Artisan Caprese Bread

Skip the steps of making caprese and bake it into your bread instead!

Artisan Caprese Bread Recipe

Ingredients (Makes 2 loaves)

3 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 3/4 cup water
1 cup heirloom tomatoes, diced
1 cup mozzarella, diced
6 – 8 basil leaves, torn

Directions

Step 1: Remove seeds from tomatoes and dice meat pulp. *Laurie’s Tip: Don’t be afraid of heirloom tomatoes! They may look a little different than you are used to, but they have a great, earthy flavor and are beautiful in their own way!!

Step 2: Place tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil on paper towels to dry for about 10 minutes. Place towels on top and bottom and use a plate on top for pressure. *Laurie’s Cooking Tip: You want to get as much moisture out of the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil as you can so your dough doesn’t get soggy. I applied pressure with my hands and then put a pot of water on top for weight for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Mix flour, salt, and yeast together. In a separate bowl, add tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil and dust with two tablespoons of flour.

Step 4: Add caprese mixture to dry bread ingredients and pour in 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water. Mix with a spatula. (This will be sticky.) Place spatula on top and if dough sticks to back of spatula when pulling up, you have mixed correctly.

Step 5: Cover bowl with cellophane and place in a warm area. (Or cover with a dish towel as well, if it is cooler in the house.) Let sit a minimum of five hours or overnight. Do not touch or uncover. Once it has tripled in size, it’s ready to be baked.

Step 6: Flour a large, clean workspace with about 1.5 cups of flour. Pour out the dough — which will be very wet looking - onto the floured space. Cover the top of the dough with more flour. Cover hands in flour, to prevent sticking. Push the dough into a large flat ball. Do not knead it as that will kill the large air pockets. Once the dough is no longer sticky, cut in half. (Add a little more flour if it is still sticky.)

Step 7: Using a Dutch oven, place a large piece of parchment in it. It needs to cover the edges. Place one ball of dough in the center of the Dutch oven. Cover and place in a cold oven. Set temp to 450° for 30 minutes with lid on and another 30 minutes with the lid off.

Step 8: Remove from oven, let cool.