Tomato Basil Bread

I wanted a perfect bread for a grilled cheese. What is better than a tomato basil bread.
I tried out this recipe since it called for diced tomatoes in place of paste or juice.

3 - 4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
3/4 cup basil leaves
2 tsp salt
2 -3 tbsp sugar (based on your taste)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tsp of yeast ( around one packet )

Cut the basil into ribbons. For ease stack up the leaves and use scissors to cut the strips.

Mix the water and one tsp of water and warm in microwave for 15 seconds. Add the yeast and mix. Set aside for 5 - 6 minutes and watch for the yeast to get all bubbly.

Mix 3 cups flour, salt, diced tomato, rest of the sugar. Add the oil and the yeast to the mixture. Start kneading the flour while adding the rest of the flour gradually. Add the basil to the mixture and continue to knead. Do not add more flour then is necessary to get a smooth dough. If the dough is too unmanageable, one thing that is very handy is to cover the dough and step away for 10 minutes.

Set the dough aside in a warm place and let it rise till it doubles (about an hour). Punch the dough down. Shape it into two rounds. Place on an oiled cookie sheet and cover with a towel. Let it rise for another 45 minutes.

I baked these at a 350 F oven for 25 minutes. I added a boiling pan of water in the bottom. Next time I think I will form it into a single loaf and bake at 450 F for about 25 minutes. This was a soft bread which is nice for cheese sandwiches but next time I am going to aim for some crust.

The tomato flavour in the bread was lovely but the basil was not where where I wanted it. Maybe the tomato was too powerful. Next time I will try with more basil and less tomato.

I will leave you with a picture of my breakfast with two slices of tomato toast. Egg white cheese omelet, steamed vegetables and toast. It was just too early in the day for a grilled cheese.