The striking color of this Tomato Herb Bread catches everyone’s attention. And the flavor brings compliments. This is a recipe for a yeast tomato bread that’s made using a stand mixer with a dough hook. Beautifully fragrant, and savory in flavor, you’ll be wanting to make this easy tomato bread recipe over and over.
My bread making interests have now transformed into a designated once a week bread making day. And I’m having more fun.
This homemade Italian tomato bread recipe is one that we made several times in the pastry kitchen at Culinary School. And it was always popular with our group. The color alone is enough to make anyone swoon. This bread is made with tomato paste rather than fresh tomatoes. There are plenty of herbs and all of the usual suspects for a beautiful loaf of yeast bread.
The recipe simply calls for “fresh herbs” so play around with flavors. I have always picked rosemary and thyme.
The kneading instructions in this recipe call for kneading until you feel resistance. So exactly how do you tell when bread dough has been kneaded enough? The Poke Test – Give that ball of dough a firm poke with your finger. If the indentation fills back quickly, you’re good to go. If it stays looking like a deep dimple, continue kneading. I also watch how the dough interacts with the Kitchen Aid Mixer bowl. If it is starting to pull away from the sides of the bowl, leaving the bowl somewhat clean, chances are it’s done. You should also listen for the dough slapping against the sides of the bowl while kneading.
Steps to make this Italian Tomato Bread:
- Mix yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of your stand mixer until bubbly. Add tomato paste, milk, egg and oil. Mix with the paddle attachment until blended.
- Add flour, salt and herbs and combine with the tomato paste mixture. Mix until you reach the shaggy mass stage. Let rest ten minutes. (This is called the autolyse period).
- Switch to dough hook and knead.
- Remove dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about an hour.
- Shape the dough into a loaf and cover for the second rise, about 40 minutes.
- Bake and enjoy.
- Once the bread has cooled a bit, slice and slather with butter. There’s nothing better than a fresh baked warm slice of bread.
Note: Since this fresh loaf of bread is completely preservative free, it will only keep for a few days. If you’ve not used it up, pop it in the freezer. Bread freezes so well, you’ll be glad you did.
Herbed Tomato Bread Recipe
I hope you give this beautiful homemade bread recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite herbed bread recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
And I challenge you to bake at least once a week. Take the time! It’s not just for celebrating holidays or special occasion dinners. Heating up that oven to make a fresh loaf of bread confirms the importance of understanding where our food comes from and why homemade is always better. And baking for others makes you happy and makes them very happy. That’s a win-win.
More Bread Recipes:
Herbed Tomato Bread
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ cup warm water should be around 110 degrees
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups tomato paste
- 4 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup fresh herbs chopped
Instructions
- Combine ½ cup warm (110 degree) water and the sugar in the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer. Sprinkle the yeast on surface of the water and let sit until bubbly. Add the milk, egg, oil and tomato paste to this mixture. With a paddle attachment, mix on low speed until just blended.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and herbs. Add this to Tomato and yeast mixture. Mix until blended. Cover and let this rest for 10 minutes (autolyse stage)
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead until resistance is felt, adding additional flour and cool water as needed.
- Remove dough and place it in a large bowl that has been coated with cooking spray. Turn the dough once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled. About an hour.
- Shape the dough into a loaf. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled. About 40 minutes.
- Bake the bread in a preheated 375 degree oven. The bread should take about 40-ish minutes to bake to a light golden brown. Watch it carefully. In my oven a boule shape was done in 20 minutes and a loaf baked in a loaf pan, 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
I don’t know if my problem was that I used the packet of quick yeast which I added to the flour mixture as the recipe suggested, but my bread was dense and heavy. I think it was more acidic than I care for too. It sure smelled wonderful as it was baking but I was pretty disappointed with the heaviness of the bread.
Hi Patricia, I’m so sorry for your disappointment. The recipe actually calls for regular yeast, not quick. I’m not sure how that would affect the texture. Over or under proofing can cause texture issues, along with humidity. I hope you try it again.
When I was in Santa Fe I bought a delicious red & a bit peppy bread at farmers market!!!
I’m thinking if I use this recipe as a base & add my fabulous NM red chilies powder from Las Cruces farmers market….I may replicate that delicious bread…with a bit of parm tossed in!!!!
What do you think????
Delicious with spaghetti or with sandwiches.
Hi Marjorie, It does sound perfect for spaghetti, thanks for that suggestion. Also love the sandwich suggestion. Thanks for taking the time to rate and write a review. So much appreciate it.
Would dried herbs work in place of fresh herbs in this recipe?
The amount of tomato paste in this recipe makes the bread taste slightly too acidic, so I think maybe some Parmesan cheese or onion/garlic powder to drown that out would’ve been good. I also ended up having to put in significantly more flour than the recipe called for.
However, other than those concerns, this bread is delicious and fragrant and very unique. My kids are calling it “pizza bread,” and I think it’s a hit for savory bread.
I made this yesterday morning after reading about it. Best ever!! I plan to keep a supply of this bread in the freezer all next winter to go with soups on those snowy Colorado days!!
I took that bread as an appetizer for wine night last year. Simply sliced and served with room temp butter. The color is a great conversation starter and everyone raves about the flavor. So glad you tried it and thanks for your note.
The Best Bread!
Hi Jackie. And thanks so much for taking the time to review and rate. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
That is a gorgeous color! I bet it tastes as good as it looks. 1/2 cup herbs and 1 1/2 cup tomato paste is a ton of flavor! This I have to try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Boy, the color of this is amazing! Bet the flavor is, too. Lovely looking loaf — nice crumb, too. Fun stuff — thanks.
I love the idea of a designated bread day. My mom always made bread on Mondays and I can still remember being excited to get home and have a slice!
Unique recipe that I’l certainly use this summer when asked to bring something to a barbecue!
It’s cold and rainy and I fell like making bread! Thanks for this recipe! (Am also playing around with an avocado chicken salad recipe and this bread would be gorgeous with it I think!)
Avocado Chicken Salad is a perfect thing to play around with.
Lea Ann, that is indeed a gorgeous loaf! And I so agree with you about taking the time to make bread at least once a week. I’ve been making bread at least twice a week for years, and I heartily recommend it.
I usually make two recipes on the same day – so I’m not dragging out all the mess twice a week. 🙂 Making bread is better than taking a valium.
Definitely a unique color for bread and I can see it tasting very good – will pass on to the family baker. Hope you are feeling better.
Let me know if Bev makes it and what you think.