Tomato Basil Garlic Sourdough Bread - Photos

So, lately I've gotten into making my own bread and soft pretzels. It's surprisingly easy, definitely delicious, and about the cheapest way to enjoy great bread! Anyhow, last night I made some amazing bread and thought I'd share the recipe with all of you. I started with this recipe, and added a little to it.

You'll need:

1 packet of active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of sourdough starter (you can buy this at the grocery store, get it from a friend, or start your own)

1 cup warm tomato juice (under 110 degrees)

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

7 cups white flour (approximately)

Vegetable oil

First, dissolve the yeast in a cup of warm water, under 11o degrees because that will kill the yeast and the bread won't rise. Set aside for a few minutes.

Your starter should be able to rise on it's own and bubbly.

In a large bowl, mix starter and tomato juice. V8 is great, it's just too expensive here, so I go for the cheap stuff. Then add salt, sugar, and yeast mixture and stir well making sure to get out the lumps.

Now is the point when you can add whatever into the batter that you would like to. I added garlic powder and LOTS of basil. The basil really makes it so don't skimp! I would have added some chopped up sundried tomatos, but I didn't have any. Next time.

Start adding 1 cup of flour at a time slowly stirring it into the mixture. Mix well to develop the gluten. When the dough is firm enough, turn out onto a floured surface to knead the dough into a smooth and elastic dough, being sure to knead out all the lumps and adding in the last bits of flour as you go. This is half way there, at about 3.5 cups.

When you're done kneading the dough, put it into a lightly oiled, large bowl and set it in a draft free place to rise for at least an hour. I usually set mine in the microwave. Remember it will double in size.

Push the dough back down and make sure to unstick the dough from the edges. Separate the dough into little loaves depending on the size you are wanting them for. Sometimes we make bread bowls for soup and of course these are smaller than the regular loaves. We typically make two larger loaves and three small loaves to share with neighbors and friends. Place on greased baking sheets with some room between them. Let them sit for an additional 30 minutes to rise again.

If you'd like to put anything on top, now is the time to do it. I found these great garlic flavored sesame seeds here. So, I add plenty of sesame seeds and some sea salt on top for some added flavor. You can also slit the top if your afraid of the crust breaking.

No need to preheat the oven, just put them in and turn your oven on at 350 for 30-45 minutes until they are golden brown on the bottom. It takes right at 35 minutes for mine to bake and I always make sure to take them out and check the bottoms just to make sure. If they bake into each other, it's no problem, just tear them apart.

For a softer crust, let cool under a clean dish towel and for a crispier crust, let them cool without. Here's how mine looked done!

As you can see, Josh was busy updating his blog while I was baking. :)

I hope you try this and enjoy it. It's really rewarding and just plain delicious! You'll never have to buy bread again! :)