LoafNest no-knead Tomato Bread

We created LoafNest for solving our own problem. When we created LoafNest, we had a mantra in the mind.

Minimum effort. Artisan Quality. Reproducible.

We believe that we succeeded in creating a product that enables us to bake bread, with minimum effort, with artisan quality and that is reproducible everyday!

Call us biased, but we love our LoafNest. We know you have not yet used your LoafNest. We will be eager to know how you would find your LoafNest. We won't know until we hear it from you!

LoafNest is not just a product but it comes with its own process that is simple yet versatile.

Product is one part of LoafNest, and Process is another.

Each time we are so surprised to see how versatile the LoafNest method (process) is! Of course, we are standing on the shoulders of the giants (no knead method).

Having LoafNest in our kitchen, and with a tiny bit of our effort, we eat healthy sandwiches, everyday! Yes, almost everyday! Sometimes, when we don't, we miss our sandwiches! 

Take for example how easy it is to flavoring breads with watery ingredients such as vegetables. You probably have seen our cucumber loaf recipe and liked it. That is how easy it is to add flavor to breads with LoafNest because you do not have to deal with kneading or shaping a very wet dough -- there is easy peel liner to hold your dough!

Flavorful Breads 

You could try with pretty much any vegetable or fruits for adding the flavors.

Start with questions.

Do you like this flavor in bread? Does this (what your are going to add) hold itself well at room temperature for such long time after being pureed or chopped? Would you consume it if you keep it  in a separate bowl for 12 to 18 hours? Does it change its color to something unappealing due to oxidation? For example, who would eat a banana that has been peeled 12 hours ago?

It is always good to develop a sense of what might go wrong when you mix the ingredient with flour, water, salt and yeast.

Is it too acidic that it might kill yeast development? Example lemon and other citrus fruits.

Please keep in mind that when the ingredient has sugars in it (most vegetables do), be aware that the raise time may be shorter.

Let us try with Tomato!

Let us start with questions.

Do we like the flavor of tomato? Yes, we do!

Does tomato keeps well after being cut/pureed for long time? We wouldn't cut tomatoes today for tomorrows breakfast, but well, it does not easily lose color over time or the taste.

Is it acidic, would it kill yeast development? It is acidic but not too much.

We have tried, it doesn't kill the yeast development ;)

Here is the wonderful flavorful tomato loaf -- the photos don't capture the beauty of the bread! But, here they are!

INGREDIENTS

• White bread flour: 500 g
• 2-4 tomatoes : approx 340g
• Water : 150 ml
• Salt : 8-10 g
• Instant dry yeast: 0.5 g
• Sesame seeds : 15 g (optional)

METHOD

As ever, we will use our no-knead, no-mess, no-shaping LoafNest flow for this bread too.

• Dice tomatoes and in a blender or food processor blend thoroughly to the consistency of a smoothie.
• Mix water, tomato puree, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
• Add flour and mix well with a fork. There is no need to knead.
• Cover the bowl with a plate or cling film and set it at room temperature (~20 C) for ~12 hours.
• After the flour has doubled in size, smells very sour and is full of bubbles, it is ready to be baked.
• For baking, pre-heat the LoafNest casserole at 230C (450F) for 45 minutes.
• Carefully remove the hot casserole from oven, place the LoafNest liner into the casserole and pour the dough into LoafNest. You can top the dough with sesame seeds.
• Cover the LoafNest and return it to the oven and continue to bake at 230C (450F) for 50 minutes.
• Remove the loaf and peel the liner.
• The loaf is ready to cut when it has completely cooled down and does not feel warm to touch.

NOTES

• Breads with vegetables are a great way to increase your vegetable intake.
• White flour is your best starting point for recipes with vegetables. You can experiment with supplementing whole wheat flour as you gain experience.
• If you have a good blender that can make smooth smoothies, you do not have to peel the tomatoes or de-seed them. Why throw away good dietary fiber?

RESULTS

This is how easy it was to come up with a new flavor for LoafNest bread.

The loaf smelled and tasted amazing. Due to all the extra sugar in the tomatoes, the loaf was very airy and the crumb was full of large holes.

A silky soft crumb with a crunchy crust as usual. And, last but not the least, the crumb has a light red color of a tomato giving it a distinctive look.