I just made the Tomato Basil Sourdough for the second time, today. This time I added a few finely chopped olives as well. Such complex and wonderful flavors, sweet Basil and Tomato, and Sourdough, nice outer crunch and tender inside. The last flavor that remains with you is the SOUR…which is what I like!
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Looks lovely. I love experimenting with flavours and textures.
It looks so delicious!
Me too Fay! Thank you!
Thanks so much Marsha. The flavors turned out pretty great ~ it’s hard to stay away from!! 
So where is the recipe?
I posted the recipe for someone who asked for it when I posted a pic of the first loaf of the Tomato Basil Sourdough I made. You can find it in that post, which is only about four or five posts down from this one in the Bakers Forum.
It is not showing up for me.
Dear B,
I went to my former post on the Bakers Forum and copied the recipe that I sent to the first viewer. I hope this helps!
I used my standard no-knead sourdough recipe (I think we all have our own, slightly different versions), and I substituted the Tomato/Red Bell Pepper mixture for the water component in the recipe. I used fresh Basil, hand chopped ~ but not minced. You can see bits of the Basil leaves in the Bread. I used several good size Basil leaves, no stems.
I used fresh garden picked Tomatoes and small Red Bell Peppers from our garden. I used a few small peppers (as they are smaller than store bought) ~ but if you were to buy a Red Bell from the market, one good size Pepper would do. I quartered the Peppers and roasted them, just until very tender, soft and pliable (not blackened).
For the Tomatoes, I prepared them the way I do when making homemade spaghetti sauce. I cut them in half and place them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and bake them at 300 degrees until the tops are dried out (it can take about an hour to an hour and a half, depending upon the size of your Tomatoes). This takes a bit of the excess moisture out and deepens the Tomato flavor. It also tenderizes the Tomatoes, so that when you blend them in the food processor, the seeds and peels just disappear! Let the baked Tomatoes cool, and then cut the halves in half again and put in the food processor. Add your roasted Red Bell Pepper pieces ~ and pulse to desired consistency. And use this mixture in substitute for water in your bread recipe. It has enough moisture to do the trick.
Add your chopped Basil to the dry bread ingredients and evenly disperse the flakes throughout, BEFORE adding your Tomato/Pepper mixture and Sourdough Starter. Otherwise the Basil pieces will kind of stick together if you add them with the Sourdough Starter. After you’ve added the wet ingredients, add two Tablespoons of Tomato Paste. Then mix well as you would your normal bread.
Note: You could also buy canned stewed Tomatoes with Italian herbs. I’m sure they would work too, if you don’t want to go the vine-ripened Tomato route. But still add your fresh Basil and Tomato Paste.
First Day: fed my Sourdough Starter; Second Day: mixed the Bread (as above) in a large ceramic bowl, and covered tightly with Saran Wrap and let rise/proof for 18-21 hours at room temperature. Third Day: Formed the loaf and let second proof in a wicker proofing basket at room temperature for another 2 hours. The loaf will be kind of pink looking, with bits of Tomato, Peppers, and Basil. The color darkens nicely when you bake it.
I used the Breadtopia La Cloche method to bake.
Great flavors! Great texture and sourness. I will make it again.
You can improvise of course any way that suits you.
Happy Baking!
WOW what a lot of work… THANK you for taking the time to respond and happy baking to you. I do appreciate you doing this for me. Ann-Marie
Hi B~
You’re very welcome! My pleasure. As I mentioned, you could probably use (mostly drained) Italian style canned crushed Tomatoes as well (but still use the Tomato Paste and chopped fresh Basil) and get a good result. We just happened to have a lot of fresh Tomatoes this summer, which is what led me to the idea of the bread. Have fun. It was worth the work. Yummy!