Oven Dried Tomato Stecca Recipes

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.

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 RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 200 F. Rinse the tomatoes with cool water and dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel or layers of paper towels.
• Hull or remove the core of each tomato. Use a teaspoon or the tip of a dinner knife to remove the seeds and any juice from the tomatoes.
• Cut small tomatoes into quarters and larger tomatoes into bite-size pieces.
• Put the tomato pieces in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and seasonings of choice, if using, tossing gently to evenly distribute.
• Position the cut tomatoes on a wire rack set on a large rimmed baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch of space between pieces.
• Transfer to the oven. After the first hour, check the tomatoes every half hour, removing them when the edges curl up, and they reduce in size by about a third, about 2 to 3 hours depending on the ambient humidity and the juiciness of the tomatoes.
• Leave them to cool at this plump-dry stage, or put them back into the oven for up to an additional 3 or 4 hours if you prefer a chewier texture.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 225° F.
• Cut the tomatoes in half, add fresh garlic, olive oil, basil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread them out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in the oven.
• Bake for one hour, then turn off the oven and allow the tomatoes to sit overnight in the warmth of the oven.

OVEN DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200°F. Rinse tomatoes under cold running water and remove stems; drain on paper towels. Cut each tomato in half lengthwise. Using small spoon, scoop out and discard seeds.
• Place tomato halves in single layer, cut sides down on broiler rack. Place larger halves on outer edges of rack for even cooking.
• Dry in oven 6 to 12 hours or until tomatoes are shriveled, dry to the touch and very chewy in texture, turning once after 4 hours. Edges may be crisp, but tomatoes should not be crisp in center; they should be somewhat pliable. Check after 6 hours and remove any smaller tomatoes that have dried. Tomatoes will be dark red and some pieces may have brown or dark spots.
• Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in tightly covered container in cool dark location. To rehydrate, place tomatoes in small bowl. Cover with hot or boiling water. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes or until softened.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATO SNACKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Toss the tomatoes in bowl with the olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt and the crab boil seasoning or celery salt. Bake until slightly shriveled but still plump, 5 to 6 hours.
• If not using immediately, refrigerate the dried tomatoes in a sealed container for up to 4 days.

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.

MARTHA'S OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Fit 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets with wire racks. Divide tomato slices evenly between racks. Drizzle both sides with oil. Season with salt and pepper; scatter thyme over top.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until tomatoes are dry (but not crisp) and wrinkled, about 3 1/2 hours. Let cool completely.
• Transfer tomatoes to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Stack in airtight containers and freeze up to 1 year.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°. Fill a large saucepan two-thirds with water; bring to a boil. Cut a shallow "X" on the bottom of each tomato. Place tomatoes, a few at a time, in boiling water just until skin at the "X" begins to loosen, about 30 seconds. Remove and immediately drop into ice water. Pull off and discard skins., Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Combine tomatoes, oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Transfer tomatoes, cut side up, to a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Roast until tomatoes are soft and slightly shriveled, about 5 hours. Cool completely; refrigerate.

KITTENCAL'S OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Pat the tomato slices as dry as possible using paper towels.
• Brush about 1 tablespoon olive oil onto a 10 x 15-inch baking sheet.
• Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer in the pan.
• Sprinkle top side of tomatoes lightly with salt and pepper.
• Bake in a 200 degree oven (regular or convection oven) until the tomatoes are dry but still pliable about 2-1/4 - 2-3/4 hours (try not to open the oven too many times while baking as it will increase your baking time).
• While still warm, using a wide spatula, loosen slices from the pan.
• Cool completely and store in a airtight glass container for up to 3 days.

SPICY OVEN DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225.
• Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise.
• Seed and squeeze out the excess juice without crushing the tomatoes.
• Lay the tomatoes in a single layer, cut side up, on a baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, combine all the spice ingredients and the lemon juice.
• Sprinkle the tomatoes with the spice mixture.
• Drizzle or spray the tomatoes with a small amount of olive oil.
• Bake in the oven for 8 hours or overnight, or until the tomatoes are medium-dry.
• Remove from the oven, cool completely and serve.
• To store, transfer the tomatoes into a jar, and pour over a thin layer of olive oil to seal the top.
• Cover tightly with the jar lid.
• Will keep for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

OVEN DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to the lowest heat setting (150-200°F). The goal here is to dry the tomatoes slowly but surely.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the tomatoes on top, cut side up. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Bake the tomatoes until the edges have shriveled and the insides are still slightly moist but not juicy. Timing depends on the type and size of tomato; the drying will take anywhere between 2 and 8 hours.
• Set the pan aside until completely cool and then transfer the tomatoes to a clean and sterilized jar. Add a few sprigs of dry herbs and a clove of garlic, if using, to the jar. Pour in olive oil, thoroughly covering the tomatoes to preserve them.
• Store in the fridge for 4-6 weeks. Use up the remaining olive oil in dishes that can benefit from the savory tomato flavor.