Weekend Cooking: Pizza Sourdough Bread

If you love baking, you’ve probably already seen Farm Girl Fare – it’s a fantastic food blog. I love to poke around there for farmer’s market inspiration! It was Susan’s Fresh Tomato and Basil Sourdough that inspired one of my family’s favorites: Pizza Sourdough Bread. Sounds a little crazy, but a slice of this toasted with cream cheese is a heavenly breakfast. My younger daughter likes to use it for grilled tomato and provolone sandwiches!

Col’s Pizza Sourdough Bread

1 cup sourdough starter*
2 large heirloom tomatoes (no need to peel or remove the seeds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 ounces shredded Romano cheese
About 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
About 2 ½ cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt

Combine the sourdough starter and tomatoes in the bowl of a standing mixer and let sit for a few minutes. With the mixer running, add the olive oil, then the spices and cheese.

Slowly work the flour into the dough, alternating ½ cup whole wheat and ½ cup bread flour, until you have a stiff dough (you many need more or less flour, so I’ve given you a ballpark figure). Knead 10 minutes. (I do this with the dough hook, but if you want to do it by hand, you have my undying respect!) At the end the tomatoes will be pulverized, but your bread will still have lovely red and green flecks.

Place the kneaded dough in an olive-oiled bowl after turning it over once to make sure the top is also covered with oil, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled in size. Then punch down, reknead for about 5 minutes, divide in two and place in two loaf pans. Let rise again until doubled, and score right before placing in a 350 degree F oven until the bread sounds hollow when tapped (about 45 minutes). Remove from loaf pans immediately, and let cool completely on a wire rack.

*You could also start with a sponge of ¾ cup warm water, ¾ cup flour and 1 teaspoon yeast. Let it start to bubble before adding tomatoes.


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