Upside-Down Tomato Basil Bread
Aug 18th, 2009 by Marilyn
It’s the last Summer Fest cross-blogging event, and this final week is all about tomatoes. The most joyous snack in the garden, right, the easiest slice of summer? Certainly, one can brush off a sun-warmed tomato and bite down right there, right there in the garden, like a drippy red apple. Unless you are me, in which case you are tumbling away from killer bees, compelled to sit inside with air conditioning and old cookbooks, sipping iced tea and pondering how to best cook that tomato.
“Why bake with tomatoes at all?” asked Greg. “What’s the point?” This was a stunning turn of events. My husband is a stellar judge of meals and a great finder of restaurants, but he is not kitchen curious, not ever. Was it the heat?
“I don’t know,” he said, and I gaped at him. “It just seems pointless.” Ah. There we are, that’s why, the point. My husband the attorney, the arrow thinker, does not like needless complication. He cannot grasp why a situation might not meet its given point. I too like hitting the right note, but it’s not always been the case. There was a time, pre-culinary school and discipline makeover, that I complicated all sorts of simple things. Made things twenty times harder than they had to be, things like:
That Medieval Times birthday cake: I’d already built battlements from two-ton carrot cake. Did it really need a working gingerbread drawbridge and a chocolate moat?
That six-tier wedding cake for the rabbit lovers: I agreed to carve bride and groom rabbits – they asked for black rabbits, a specific breed – out of Sculpey. Did she really need that tiny strand of pearls, did he need a little rabbit tux? With a hole for his tail?
That banana tart for the Cuban-themed restaurant tryout: did it really need rum, caramel, coconut, lime, white chocolate and a little umbrella? Perhaps I should have dressed it in a little t-shirt stamped “TROPICS?”
The overdoing went on a long time, until chef training and food work beat it out of me. By necessity, I learned to create lovely things with speed and efficiency, things that didn’t stray. Don’t melt a chocolate moat if they didn’t ask for one. Or if you don’t have two extra hours for said moat. Oh, pointless chocolate moats – those were the days.
So now I should know, I should know better. An unadorned tomato is best, but for Tomato Week, I just wanted to crank up that oven and bake – with tomatoes. The fact that it’s time for quick, cold and easy was, apparently, not going to keep me from mixing bread dough, spreading filling, and also rolling and chopping things, and waiting for them to rise. Twice.
Since summer is wrapping up, I figure a little side trip, with one foot in the garden and one eye toward woolly fall, is no waste of time. This is not the most efficient recipe, but so strong was the tomato bread in my mind, a sort of deep dish-flavored sticky bun, that I bucked the heat and made it anyway. I hope you will, too - it’s hot, it’s bready, it takes time and no doubt, is needlessly complicated. But when you set down this edible centerpiece to oohs and ahhs, when they are reeling in tomato-hazed steam and pulling apart crusty rolls, you might think: yes it is. Simply good, and worth it.
Summer Fest bounded through the season with a fabulous group of bloggers. What’s everyone cooked up for the finale?
♥ Margaret Roach at A Way to Garden has troubled tomatoes, but is still Making Quick Tomato Sauce, Ever so Slowly
♥ Matt Armendariz at MattBites features not one, not two, but an incredible Tomatoes Ten Ways, including Roasted Tomato Bloody Mary and cold Heirloom & Fennel Soup.
♥ Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen stacks a beautiful Caprese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette.
♥ Diane & Todd at White on Rice Couple are showing off gorgeous Tomato Jam Recipes and tales of Kiddie Tomato Thieves
♥ Shauna & Daniel Ahern at Gluten-Free Girl making I-want-it-right-now Smoked Tomato Salsa
♥ Paige Smith Orloff at The Sister Project is dishing up “the Greatest” – Curried Carrot & Tomato Soup.
And also you! Summer Fest is a great way to explore new voices, get new ideas and contribute your own. Hopscotch around the blogs, find what you like and please leave something to share, like recipes, links or tips. Do you grow great tomatoes, have the perfect summer recipe? Introduce yourself, and comment away. Readers have exchanged so many delicious ideas – so swing by the blogs, and enjoy the best of summer.
