Nothing can be  compared with fresh baked loaf of bread. The whole house becomes cozy and the smell would attract all the family members to gather around one table. The following recipe is an interesting idea of bread to which you can add your personal touch in it. You can add seeds, nuts, dried tomatoes and anything that would suit your taste. The result would be one tasty and delicious bread loaf that can be eaten with butter, cheese and fresh tomatoes. When I made it, my brother and I ate the whole loaf with butter while it was still hot.

Ingredients:

– 400 g flour

-1 and 1/2 tea spoon of dry yeast

-1 and 1/2 tea spoon of salt

– 1 tea spoon of sugar

–  1 small chopped shallot onion

–  2 cloves of garlic

– 220 ml water

– 2 table spoons of tomato puree

– 2 table spoons of sunflower oil (or olive oil as an option)

Preparation:

I always start my bread recipes with the yeast mixture as I consider it to be the key of a good result. In a bowl pour around 180 ml of warm (not cold not hot) water along with the yeast and the sugar. The sugar helps the yeast to bubble up. Let it rest for few minutes. Do not be in a rush when making bread or anything else, as being in a rush will make your baking end with a failure.

In a separate big bowl mix the sifted flour along with the salt, onion,oil and garlic. Add the yeast mixture and the tomato puree.  Stir well and knead the dough. Add more flour if necessary. Place the dough into an oily bowl and let it rest for sixty minutes (or when its size doubles). Once ready knead the dough again and place it to a baking tray. Let it rest for another hour. Preheat the oven to 230 Celsius degrees, sift a bit of flour over the bread and cut few strips on the top side of the dough. Bake it for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 200 degrees. Continue baking for additional 40 minutes. Once the bread is ready let it rest for 30 minutes covered by a kitchen towel.

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