Sundried Tomato Bread + A Sandwich!

I love this bread! It is a dense bread that makes the perfect partner to soups and hearty sandwiches. The flavor is wonderful and it bakes up beautifully!

Sun-Dried Tomato Bread

3 C. Bread Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 C. Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1 C. Milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Extra flour for kneading
2 tsp. Dried Basil
One Egg, for Egg Wash
1 Tbsp. Water

1. Combine all of your dry ingredients including your tomatoes.

2. Heat your milk in the microwave on high for about 20-30 seconds. You can also heat your milk in a saucepan over the stove for about one minute. Add milk to your dry ingredients. Add olive oil last. Combine until a ball of dough forms.

3. Knead for about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and place directly on your baking sheet. Normally you would place this in a bowl that is lightly oiled, but we are going to skip this step as we will not knead the dough a second time. Cover your dough, making sure you seal the sides of your pan, yet keeping enough slack for your dough to rise. Let sit in a warm spot until dough rises or doubles in size.

4. Sprinkle your dried basil over the top. Add about 1 Tbsp. of water to your egg and beat. Using a small pastry brush, brush your egg wash all over your dough. This will give your finished bread a beautiful glossy crust. Bake in your oven on 350 degrees until golden brown. One good way to tell if your bread is done is to tap on it. If it makes a hollow sound, then most likely it is ready to be taken out of the oven.



Like I said, this bread makes a really good hearty sandwich. Once your bread cools down enough to handle, cut it in half width wise, buttered each half, and pan toast them both. Then add some baby spinach, slice roma tomatoes, shredded mozarella and grated parmesean to the bottom half. Top it of with a bit of dried basil and placed it into a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts. Now place the top of your bread on top and cut into desired size. Yum!