Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Bread
A loaf of bread filled with the flavors of sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, and Parmesan cheese.
Carbs have not been my friend lately. My baby is almost one year old (can you believe it?) and I’m still carrying a few extra pounds that I just can’t seem to shake. I’ve made some changes recently and have been doing really well, that is until I baked this loaf of sun-dried tomato cheese bread and devoured almost the whole thing.
I was lured in on a dreary afternoon with the thought of warm bread. The fact that it is low in fat sealed the deal and before I knew it I had dough kneading in the mixer.
I’m not always the biggest sun-dried tomato fan, so I was little unsure about them in this bread. But thanks to a soak in water beforehand to rehydrate them, the tomatoes practically dissolved into the dough.
The aroma of the sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, and cheese together in the dough was intoxicating and any reservations went out the window. This was gonna be good.
And it was the most glorious loaf of bread I have ever baked. That may seem like an exaggeration but I’m racking my brain trying to think of a loaf of bread I enjoyed more than this one and I’m drawing a blank.
This is definitely a recipe I’m making again and again, swimsuit season be damned.
baking tip:Storing Yeast
Yeast is a living organism and should be stored properly and used by its expiration date for best results. To ensure it stays fresh until then, store unopened yeast in a cool, dry place like a cupboard. Once it’s been opened it should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If stored in the fridge or freezer, let it come back to room temperature before using it.
More baking tips can be found on Red Star Yeast’s online Lessons in Yeast and Baking.
Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup water (8 fl oz, 237 ml)
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (57 grams)
- 3 cups bread flour (361 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese , grated (25 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active-dry yeast (1 package, 7 grams)
- 8 halves sun-dried tomatoes
Instructions
- Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with water and let soak for 2 hours. Drain well on paper towels.
- In a small saucepan, heat the water and yogurt until steaming, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes, or to 120-130°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 1 ½ cups flour, salt, sugar, herbs, cheese, and yeast. Add the yogurt mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the rehydrated tomatoes. Add the flour ¼ cup at a time, while mixing on medium low until the dough clears the bowl but is still tacky to the touch (you may not need all of the remaining flour). Knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes.
- Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Gently punch down the dough and knead a few times.
- Gently roll the dough into a rough 7x14 inch rectangle. Starting with the short side, tightly roll up the dough. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath before placing in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until your finger leaves an indentation when you touch the dough. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store bread in an airtight container, bread will keep for several days.
Notes
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Red Star Yeast. All opinions are my own.
OMG…this loaf of bread looks delicious! I bet it’ll become a staple in my kitchen in the next summer months!
xo, Elisa
I love this idea… one of the prettiest breads! 🙂
Aww yeah! What an awesome idea!!
Is there a fat-free parm cheese? Also, do you think this would be okay if I sub tomato juice or V8 for the water? I think this would make a yummy bread salad or grilled cheese!
I think it is available, though not sure which brands carry it and where you can find it. Feel free to use a reduced-fat or full-fat cheese too, just know it won’t be entirely “fat-free”.
I usually don’t make savory breads, but I might have to make an exception for this one – it looks delicious! Amazing photos, too!
ah we are in love with sundried tomatoes! This sounds so delicious! Definitely going to have to try this one out!
Okay, you got me. I knew I wanted to make bread over the weekend but hadn’t decided on a recipe, and your gorgeous photos made short work of my indecision. I used mostly whole wheat flour, which required a bit more water but worked out really well. I had some cilantro in the fridge so that’s what got used. Wonderful bread! So beautiful with the tomatoes infused into the dough and still a few chunks here and there to bite into. Thanks so much for a really wonderful recipe. I’m definitely keeping this one.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it as much as I did. Such a great idea to use cilantro!
i would love to try but what is the temperature to bake in the oven ?
My apologies, I’ve added the oven temp (350 degrees F). Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
This is going to be much better than my usual garlic bread for our next pasta meal. Can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing.
This looks amazing! One question – did you chop the rehydrated tomatoes before adding them, or did they fall apart on their own? Thanks!
No need to chop!
This was great, I’ve made it several times now. The last time I added extra sharp cheddar, halved the salt and added more tomatoes. Came out wonderful. I might try using whole wheat and white whole wheat next time
can this be done by hand instead of a bread maker?
I actually make most of my bread in a stand mixer, not a bread maker. But yes, you can do it by hand, just expect it to take longer and require a little elbow grease to knead the bread. 🙂
Was the fat free thing supposed to be ironic or something?
Hi
I made this with KAF AP flour.
The doughball was perfect
final product was a bit gummy -however it looked almost as good as yours. Do u think the AP flour did it? I hear KAF AP flour is almost like bread flour. I will make it again with bread flour but wanted your thoughts
I’m sorry to hear the recipe didn’t turn out like you wanted! I’ve never used King Arthur all-purpose flour so I couldn’t say for sure if that was the problem. But I’m curious to know if the problem persists after using bread flour. When you say gummy, I think undercooked, but I assume that couldn’t be the reason?
I made this today using tomatoes from our garden that I had dried in the oven earlier this week. It turned out PERFECTLY! We’re making grilled cheese sandwiches with it tonight. Thank you for the recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for the comment! And you even made your own oven-dried tomatoes?! Awesome!
Trying to find what foods to best accompany the sundried tomatoe and parmison cheese bread.
Perfect Boxing Day bread! Thank you for this recipe 🙂
can you use sun-dried tomatoes that come soaked in oil (jarred)?
Yes, I would just do a quick blot with paper towels to remove excess oil.
Ok