Husband In The Kitchen: Tomato Loaf
Husband and I can both hold our own in the kitchen. However baking is far from my areas of expertise (and honestly my friends, I totally prefer savory to sweet). When it comes to the flour and oven combo Husband takes over. Pies, cookies, bread are all his domain.
Before we moved Husband made a loaf of bread weekly and had perfected his recipe. Being at the barn and having unlimited access to an abundance of fresh tomatoes he became inspired.
I give you Husband’s Tomato Loaf…
Will’s Whole Wheat Tomato Loaf
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
1.5 lb whole wheat flour (Approx. 3.5-4 cups)
16ish oz tomato puree (about 2 large tomatoes in a food processor)
Large dollop of honey
2-3 teaspoons salt
Handful of fresh Basil (minced)
Any additional seasonings you desire
3 teaspoons instant yeast
Additional 1/2 flour to achieve the desired consistency (if necessary)
 |
| When I changed my diet and nixed the refined sugar we started substituting honey |
The dough was VERY sticky surprisingly given that he added no water.
Letting it rise…
A masterpiece.
A spread of real butter and I was drooling.
Directions
Mix all ingredients until well combined. Add any additional flour needed and knead by hand or in a stand mixer until a tacky dough is formed. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. If the air conditioning is on I generally set the loaves outside, as the warm air will energize the yeast and result in a better rise (which makes for a taster loaf). Be careful however, as direct sunlight or extreme heat may kill the yeast.
Knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes and gently flatten the dough into a rough square on a greased bread pan. This recipe is large enough to do two loaves, and if you wish to do so just divide the dough at this stage. Now, take two opposite corners of the squared dough and fold them to the middle (like you are folding paper). Afterwards do the same for the other two corners. The dough should now be a small, fat square. Now fold two of the new corners into the middle. Congratulations! You have just shaped a beautiful loaf of bread!
At this point cover the pans and set aside to rise for 90 minutes.
During the final 30 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If you wish to have a crisp, shinny outer shell to the loaf, merely brush a small amount of water onto the outside of the bread before baking. I generally do this as it helps maintain the shape of the bread. You may also score the top of the bread with a wet knife if you want to make a fancy design.
Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan once so that the loaf browns evenly.