UPSIDE-DOWN TOMATO BASIL BREAD
serves 12-16
Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons (or 1 package) active dry yeast
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm water
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or three-pepper mix)
cornmeal, for sprinkling
Filling
4 – 5 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped (basil from store produce pkg, about 1 oz)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or three-pepper mix)
fresh-ground red pepper flakes, to your more hot/less hot taste -or- 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Tomato Topping
3 large or 4 small-medium tomatoes
optional for sprinkling: 1/4 teaspoon each: sea salt, sugar, red pepper flakes
Make Bread Dough:
Using mixer: Stir the yeast into warm water in mixer bowl; let stand about 10 minutes, until yeast looks bubbled and creamy. Fit mixer with dough hook. Stir in olive oil first, combining with yeast, then mix in flour, Parmesan cheese, sea salt, ground black pepper and hot pepper flakes. Start mixing on low and increase to medium speed, kneading about 5 minutes, until dough is combined, soft and elastic.
If dough looks too dry: add water while mixer kneads, few drops at a time, until dough just combines. If dough looks too wet: add tiny dashes of flour while mixer kneads, sparingly, until sides of bowl look clean and dough combines.
Place dough in lightly oiled bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap, then dish towel. Set aside and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Dough should feel very smooth, moist and soft.
While dough rises, make filling & tomato topping.
Make Filling:
In small bowl, place chopped fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well, and set aside.
Tomato Topping:
Remove cores and chop tomatoes to small, rough pieces. Place in bowl (without accumulated liquid) and set aside.
Assemble Tomato Basil Bread
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Lightly oil (with olive oil) bottom and sides of 10″ round cake or springform pan (can also use 9 x 13 metal pan, Pyrex dish, or similar). Drain any excess juices from chopped tomatoes, then spread evenly over bottom of pan. Set aside.
Turn risen bread dough out on lightly floured surface. Gently pull and stretch dough to a rough rectangle, approximately 11″ x 24″. Using spatula, gently spread Filling evenly across dough to cover, reaching edges. Starting at long edge, roll dough up jelly roll style, as for cinnamon rolls. Try to roll evenly and without air gaps. With seam side facing down, make sure filled roll is solid and combined by patting sides and edges.
Using a thin, sharp knife (serrated is best) cut 1″ slices from dough roll. Arrange slices, spiral side down, on top of chopped tomatoes in prepared pan. In a 10″ round pan, you will have little to no room between slices (if using a larger pan, arrange slices barely touching, with small amounts of space between them.) Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise slightly, about 20 minutes.
Place filled pan on wider sheet pan or foil (important – to catch drips!) Bake on lower rack 40 – 45 minutes, until top rolls are medium brown, feel hollow when tapped, and tomato juices have bubbled and thickened. Remove from oven and cool on rack for 5 minutes.
To unmold & serve: Have a platter or cake stand ready that is wider than the bread pan. Cover browned top of rolls with platter or stand (pan will still be warm, use oven mitt.) Holding platter to pan together, turn over in one motion until pan is upside down. Use a knife to carefully lift pan from bread, releasing steam slowly. After releasing initial steam, lift pan off completely, revealing tomato-topped bread. Serve immediately.
If you’d like darker edges and more caramelization - it’s beautiful and delicious that way – preheat the broiler. When hot, mix together optional sea salt, sugar and red pepper flakes. Slide whole bread onto a sheet pan, then sprinkle salt mixture over tomato topping. Place under broiler for 1 – 2 minutes, watching carefully, until tomatoes sizzle and edges blacken. Remove and serve.
bread dough inspired by Carol Field, The Italian Baker
What’s Summer Fest? The wonderful Margaret Roach, she of A Way to Garden and The Sister Project, invited me to participate in Summer Fest 2009, a regular cross-blogging party: every week a new food-from-the-garden theme meets several well-known bloggers, including Margaret, Matt Armendariz, Jaden Hair, and White on Rice Couple’s Todd and Diane. Also popping up: Shauna and Daniel Ahern from Gluten-Free Girl, Paige Smith Orloff of The Sister Project, and, for the love of pie crust, me.
Summer Fest 2009 Schedule
Tuesday, July 28: HERBS
Tuesday, August 4: FRUITS from TREES
Tuesday, August 11: BEANS-AND-GREENS WEEK
Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK
It’s Tomato Week! Drop by the blogs to share your own links, recipes, and ideas.
