I had a bit of dilemma when trying to decide what bread I wanted to do this week. Flicking through Richard Bertinet’s Dough, specifically the olive bread section, I think most of them appealed. So, instead of doing 1, I’ve ended up doing 3.
Today, it was tomato, garlic and basil bread. I was drawn in by the colourful picture that accompanied this one and the promise of some punchy flavours. But it did require a bit of leg work.
First, I needed to dry out the tomatoes. I think you could probably use 100g of good sunblushed tomatoes instead, but the recipe came with instructions for drying out your own. A 250g punnet of cherry tomatoes got halved (if you use larger tomatoes, quarter them) and placed on a lightly oiled baking tray. They were sprinkled with salt, pepper, a teaspoon of caster sugar and a generous load of fresh chopped rosemary and thyme. They then went into an oven preheated at 100°C (about 200°F or well under gas mark 1) for about 2 ours until they looked a bit shrivelled. Maybe not as attractive as before, but now with concentrated flavour.
The garlic also needed roasting. I peeled 20 cloves of garlic and preheated the oven at 180°C (350°F or gas mark 4). I then grabbed one of our shiny-new oven-proof saucepans and put 5 tablespoons olive oil, 25g butter and a teaspoon of caster sugar in it. It went on the hob on a random temperature because the book didn’t specify one, only that the butter needed to melt. Butter melted, the garlic cloves went in and were swooshed around in the mixture until coated. The whole thing went in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until the garlic cloves were completely soft. Despite frequently reminding myself not to be an idiot and pick the hot metal handle of the pan up without an oven glove on, I managed it at the final hurdle. So, the garlic cloves cooled in the liquid while my hand went under cold water... Another truly magnificent burn to add to the collection...
The dough was the next step, and that was simple enough as I’d actually remembered all the quantities from last time; 500g strong white bread flour, 20g coarse semolina and 15g fresh yeast (rubbed into the flour), combined with 10g salt, 320g water and 50g olive oil. This was combined with the handle of a wooden spoon (right hand still clutching an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel) until it came together as a dough, which was then turned out onto a clean work surface and worked until smooth and elastic (during which exercise, I perfected the one-handed knead). It went back into a mixing bowl and sat in a warm place for an hour.
Time to combine the ingredients. I turned the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and sprinkled the top with flour, then spread it gently into a large rectangle; the book suggests 25cm by 35cm. Also worth noting that it was positioned like a “landscape” picture... this will become significant later. After the top of this got dimpled with my still-smarting fingers, the tomatoes were spread over and pressed into the rectangle, followed by the garlic and then by a generous handful or basil leaves.
And time to attempt the artistic bit. The dough got folded like a letter, and outside third folded onto the central third, and then the last third folded on top of these to create a smaller rectangle. I pushed it down gently with my fingertips to push the bits of flavour a little further into the dough. The open ends were tucked in to close up the holes. This long rectangle then got cut across into 3 smaller rectangles, and I did a bit more tucking so that the central piece had one open and one closed end. I had 2 lightly-oiled baking trays to hand and the rectangles got transferred to these before being manipulated so that the closed end faced down and the open end faced up, exposing some of those colourful contents. These then got covered and went to rest in a warm place for another half an hour.
10 minutes before needed, the oven went on to preheat at 220°C (425°F or gas mark 7). Once the dough had had its resting time, it went in the oven for 20 minutes until golden. It went onto a cooling wrack and I brushed it with olive oil while it was still warm.
It was a few hours later when I gave the dough its test chomp. I have to say I’m not convinced by using the garlic cloves whole, as the ones in my bread that were left exposed got a little bit cremated. On the plus side, the tomatoes and basil added little pockets of flavour and texture and the bread itself was soft and moist. If I was to make it again, I think I’d try a different approach with the garlic.
Simplified recipe
For the tomatoes
Ingredients
250g tomatoes (cherry tomatoes halved, larger tomatoes quartered)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped (or herb de Provence)
Olive oil, for greasing
Method
1. Preheat an oven at 100°C (about 200°F or well under gas mark 1)
2. Lightly grease a baking tray
3. Arrange the tomatoes on the tray, skin side down, and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, sugar and herbs
4. Bake in the oven for around 2 hours until dried
For the roasted garlic
Ingredients
20 cloves garlic, peeled
5 tablespoons olive oil
25g butter
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven at 180°C (350°F or gas mark 4)
2. Put the olive oil, butter and sugar in an oven-proof pan or dish and heat this on the hob until the butter has melted
3. Put the garlic gloves into the pan and coat with the oil and butter, then place the whole thing in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the garlic is soft throughout
4. Allow the garlic to cool in the cooking liquid
5. Remove from the pan and place on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil
To make tomato, garlic and basil bread
Ingredients
1 quantity olive bread dough (see http://doughdiaries.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-dough-two-breads-soup-bowls-and.html), rested in a warm place for 1 hour
100g dried tomatoes
20 cloves roasted garlic
A generous handful of basil leaves
Method
1. Carefully turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and then use your fingertips to push it into a rectangle about 35cm by 25cm. It should be positioned like a landscape painting in relation to where you’re stood
2. Place the tomatoes across the rectangle and gently push them into the dough. Do the same with the garlic and the basil leaves.
3. Imagine that the rectangle is split into 3 columns. Fold one of the outer columns into the centre, then fold the other outer column on top of these other two
4. Gently push the dough down with your fingers to work together the dough and other ingredients. Tuck in the two open ends
5. Cut the dough horizontally to make 3 small rectangles. Tuck in the end of the central rectangle so that you have 3 pieces of dough with one open end each
6. Lightly oil a baking tray (you might need 2) and place the dough on the tray with the closed end down and the open end facing up. It’ll take a bit of gentle manipulation to get it to sit with this open end properly facing up
7. Cover the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes
8. Preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F or gas mark 7)
9. Once the dough has rested, place it in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown
10. Brush with olive oil while still warm, then leave to cool completely
References
Dough, Richard Bertinet, Kyle Books, 2005
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