Oven Dried Tomato Parmesan Bread Recipes

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Halve 2 pounds plum tomatoes lengthwise. Place cut-side up on a baking sheet, season with salt and let stand 20 minutes. Roast in a 250 degrees F oven until slightly dry but still juicy, about 4 hours. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment; for thinnest chips, use a Silpat baking mat. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on pan, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs; season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer pan to oven; dry until juices have stopped running, edges are shriveled, and pieces have shrunken slightly; timing will vary depending on the variety, ripeness, and desired degree of dryness, 1 1/2 to 6 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 3 days, or frozen, for up to 6 weeks.

PARMESAN-ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place tomatoes in a bowl and toss gently with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and top each tomato half with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until Parmesan cheese is melted and slightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

NO-KNEAD ROSEMARY PARMESAN SUN-DRIED TOMATO BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl add flour.
• With hands stir in yeast,rosemary, tomatoes, cheese and salt.
• Add honey to water; stir into flour mixture and blend until dough is shaggy and sticky (to sticky to knead).
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. (I usually have to put in the refrigerator to keep it from rising to fast.).
• Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
• Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. (See Note Line 17).
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
• Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal, sprinkled with garlic granules or powder.
• Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours.
• When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
• At least a half-hour before dough is ready to bake, heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Put a 3 to 4-quart heavy covered dutch oven (cast iron, cast aluminum) in oven to preheat.
• When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.
• Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that's O.K.
• Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.
• Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is golden brown. Cool on a rack.
• Note: Instead of removing the dough to a floured board (Step 7), I use the bowl; Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and turn over, sprinkle more flour on top then fold the dough it over and on itself a couple times.

OVEN-DRIED-TOMATO STECCA RECIPE

Steps:

• Dry tomatoes: If your tomatoes are medium or large, cut away the stem, cut them in half, and scoop or squeeze out the juice and seeds, reserving the tomato guts for the dough. Then cut the tomatoes into bite-size pieces about ¼-inch thick. If you are using cherry tomatoes, you can just nick them to squeeze out the guts, then cut them in half. Drying is easiest with a dehydrator. If you have one, set it to medium (about 150°F) and dehydrate the tomatoes for several hours until semi-dry but still flexible. Or place the tomatoes on wire racks in an oven set as low as it goes and dry for several hours. You could also go old school and place the tomatoes on a wire rack, cover them with cheesecloth, then allow them to air-dry outside on a warm, sunny day or in a sunny window until ready to use. This method will take several days. You don't want them leathery like fully dehydrated tomatoes, just more concentrated and less watery than fresh tomatoes.
• Mix dough: Weigh the flour and the remaining ingredients, including the tomato guts. If you're short on tomato guts, make up the difference with water. We'll be mixing by hand, so everything will go into a mixing bowl.
• Combine the tomato guts, water, oil, yeast, poolish, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon, dough scraper, or your hands, scraping the bottom of the bowl to hydrate all the flour. Keep mixing by stirring, folding, and breaking up the dough for another 3 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Then add the salt and repeat mixing (breaking up and folding the dough) for 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Then add the oven-dried tomatoes and mix again for 3 minutes. Finally, cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Then transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container with a lid and room for the dough to double in volume. Put on the lid and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Do a four-fold: Think of the dough as having a middle and four sides. If the dough is sticky, wet your hand to prevent sticking, then make your hand like a paddle (or just use a dough scraper) and dig it down one side of the container. Scoop up the dough, stretching just a little to create some tension. Then flop that section onto the center of the dough.
• Give the container a quarter turn and repeat the stretch-and-fold action. Repeat until all four sides are folded. The dough should now appear less slack and have some more height. (At this point, we like to flip the dough over, so the folds are on the bottom and the smooth side is on top. This helps to hold more tension in the bulk shape, a good thing for overall structure.)
• Return the container to the fridge for 8 to 24 hours. On the short end of that range, the dough will be bubbly and well risen, and on the long end, it may be more wobbly and on the brink of collapse. Try not to let it go too long.
• Shape: Pull the dough from the fridge. At this point, it should be very bubbly and inflated. Place a large baking stone on a rack, preferably near the top of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Have a couche, sheet pan or large cutting board, and a bench knife ready. Dust a section of countertop liberally with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Dust the top of the dough with more flour. This is a sticky dough, so be prepared to handle it lightly. Coax the dough from an oval into a loose rectangle, then divide the dough in half, bisecting the long sides. Divide each piece again to make four strips of dough, about 3 by 10 inches. Dust all the cut edges with flour. Roll each strip over once to ensure it is evenly coated with flour, then gently lift it onto the couche. Leave about an inch of fabric between each strip, lifting the fabric so that each strip of dough supports the other with folds of fabric between them. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Assemble your toppings, in this case, the olive oil and salt. Cut a sheet of parchment paper that will fit over the back side of a half sheet pan to use as a peel, then gently transfer two of the loaves to the parchment. If the dough has been very active, put the remaining two loaves in the fridge to slow the fermentation down a bit. Dock the stecca all over by poking your fingers down into the dough, almost all the way through. As the bread rises in the oven, it will push the indentations up, sometimes squeezing them out entirely, so you want nice, deep dimples. Drizzle the stecca with the oil, then sprinkle with the salt from high up for even distribution.
• Bake: Load the stecca into the oven by sliding the parchment paper onto the stone. Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the loaves as necessary for even browning, then bake for an additional 5 minutes. When done, the crust color should be medium tan. Pull the stecca out and transfer to a rack to cool. Give the oven 5 minutes to rebound, then begin assembling your second round to bake.
• Stecca are great fresh, but they'll keep all right for a few days in a bag or box at room temperature. After day one, refresh them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes for the best flavor and texture.