This bread looks so yummy, I could eat it right now for breakfast. I’ll have to make it this weekend! My favorite tomato recipe is sooooo simple. Slow-roasted tomatoes. Sometimes I add them to pesto, sometimes I eat them w/ mozzarella and drizzled with olive oil and basil. Other times I add them to pasta as a “sauce” because the flavor is so intense! I also bake them w/ zucchini. Happy Summer Fest!
http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2009/07/napping-with-vegetable-roasting-rules.html
http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2009/07/napping-with-edible-vineyard-sunday.html
Your bread looks wonderful! We make something similar and call it “Pizza Bread” but seeing yours makes me want to bake it once again.
My hands down favorite pasta sauce in the summer is this no cook one that when mixed with hot pasta just explodes with flavor. http://tinyurl.com/o4tafh
And we all love our salads in the summer especially when gorgeous tomatoes are everywhere! Here is my easy Heirloom Tomato Salad With Goat Cheese Crumbles at http://tinyurl.com/qj9nbb
Deb
I don’t think this is overdoing tomatoes at all – it sounds heavenly! Here’s my entry for this week – my favorite ways to use raw tomatoes:
http://tnlocavore.typepad.com/tennessee_locavore/2009/08/my-name-is-kristina-and-i-have-a-problem.html
Oh, god, that looks marvelous!
My summerfest post is cheating a little bit, but it uses my mom’s hand-me-down recipe, which I think makes up for it (plus, it’s great for summer!): http://jekyllian.blogspot.com/2009/08/tradition-cheating.html
I’m in Greg’s camp. This Kansan likes his tomatoes garden side with salt shaker in hand.
Now I might give this a try because I love bread. It’s the perfect food for any time of the day, and it travels well.
Also, you have the knack for making everything more appealing. We need more people like you in the world.
“I’ve got nothing?” Honey, if this is nothing, then I can’t imagine what “something” is.
Wow, so beautiful, and ambitious. Like a savory monkey bread.
I lazily used store bought puff pastry, and a locally made (not by me) jam for my last Summer Fest entry:
http://penandfork.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/heirloom-tomato-napoleon/
If it weren’t 95 degrees today, I’d go home and make this tonight. My contribution is a simple peach and tomato salad – a good side dish for a cool dinner on a hot evening:
Tomato Peach Salad http://bit.ly/N7eiM
Wow, this looks delicious! I agree that cooked tomatoes frequently go unappreciated. Thanks for the recipe!
The tip I’m sharing today is for getting tomatoes home from the farmers market without squishing them:
http://summertomato.com/farmers-market-update-how-to-transport-soft-fruits-and-vegetables/
Ohhh. This looks amazing. I could eat the whole pan myself. Well, if no one was looking…
I made a simple salad for Summer Fest. Not nearly as much work but I bet the two would go together well.
http://christie-corner.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-fest-week-4-tomato-salad.html
I have been rounding up tomatoes from local farm stands and making simple sauces with garlic and basil and serving over whole wheat pasta. So easy, so delish. But yours…with bread and tomatoes….perfect. I am so hungry now…
Now THIS is a must-try bread for me! Simply gorgeous. The flavors are perfect – it is a meal all by itself.
One of my favorite things to do is just dunk good bread in a bowl of fresh red sauce (who needs to boil macaroni on a hot day?), but this seems much more grown-up. The shot with the crusty edge showing just about did me in.
I can’t wait to try making this bread! It looks fabulous and a great use for tomatoes. Loved Summerfest and think the tomato was the perfect finale.
I made a roasted tomato and cheddar tart as my contribution. Enjoy!
http://piccantedolce.blogspot.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-cheddar-tart.html
Thanks, everyone. Llove all your links and great ideas! So much tomato goodness to go around.
Jen – tomato & cheddar combos just send me.
How good does this look? So appetizing. Now, give me a good pasta sauce and a glass of red wine and I’m good.
I made some varieties of ketchup for the final installment
http://thehealthyirishman.com/2009/08/homemade-tomato-ketchups/
This looks so amazing! I really want to make this. We’ve got tons of tomatoes from our CSA so the next oven friendly day, it’s gonna happen.
