Caramelized Tomato and Mozzarella Bread

this recipe is sponsored by Pomi USA

Happy New Year everyone! I’ve been a little quiet on here for the past month because I needed a little break after 12 new Christmas recipes. We also bought a house, which turned out to be quite the endeavor! But my kitchen is unpacked and I’m back and ready to go, friends! I’m kicking off 2021 with this savory caramelized tomato and mozzarella pull-apart bread because it’s the comfort food we all need.

For my job as a recipe developer, I get to work with a lot of different brands and Pomi is one of my favorites. Most of my weeknight dinners hinge on canned tomatoes and I love that Pomi tomatoes are high-quality Italian tomatoes that won't break the bank. They are also so versatile and can make everything from classic marinara sauces to tikka masala. And of course, bread.

This pull-apart bread tastes like a hot pocket and I’m not mad about it. Canned tomatoes get roasted low and slow in the oven with a couple cloves of garlic before being stirred into an herbed butter to create a tomato butter that you could honestly just swipe onto crackers and it would be excellent. But we’re taking it a step further and stuffing dollops of tomato butter and slices of mozzarella cheese into a light, fluffy buttermilk dough, folding them like little pizza tacos and tucking them into a loaf. The whole thing is proofed, dusted with parmesan cheese, and baked. It’s a little pizza bread work of art.

tomatoes, italian, bread recipes, pull-apart bread, cheesy bread, mozzarella cheese

breads

italian

Yield: makes one 9” loaf pan

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Caramelized Tomato and Mozzarella Pull-Apart Bread

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 50 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 H & 50 M

Ingredients

for the buttermilk dough

• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) buttermilk
• 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 1/3 cup (300 g) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt

for the caramelized tomatoes

• 1 (14-oz) can Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, in paper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

for the tomato butter

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• Caramelized tomatoes and roasted garlic, recipe below
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

• 5 oz low-moisture mozzarella cheese, sliced
• Beaten egg, for egg wash
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Instructions

to make the caramelized tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 300° F and line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, toss garlic cloves with olive oil and pour out onto prepared pan.
3. Pour chopped tomatoes on the pan with the garlic, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper and give it a quick stir.
4. Roast for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until tomatoes are a deep red color and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
5. Let cool completely.

to make the tomato butter

1. Into a medium bowl, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from above out of their skins. Add salt, fresh basil and parsley, and parmesan cheese. Mash together with a fork.
2. Add the softened butter and the caramelized tomatoes and stir well, until combined and homogenous.

to make the buttermilk dough and tomato bread

1. Heat buttermilk in the microwave until warm to the touch. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and add the yeast. Let rest for 5 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, until yeast is foamy.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and kosher salt. Set aside.
3. When yeast is ready, add the egg to the buttermilk and yeast mixture and whisk briefly to combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until a shaggy dough forms.
5. Decrease mixer speed to low and gradually add softened butter, one tablespoon at a time. When all of the butter has been added increase speed to medium-high and knead for 5-6 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Scrape down the sides of the dough and gently shape into a round. Place dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover, and let proof at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
6. When dough has completed its first proof, turn it out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Let rest, covered with a towel, for 15 minutes.
7. Working with one bowl at a time, roll or press each ball into a 4-5” round. Fill the center of each round with a tablespoon of tomato butter and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Fold the dough circle upwards into a half-moon shape, so that each circle looks like a little filled taco.
8. Place each filled dough-taco, open side up, in a row in a lightly-oiled loaf pan. Cover the loaf pan with a towel or plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature again for 30-40 minutes, until swollen and dough has risen to the height of the pan.
9. Brush the top of the loaf with beaten egg and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes, until deeply golden brown.
10. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in pan before removing from pan and serving.

Recommended Products:

Pomi Chopped Tomatoes

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A Very Good At-Home Pizza Dough

For someone who makes it almost weekly, I get very grouchy about homemade pizza. Without a wood-burning pizza oven, it just is never the same as the good stuff you get at restaurants. Sure it’s easy and you can top it with whatever you like, but I’m almost always disappointed at the lack of charred edges and those dough bubbles created by the blast of hot air. Nevertheless, I press on and continue to make pizza at home, because in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t bad.