PARMESAN BREADS WITH TOMATO AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Arrange tomato slices on rack. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until very soft, about 15 minutes. Add vinegar and thyme. Sauté until liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place bread dough on lightly floured work surface. Knead cheese and red pepper into dough. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into ball. Roll out each ball to 3 1/2-inch round. Arrange on prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Using spoon, make depression in center of each round. Spoon onion mixture into each depression. Top each with 1 tomato slice; press gently to secure. Bake until breads are golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

BASIL PARMESAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, oil, salt and 4 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in cheese, tomatoes, basil, pepper sauce and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours., Punch down dough. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°., Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

BROILED PARMESAN TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat a broiler according to manufacturer's recommendations. Line a baking sheet or small sheet pan with aluminum foil.
• Slice tomatoes in half crossways. Slice thin slices off of the round part of the tomato halves so they will sit straight on the pan.
• Place tomato halves on the prepared pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste.
• Place seasoned tomatoes under the broiler and broil about 4 minutes. Be sure to watch carefully, so they won't burn.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese on each tomato half, and return to the broiler.
• Broil until Parmesan cheese is melted and bubbly, 45 seconds to 1 minute.
• Transfer broiled tomatoes on a plate or serving platter and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve warm.

OVEN-DRIED-TOMATO-AND-BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Using 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lightly coat the skin side of each tomato half with oil. Place skin side down on a large baking sheet. Bake until the tomatoes are about 1/4 of their original size, about 4 to 6 hours; they should remain soft and juicy. Let cool, halve crosswise and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Remove the garlic and set aside. Add 2 cups of the bread and turn the pieces until well toasted on all sides. Place in a bowl and add 2 more cups of bread to the skillet and toast. Repeat until all bread is toasted, adding 1 tablespoon of oil after every other batch, flavoring it with the garlic each time as above. Set aside.
• Whisk together vinegar and remaining oil. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, toss tomatoes with bread. Add the dressing and coat well. Toss with the remaining salt, pepper and basil.

OVEN DRIED TOMATO & PARMESAN BREAD

Steps:

• Put the ingredients into the bread machine per your bread machine instructions. Mine calls for adding the liquid ingredients first and then adding the flours on top. Save the tomatoes for later.
• Put the salt in one corner of the flour, the sugar in another. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the flour. Make a well for the yeast and add it. (I used Kraft grated cheese and it worked well).
• Set the bread machine for basic and medium crust and start the machine.
• After 5 minutes of kneading add the tomatoes or when the machine beeps.
• This makes a one pound loaf.