I’m a week behind you guys for tomato posting, next week I’m posting slow roasted tomatoes and some delicious recipes to use them in like pastas and salads. But I do have some older yummy ones, like parmesan crusted tomato slices.
http://dianasaurdishes.com/05/how-to-boil-perfect-corn-on-the-cob-with-parmesan-tomato-slices/
I love the idea of tomato-hazed steam. Sounds like my kind of spa !
I’ve been in sole charge of 50 tomato plants this summer and they are now repaying my fussing and fretting by giving bountiful bowl fulls of every hue and flavour, from cream to yellow to orange to red and through to purply sepia. Piled on top of each other they are juicy, curvaeous mosaics.
Everyone’s recipes are a wonderful inspiration.
I’m serving bread and tomatoes. Three simple celebrations of the joy of having tomatoes on tap.
http://tomatolover.com/on-toast-trio/
oh.my.god. that bread got me so excited–i can imagine how amazing that tastes!! yum. like my recipe, i think you it would taste great even with not-right-in-season tomatoes too?
this year, with tomato season being less than perfect, i think this is the recipe i’d like to submit for summerfest. it coaxes the best out of even less than perfect tomatoes with a little trick–a quick vinegar soak.
http://lesauce.typepad.com/le_sauce/2009/07/pickled-tomato-sauce-with-fried-basil.html
Wow, that looks amazing! I love tomatoes and basil and have never seen a recipe for them like this. I know I would eat every last bit of this bread!
I. Must. Have. This.
Shut up! (That’s a big compliment around our house.) This looks so damned good.
Oh yes, it’s worth baking with tomatoes. Someday, I’ll make this gluten-free.
Well, maybe next tomato season.
[...] his Tomato Top Ten. Shauna of Gluten Free Girl slices them up and makes a smoked salsa. Marilyn of Simmer Till Done made us an upside-down tomato-basil bread. Paige of The Sister Project simmered tomato soup. Jaden [...]
DAMN you are brilliant!! how to make tomatoes even better – add warm, just-baked bread to them. Seriously! this has just risen to the top of my must-make list!
For Summer Fest I made a roasted cherry tomato clafoutis – not quite as spectacular as your upside down bread, but different! http://tinyurl.com/q3jedo But my favourite tomato-y thing this year was a roasted Roma tomato and goat cheese Tarte Tatin. Bliss! http://tinyurl.com/q7spcy
Oh wow. There are no other words! That looks simply incredible. What a fantastic idea!! Definitely going to be giving that a go at the earliest possible opportunity… As it’s a bit of a dull weather summer over here in the UK, baking up a tomato bread sounds like the perfect way to spend a dreary sunday afternoon. Thank you!!
Here’s mine – I’m afraid not nearly so imaginative! http://www.rosylipsandlavender.com/2009/08/summer-fest-tomatoes.html#comments
I love this post. I found myself in the grips of a similar compulsion, flipping on the oven to bake perfectly good cherry tomatoes amidst a heat wave. My husband and house guest both thought I was nuts… but didn’t hesitate to dig into the caramelized tomato tart for a delicious Sunday brunch.
http://zested.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/caramelized-tomato-tart/
There I was, reading along, loving it, but starting to picture in my hungry head something a little crunchier and voila!, you provided the crusty edge kicker. Oooh, you’re good. And we’re so grateful.
That’s absolutely beautiful!
Mr. Wii and I cannot get enough of Caprese Salad during the tomato season. Fresh mozzarella, freshly picked basil, home grown tomatoes at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with shavings of parmigiano reggiano. We even had it last night with a Sloppy Joe.
What a wonderful coincidence! I just finished a series of tomato salads on my blog so I can join in on the summer festivities! Here are my 3 favorite tomato salads:
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-1.html
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-2.html
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-3.html
Glad to celebrate tomatoes with you all!
That bread looks fantastic!
That doesn’t ship, does it?
I’m making Gazpacho with basil oil, an August favourite – no cooking required
Surely this beautiful bread convinced your husband that cooked tomatoes are deliciously necessary
Hi Marilyn,
I just popped in to see what’s cooking and what to my wondering delight should appear but the most gorgeous Tomato Basil Bread I have ever feasted my eyes upon.
