Sun-dried Tomato Bread
This sun-dried tomato bread is soft and tender. It’s a pull-apart style bread, filled with sun-dried tomato pesto.
Sun-dried tomatoes bring so much flavor to this simple recipe. The bread is made from a slightly enriched dough with butter and an egg to create flavor and a tender texture. It’s beautifully golden brown on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. It’s the kind of bread that you want to keep eating!
This recipe is based on cheesy basil pull-apart bread.
The dough
The dough is a nice soft dough that is easy to work with by hand or in a mixer. It’s more flavorful than pizza dough thanks to the addition of butter and egg. It’s not quite as enriched as brioche dough but the soft dough still has amazing texture and flavor even though it doesn’t use quite so much butter.
I prefer making this in a stand mixer because it does need quite a bit of kneading time. However, it’s definitely still possible to knead this by hand.
Ingredients
Find the actual recipe amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. For this sun-dried tomato bread recipe, you will need –
- A strong white flour with a protein level of at least 11%. This can be all-purpose flour or bread flour.
- Yeast. Active dry yeast or instant dry yeast.
- Granulated white sugar – Only a little bit of sugar to feed the yeast and enhance the dough’s flavor.
- A large egg
- Salt
- Whole milk.
- Softened butter – This can be salted or unsalted butter. If using salted butter, the salt can be reduced in the dough recipe.
- Sundried tomato pesto – Sundried tomato pesto is made from a mix of oil-packed tomatoes, parmesan cheese, nuts, garlic cloves, and herbs. It’s very flavorful and textured and is a perfect match for soft bread.
- Melted butter and flaky sea salt for topping
The yeast
The yeast used in this homemade bread recipe can be instant yeast or active dried yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dried yeast. Whichever one you use, it needs to be viable. Usually, the instant yeast sachets are pretty full-proof, but sometimes active dried yeast can lose viability.
To test the viability of yeast before beginning, warm the milk (to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C) and mix in the yeast along with one tablespoon of the sugar. Leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes first. If it becomes foamy, it’s good to go.
Baker’s schedule
This easy recipe is reasonably quick to make especially if you give the dough a warm place to rise.
- 9 am – Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Let it stand until foamy.
- 9:10 am – Add in the flour, egg, and salt to the wet ingredients. Knead, add in butter and knead for 10-15 minutes. Form into a smooth ball.
- 9:25 am – Place dough in a greased bowl and let the dough rise until doubled.
- 10:30 am – Form the dough into a log and cut it into 12 even pieces. Shape and fill each piece of dough with sundried tomatoes, place them in a loaf pan and let it rise again for the second time.
- 11:45 am – Bake for around 25 minutes. Brush the baked bread with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Method
In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into a stand mixer bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.
Add in the flour, salt, and egg. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough.
Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Kneading by hand
Alternatively, knead the dough by hand. In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.
Add the flour, egg, and salt to the mixing bowl and mix into a shaggy dough. Tip the dough onto a floured bench and work in the softened butter.
Knead by hand for around 10 minutes until it becomes a strong and smooth dough. If you need a break, just let the dough rest for 5 or 10 minutes and come back to it.
First rise
Once kneaded, form the dough into a dough ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a dampened clean kitchen towel.
Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact rise time will depend on your room temperature.
Shaping
Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with olive oil or butter.
Pull the risen bread dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Form the dough into a 12-inch (30cm) long log and use a bench scraper or knife to cut it into 12 equal 1-inch pieces. If you want them really even you can weigh the whole dough first and then divide it by 12.
Shape each piece into a little ball. Roll each ball out into a circle around 4 ½ inches (11cm) in diameter.
Spread each piece with about 1/2 teaspoon of sundried tomato pesto, leaving a little border around. Fold the dough circle in half.
Place the half circle into the loaf pan with the edges facing up. Continue with the remaining dough and pesto, stacking the layers of dough. You might need to balance the loaf pan with the long end facing up when you add the dough into it, so the pieces don’t fall flat.
Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or place it in a warm and humid place to rise again until doubled in size. You can create a warm and humid spot so the top of the dough doesn’t dry out by placing the bread in a turned-off oven, next to a cup water that has just been boiled.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Bake the sun-dried tomato bread for around 30-35 minutes until deep golden brown. If it is browning too fast, you can cover the top of the bread loosly with a sheet of aluminum foil.
When the hot bread comes from the oven, brush it with melted butter and add a sprinkle of flaky salt.
Let the bread cool on a wire rack. Serve the fresh bread while still slightly warm.
Storing
Leftover bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Rewarm it gently in the microwave.
The baked bread can also be frozen for up to three months. Wrap it tightly and let it thaw on the bench. Rewarm it in the microwave or in the oven.
Other flavors
This is a great recipe to tweak the flavors. The bread dough can be filled with all sorts, like:
- basil pesto bread,
- Or a tapenade made of kalamata olives,
- Pesto calabrese
More bread recipes
- Condensed milk bread
- Garlic bread bites
- Basil-pesto focaccia
- Fluffy Focaccia with Tomatoes and Onion
- Easy Fougasse Recipe
Sun Dried Tomato Bread
This sun-dried tomato bread is soft and tender. It's a pull-apart style bread, filled with sundried tomato pesto.
Ingredients
- 180g (¾ cup) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 30g (2 ½ Tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 375g (3 cups*) all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 60g (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
- 80g (5 Tablespoons) sundried tomato pesto
Topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C but not hotter than that. Pour it into a bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.
- Add in the flour, salt, and egg. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough.
- Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, knead by hand for around 10 minutes until it becomes a strong and smooth dough. If you need a break, take it. The dough responds well to resting time.
- Once kneaded, form the dough into a dough ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased medium bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or a dampened clean kitchen towel.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact rise time will depend on your room temperature.
- Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with olive oil or butter.
- Pull the risen bread dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a 12-inch (30cm) long log and use a bench scraper or knife to cut it into 12 equal 1-inch pieces. If you want them really even you can weigh the whole dough first and then divide it by 12.
- Shape each piece into a little ball. Roll each ball out into a circle around 4 ½ inches (11cm) in diameter.
- Spread each piece with about 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon of sundried tomato pesto, leaving a little border around. Fold the dough circle in half.
- Place the half circle into the loaf pan with the edges facing up. Continue with the remaining dough and filling, stacking the layers of dough in the pan. You might need to balance the loaf pan with the long end facing up when you add the dough into it, so the pieces don't fall flat.
- Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or place it in a warm and humid place to rise again until doubled in size. You can create a warm and humid spot by placing the bread in a turned-off oven, next to a mug of boiled water.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake the sundried tomato bread for around 30-35 minutes until deep golden brown. If it is browning too fast, you can cover the top of the bread loosly with aluminum foil.
- Once baked, brush the top of the bread with melted butter. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
Notes
*The cup sizes given are US-sized cups. Note that these are smaller than metric. For best results, use grams
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 271mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 6g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
*The cup sizes given are US-sized cups. Note that these are smaller than metric. For best results, use grams