I’ve struggled for the last few years to find a dough recipe that is better than and just-as-easy-as the refrigerated dough in the Publix bakery shelves. Every recipe that I’ve tried worth anything requires an overnight proof and I just am not put-together enough to think about what I want for dinner an entire day ahead. A lot of doughs come out too bread-y for my taste and my jaw gets sore chewing each slice. Some create a dough that more closely resembles a cracker. It’s been a rough time, y’all.

Yet, I’ve persevered and I’ve finally created a pizza dough that checks off all of my boxes. 1) It can be made same-day, though if you are exceptionally good at planning ahead, you can definitely cold-proof this overnight for a little more flavor development. 2) It yields a crust that’s not too thick and not too thin, that falls somewhere in that perfect pizza region. 3) Did I mention it can be made same-day?

I’m not going to call this “the very best pizza in the world” or anything like that, because that would be a lie. The very best pizza is often proofed for at least 24 hours and baked in a 700° F pizza oven, but I don’t have those kind of resources so this is simply “a very good at-home pizza dough”. It’s for Friday nights when you want pizza but don’t want to go out and weeknights where you have lots of leftover veggies that just need to be thrown into a heap and covered in cheese and called dinner. A very good, very easy pizza dough fit for your home kitchen.

A few practical notes: Depending on the type of baking pan you use, bake the pizza between 450° F and 500° F, or as hot as your oven and pan can handle. I’ve also found that par-baking the crust is essential or you’ll end up with slightly burnt toppings and a soggy middle. Stretch your dough onto your baking sheet, brush it with a little olive oil, and pop it in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until its just beginning to golden. Then top it with your sauces/cheese/veggies/etc and let it continue baking until everything is melted and the bottom is golden brown and crisp. Every oven runs a little differently, so I would give it 10 minutes with toppings and then check it every 5 minutes or so after that.

A Very Good At-Home Pizza Dough

makes 1 lb of dough (or 14” pizza)

Ingredients

270 g all purpose or 00 flour*

1 tsp active dry yeast

pinch of sugar

188 g warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Procedure

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine warm water, pinch of sugar, and active dry yeast. Stir gently and let rest until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. When the yeast has proofed, add the olive oil, followed by the flour. Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes, until all of the flour has mixed in and a sticky dough is beginning to form. Cover the bowl and let rest for 15-20 minutes at room temperature.

3. After the dough has rested, turn the mixer on low and gradually add the salt. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and knead for 3-5 minutes, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and an elastic dough begins to form.

4. Turn the dough onto a well-floured work surface, dust the top with a little more flour and use your hands to gently shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball into a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature for 1 1/2-2 hours, until swollen and puffy, almost doubled in size.

5. After the dough has completed it’s first proof, turn it out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Use your hands to punch the dough down a bit and then shape it into a smooth, round ball. Place the ball seam side down on your surface, dust the top with a bit of flour, cover, and let rest for another 2-3 hours, until pillowy. To test if the dough is ready, gently press your finger into the dough. If the imprint fills back in halfway slowly, it is sufficiently proofed. If it fills back in completely very quickly, continue to proof the dough. Alternatively, you can transfer the dough back to the refrigerator before the second proof and let it cold proof overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before shaping and baking.

6. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450°. Gently stretch the dough into a circle on a pizza pan, brush with a bit of oil and par-bake for 6-8 minutes, until beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from oven, top with your desired toppings and then continue to bake for 10-15 minutes until the bottom of the crust is crispy and brown and all of the toppings are sufficiently baked.

*Notes: 00 flour is a finely-ground Italian flour that comes from durum wheat. It’s protein content is similar to all purpose flour, so they are interchangeable here, but if you’re able to seek out a bag of the 00, you’ll find your crumb just a little lighter and will give you a chewier crust with less of a chance of tearing while you’re stretching. I can always find 00 flour at Whole Foods and Fresh Market, or you can easily order it online.

