Tomato, Cheese & Onion Bread

By Mariealicerayner @MarieRynr

I have this cookbook by Taste of Home entitled Farmhouse Favorites.  This is a recipe I found in there. I liked the basic recipe but felt I could make it even better.  I do like to play with recipes from time to time.
First, I cut the recipe in half to make a smaller amount. The original made a huge 9 by 13-inch pan.  I also decided to make my own base for it as the original recipe used a baking mix for the base. I know a lot of my readers do not have this to use as a resource, so I opted to make a base from scratch.
The original recipe had a layer of fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced between the base and that rich topping. I didn't have any fresh tomatoes but I did have some fresh red sundried tomato pesto, and I thought that would add a really nice flavor into the mix and so I flew with that idea.
The end result was delicious.  You could enjoy this as a bread to serve on the side of soups or salads, or you could cut it into smaller pieces and serve this as an appetizer.  You could even turn it into a vegetarian main by cutting it into larger pieces and serving it with a salad on the side.
Quick and easy to make, incredibly versatile and really tasty! You can't ask for much more than that!
  
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TOMATO, CHEESE & ONION BREAD


I know I say this all the time but everything is pretty much ordinary, except maybe for the tomato pesto. If you wanted to you could use basil pesto.
For the base:
  • 1 cup (140g) all purpose (plain) flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (not soda)
  • 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar (granulated sugar)
  • pinch salt
  • 4 TBS cold butter
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
For the topping:
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 TBS butter
  • 1/4 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
  • 1 TBS full fat quality mayonnaise
  • salt and coarse black pepper to taste
  • pinch of oregano
  • 1/2 cup (60g) coarsely grated strong cheddar cheese
You will also need:
  • about 4 TBS of tomato pesto sauce
  • paprika to sprinkle

 
For the base use every day all purpose plain flour not self raising.  You can also very easily make your own buttermilk substitute if you have a difficult time finding buttermilk.
You can add a tsp of lemon juice to regular milk and leave it to clabber for five minutes, or you can simply whisk together equal amounts of whole milk and whole fat plain yogurt. Both substitutes work very well.

Do make sure the butter is cold before you cut it into the flour. 

My onion was about the size of my fist.  Maybe 3 inches across. (I have very small hands.) Just use a regular cooking onion, but do dice it fairly small.

Use full fat sour cream and mayonnaise.  Don't be tempted to use low fat as you won't have the same results, and low-fat mayonnaise is a bit sweeter than regular full fat mayonnaise. You might even use a garlic mayonnaise if you have it.  That would add another flavor note to this bread as well.


I buy my red pesto in the chiller section of my grocery store.  It comes in six small tubs that are all in one cardboard package.  It keeps for quite a while in the refrigerator and is perfect for recipes such as this one which only need a small amount of pesto.

You could use basil pesto if you wished.

Try to grate your own cheddar for this. In ready grated cheese they have cellulose added which is a kind of fine powder which makes the cheese flow better. I don't really want to be using something like that in anything I am cooking such a this just in case it interferes with the integrity of the dish.

 

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO, CHEESE & ONION BREAD
Nothing could be easier.  A simple biscuit/scone type of base, spread with tomato pest and topped with a cheesy onion topping. Yummilicious!


Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, without coloring. Leave to cool for 5 or six minutes.Stir in the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, oregano, and the cheese, combining everything together well.


 
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a baking dish approximately 7 by 11 inches in size.


Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Drop in the butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembled coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough.Knead gently a couple of times and then press into the bottom of the baking dish.



Spread the pesto evenly over top of the dough and then dollop the onion filling over top, spreading it out evenly over the pesto. Sprinkle with paprika.


Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and set. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.If you wanted to serve these as an appetizer you could cut the squares in half into triangles or cut them into four smaller squares. A pizza or pastry cutter would do this quite easily.This was really REALLY delicious. Somewhat similar to a pizza flavor wise, but not as messy and somewhat different. The cheese and onion topping is what really makes it!  Prepare to fall in love. 

 
If you are looking for some other types of breads that would be just as delicious served as appetizers as they would be sides, look no further. I have you covered!
MINI SCONE FOCCACIA BREADS - A scone type of dough, cut into rounds and flattened, then brushed with a buttery herb mixture and sprinkled with pine nuts before baking to crisp edged perfection. These little breads go fabulously with soups or salads, or served as a appetizer with a dip.
LITTLE CRUSTY CHEESE & MUSTARD DAMPER BREADS - Dampers are small soda breads.  Originally, I believe that it was a traditional Australian soda bread prepared by swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travelers, meant to be cooked over open fires while they were on the road.  Quick to make and probably not dissimilar to the breads which the pioneers would have made on the trails across North America. What makes this version really exciting however is the cheese and grainy mustard topping which gets piled on top of the breads prior to baking.  Delicious!
Yield: Six servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner

Tomato, Cheese & Onion Bread

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 50 MinA fabulously flaky buttery base, topped with some tomato pesto and a rich cheese and onion filling. Baked to perfection.

Ingredients

For the base:
  • 1 cup (140g) all purpose (plain) flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (not soda)
  • 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar (granulated sugar)
  • pinch salt
  • 4 TBS cold butter
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
For the topping:
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 TBS butter
  • 1/4 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
  • 1 TBS full fat quality mayonnaise
  • salt and coarse black pepper to taste
  • pinch of oregano
  • 1/2 cup (60g) coarsely grated strong cheddar cheese
You will also need:
  • about 4 TBS of tomato pesto sauce
  • paprika to sprinkle

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, without coloring. Leave to cool for 5 or six minutes.
  2. Stir in the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, oregano, and the cheese, combining everything together well.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a baking dish approximately 7 by 11 inches in size.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Drop in the butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembled coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough.
  5. Knead gently a couple of times and then press into the bottom of the baking dish.
  6. Spread the pesto evenly over top of the dough and then dollop the onion filling over top, spreading it out evenly over the pesto. Sprinkle with paprika.
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and set. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
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