Italian Style Tomato Bread Recipes

ITALIAN TOMATO & CHEESE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place bread halves, cut-sides up, on baking sheet.
• Mix oil, garlic and seasoning; drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with tomatoes and cheese.
• Bake 10 to 15 min. or until cheese is melted. Cut each bread half crosswise into 10 slices to serve.

MID-SUMMER ITALIAN BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Rub a peeled clove of garlic around a wooden salad bowl.
• Pull apart or chop the bread into bite-size pieces.
• In the prepared salad bowl, combine the bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, garlic, basil and thyme. Add enough olive oil and vinegar to lightly coat, toss and serve.

ITALIAN HERB TOMATO BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease an 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the egg, oil, and milk, followed by the grated cheese. The batter will be very thick.
• Combine the chopped garlic, tomatoes, basil, and oregano in a food processor. Using a series of 10-15 one-second pulses, chop the tomatoes and garlic until no large pieces remain, but mixture is not completely smooth.
• Fold the tomato and garlic mixture into the batter. Resulting batter will still be thick, but should be fully moist. If dry patches of flour remain, stir in an additional 2-3 tablespoons of milk. If batter is quite wet, stir in an additional 2-3 tablespoons of flour.
• Pour (scoop) the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 45-50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy while still warm.

PANZANELLA: TRADITIONAL ITALIAN BREAD AND TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• Place the bread into a serving bowl which will accommodate the rest of the ingredients.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle with the salt, drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar and toss again, until well mixed.
• Leave for a few minutes so that the juice can soak into the bread cubes, then serve.

HERB STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the tomatoes in half, horizontally. Seed by gently squeezing the tomato halves. Use a small spoon to gently hollow out the inside of the tomatoes, being careful not to puncture the outer shell. Reserve the pulp.
• Chop the reserved pulp and put in a medium bowl. Add the parsley, bread crumbs, cheese, optional garlic, and pepper and mix gently to combine.
• Place the tomato halves in a buttered casserole dish, and fill with the bread crumb mixture.
• Drizzle the top of the tomatoes with olive oil. Bake until the tops are browned, about 20 minutes.

ITALIAN STYLE TOMATO BREAD

Steps:

• Heat about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chile and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool a couple of minutes.
• Halve the bread across horizontally and toast or char.
• Halve the tomato across horizontally and rub the flesh vigorously into the toasted surface of the bread and season with salt, to taste. If you are garnishing with anchovies skip the salt. Dress the tomato bread with chile oil and garnish with capers, olives and anchovies, if using. Cut into serving portions and serve.

TUSCAN TOMATO AND BREAD SOUP - PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Coat a large wide pot with olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Season with salt and crushed red pepper, to taste, and cook until the onions are soft and very aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt, to taste, and cook until the tomatoes are really soft and juicy, about 12 to 15 minutes. Toss in the whole basil leaves.
• Working in batches, carefully puree the tomatoes in a blender*. Return the tomato puree to the pot and add the tomato juice and the bread. Cook the soup over medium heat for until the bread has completely lost its shape and the soup is really thick, about 20 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with grated cheese, basil chiffonade and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil.

ITALIAN TOMATO PIE

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add olive oil and 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons water. Knead on low speed just until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead once more on low speed for 10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Remove dough hook, cover top of mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (up to 24 hours).
• Meanwhile, for the sauce, add tomatoes to a food processor and roughly puree. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, shallot, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook and stir until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pureed tomatoes and season with sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 45 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat, bring to room temperature, and refrigerate until dough has finished rising.
• Generously grease the inside of a 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Remove dough from the refrigerator 2 hours before baking. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a flat ball. Transfer ball to the greased baking sheet. Coat the ball on all sides with olive oil using your hands, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough should spread out . Carefully stretch and push the dough into the corners and edges of the pan. Cover loosely, and let rise for 1 hour longer.
• Adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• When dough has risen, gently dock center with fingertips and use your hands to create a risen ridge about 1 inch wide around the edge.
• Spread dough generously with sauce, leaving the raised 1-inch edge without the sauce. Bake until edges are lightly browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese, cut into slices, and serve.