I’m going to pass this recipe on to my daughter (the bread maker in the family:) Perhaps, if I’m a good girl, she’ll bake it and send it my way.
Thanks for sharing, this event sure sounds like fun!!!
This tomato bread looks incredibly delicious. I don’t usually take the time to make bread but this bread looks like a wonderful way to enjoy all the tomatoes from my garden. Thanks.
i just put this recipe together, and it’s in the oven right now. one suggestion: cut the oil in the filling by a third or even in half–i found that when i rolled up the dough, most of the oil just squeezed out, while the basil/cheese/etc all stayed inside. seems to me 1/4 cup would be enough to bind it all together without much waste. thanks so much for sharing this recipe! i’m working from home today, and this was a great diversion.
Well, I have to admit that bread looks pretty yummy. Your pictures really add to the anticipated flavor…
Our uses are much more mundane, but give a lot of satisfaction for the time involved — and use a lot more tomatoes
http://macgardens.org/?p=1067
If you are new to Simmer, welcome! Very glad you stopped by for some tomato bread.
lotuspixie: I’m glad to hear you’re baking. You can certainly decrease the olive oil if you wish, you’re correct in saying that it does smoosh out a bit – but I found the oil helps “spread” the filling evenly, and also contributes to the bread’s flavor & texture as it bakes. Thanks, and enjoy!
This looks amazing! Thank you for the recipe, I can’t wait to try it!
This is sheer genius. Through your photos and the creative use of amazing ingredients, I can taste that bread just by looking at it. Can’t wait to try this when we are back from vacation.
Wow. That looks incredible.
Here’s my contribution to the tomato talk. It’s my first-ever blog post.
http://unfussyfare.com/2009/cherry-tomato-and-farro-salad/
What a great idea! – I can’t wait to make this. And eat it.
I love to make an Heirloom Tomato Salad with Watermelon Sorbet and Pickled Watermelon Rind! The recipe and a photograph can be found here:
http://www.porktopurslane.com/search/label/Heirloom%20Tomato%20Salad%20with%20Watermelon%20Sorbet%20Pickled%20Rind%20and%20Micro-Basil
Thanks for the celebration of tomatoes, and for your beautiful bread! Here’s my twist on Caprese — roasted sweet little tomatoes that soften the cheese and pop with flavor. My post for this is at http://www.kitchenelly.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-caprese-served-warm/
Oh my! I just melted inside. This looks delicious–I certainly see no wasted time here! I agree, it’s good to keep it simple as often as you can; sometimes the best dishes are born this way. Last night we had quinoa spaghetti with chicken sauteed in a very simple sauce of butter, white wine, garlic, basil, and huge chunks of heirloom tomatoes. Simple flavor bliss. But every once in a while, it’s fun to just complicate the hell out of things and walk away feeling slightly superhuman. Beautifully done.
Your bread looks very tasty! I just tried some tomato bread with the tomatoes mixed into the dough.
http://whatscookingdad.com/tomato-bread/
What a beautiful tomato recipe! This looks wonderful!
okay..that’s it…have to make it!!{I’m about to make the blueberry sauce as we speak}…I need tomatoes…..hmmm….go get tomatoes…now………
I love your summer fest event, was dropping in from the ‘obsessed man’. Your blog is wonderful and I love the fresh tomato recipes. Will visit you again… regards
Just drooled on the keyboard. Love it when that happens…
Made this for football today – got marriage proposals. From people I’d never met before. Seriously tasty!
i just made this…it sure is delicious, but wow! is it every peppery!!! should it be one teaspoon and not one tablespoon in that dough?
(of pepper, that is)
kimberleyblue: I’m pretty sure I intended to list 1 T of pepper, but you may be right, and I’ll be testing my measurements again. In the interim I’ve changed it to 1 tsp – but black pepper lovers, you can always add more. Thanks!
[...] looking for a dish I could prepare that used some of this fresh, amazing produce. I found this, on Simmer Till Done’s site…What better fits the bill than an upside down tomato-basil bread, peppery dough [...]
I can’t believe I missed this post over the summer. Whoa. My life might be changed.
Awesome recipe, thank you! We tried this out and it was just delicious!
[...] brought this Upside-Down Tomato Basil Bread (also from Simmer!). [...]