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Schiacciata with Caramelized Onions and Figs

I’ve been feeling pretty old this week. While I haven’t been creator in this food blogging world for very long, I’ve been an avid food blog reader and cookbook enthusiast since my freshmen year of college…which was over ten years ago. Back then, the only way to discover new blogs was to spend hours browsing through Food Gawker or Pinterest, and through their writing, these food bloggers quickly became virtual friends. I would regularly check their websites for new content. Not just recipes, but stories and short little essays about their lives, friends and family, and yes, cookies. I would invite these cooks into my kitchen in the form of their recipes, not because their pictures were perfectly styled or they had massive followings, but because their writing and their recipes resonated with me. I loved this little world of food blogging and dreamed about one day being a part of it. I dreamed about writing stories that people got excited to read, developing new recipes that my own little community looked forward to each week, and through this blogging portal, entering into a stranger’s kitchen and coaching them through making something new.

Fast forward a handful of years and the food blogging landscape looks a little different. Those people whose websites I ran back to time and time again are still out in the blog-o-sphere, and they are still the ones I go to for inspiration, though I’ve added a few new ones to the mix. But sometimes it feels like the future of food blogging hinges on flashy images that catch your attention in a nano-second, or easily-digestible clips that can be viewed (or skipped over) in an instant. At risk of sounding like a crotchety old lady, the thing I love most about food is that it is an experience. Kneading dough takes time and tactile effort. Waiting for bread to rise takes patience, and decorating cakes is intricate work. In order to be successful in this industry, do I have to hack all of that away in an effort to gain more likes? I don’t know the answer to this. I don’t think any of us in this little world really know the answer to this, but I find myself asking if there is still space for my slightly old school approach to food blogging in this fast-paced industry. I think it will be a little give and take and I’m working to find my niche in a way that feels authentic to me, while also using the tools that technology affords me as a way to grow my business. With all of the craziness of the past few months, I think we’ve all had our eyes opened to the importance of slowing down and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to carry that with me as life begins to speed up again.

Now, lets talk schiacciata! Schiacciata is a Tuscan-style flatbread, similar to a focaccia but with a lower hydration level which makes it a little thinner and a little crisper. As if focaccia and pizza had a baby. It’s an easier dough to throw together and only needs a couple of hours to do it’s thing, which means you can start it in the afternoon and eat it for dinner. The recipe for this dough is lightly adapted from Sweet by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi, which is my very favorite book of all time. The dough is topped with tangles of caramelized onions and fresh figs that have been tossed in za’atar and feels like that perfect time of year when summer nights are waning, but fall hasn’t quite arrived. You can by za’atar at your local Middle Eastern Market or on Amazon, but I made my own using this recipe. It’s fairly simple and uses mostly spices that you already have on hand.

Schiacciata with Caramelized Onions and Figs

Yield: 1 10x16” flatbread

Schiacciata dough recipe adapted from Helen Goh

Ingredients 

for the dough

2 2/3 cup (330 g) bread flour

3/4 tsp active dry yeast

220 g warm water

2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the pan

1 egg yolk

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

for the onions

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

a hefty pinch of salt

for the figs and toppings

1 lb fresh figs, quartered

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp za’atar 

honey, to drizzle

goat cheese

flaky salt for finishing

Procedure: 

1. In a large bowl, stir together water, yeast, and half of the flour, until no dry streaks of flour remain. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature for about an hour, until dough is bubbly and swollen.

2. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and add the rest of the flour, olive oil, egg yolk, salt, and sugar. Knead on medium speed for about 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and cohesive, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and proof for another hour, until doubled in size. 

3. While the dough is proofing, caramelize the onions. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add butter and olive oil to the pan and when they begin to sizzle, add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are beginning to lightly brown on the edges. Turn the heat down to low, sprinkle with a hefty pinch of salt, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring frequently, until they are very soft and dark brown in color. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 

4. In a medium bowl, toss quartered figs with a tablespoon of olive oil, za’atar, and a pinch of salt. Set aside. 

5. When the dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 450° F. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over a rimmed sheet pan and turn the dough onto the oiled pan. Use your hands to gently stretch and push the dough into a rustic rectangle, about 10x16” in size. 

6. Spread the tangles of caramelized onions over the surface of the dough, followed by the figs. Drizzle the entire thing with a little olive oil one more time, then bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the bottom of the dough is crisp. 

7. Remove schiacciata from the oven, sprinkle with goat cheese and flaky salt and drizzle with honey. 

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