack and allow it to cool for 3-4 hours.
• Slice neatly with a long serated knife and enjoy it 🙂