Tomato Herb Bread



When slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, I always end up with the top and
bottom

left over. I usually put these in a zip-lock bag in the fridge until I

accumulate a reasonable amount, typically a dozen top and bottom pieces
from ]

six tomatoes.



I trim the stems and woody parts from the top slices and put the rest of

the tomato pieces into a blender. This makes about 1.5 cups of pinkish
liquid.



I add enough water to make 3 cups and blend in 2 Teaspoons of dried basil,

2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco

sauce.



I mix this into about 6 cups of white flour with 1 1/2 Tablespoons of

shortening (Crisco) and 1 Tablespoon of yeast to make a bread dough.

(Typical mix, rise, knead, rise, shape, pan and bake procedure.)



This makes two very nice loaves of sandwich bread with a pinkish color and

an very nice texture and flavor. The Tabasco sauce pretty much disappears

into the background -- this is not a spicy bread -- and the tomato and

herb flavors are pronounced but not overwhelming.



Of course, you don't need to use leftover bits of tomato. You can just

cut up a tomato and put it in the blender. But this recipe is a good

way to use those end slices which never look quite right on a sandwich

or a sandwich-fixings platter.



Cheers,

The Old Bear