tomato-basil bread •

This bread came about by trying to replicate the Panera Bread® Mediterranean Veggie sandwich. I will need to do some experimenting next time around, (more herbs!) but for the first attempt it is certainly passable. Especially if you use it as a vehicle for the rest of the sandwich components: hummus, feta cheese, roasted red peppers, red onion, cucumber and lettuce. I even roasted my own red bell peppers for the first time!

Tomato-Basil Bread •

2-1/4 teaspoons yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups tomato juice

1/4 cup ketchup

1 cup wet okara

3 tablespoons Sucanat (natural cane sugar)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups white whole wheat flour

5-7 cups unbleached white flour

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. In a medium saucepan, heat tomato juice, ketchup, and okara until just warm. Stir in Sucanat and olive oil, and yeast mixture. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add cheese, salt, herbs and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Gradually add in as much flour as needed to make a soft dough. Depending on how much moisture is in your okara and flour, this could be anywhere from five to seven additional cups of flour. Knead for ten minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Let the dough rise until doubled, approximately 1-1/2 hours. Punch down, divide dough in half, and shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pans and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.