Italian Herb Tomato Bread

This heavenly bread is a quick-bake, no yeast bread that is full of the fragrance and taste of summer.

Fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic and cheese are blended together and added to the batter, then cooked in the oven for 45 minutes. No yeast means no need to sit around and wait for the bread to rise – you just pop it in the oven as soon as it’s mixed up.

The smell of this bread while it’s cooking is seriously going to make your mouth water!

This quick bread is really easy to make, so it’s a good starting point for a beginner who wants to try making their own bread.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F/160 C fan/gas mark 4.  Grease an 8.5-inch (2 lb.) loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in the egg, oil, and milk, followed by the grated cheese.  The batter will be very thick.

Combine the chopped garlic, tomatoes, basil, and oregano in a food processor.

Using a series of 10-15 one-second pulses, chop the tomatoes and garlic until no large pieces remain, but mixture is not completely smooth.

Fold the tomato and garlic mixture into the batter.  Resulting batter will still be thick.

Put the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add a line of cherry or tiny plum tomatoes to the middle of the batter, so that the line runs down the length of the loaf pan.

Bake 45-55 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.  Enjoy while still warm.

Notes

This bread is great eaten warm, but it’s still quite good at room temperature the next day. It’s not a bread that will keep long, as the fresh tomatoes will encourage mold to grow in a few days, but it’s so good that I doubt your bread will last that long, anyway!