This Roasted Tomato Basil Sourdough is in a league of its own. A purée of oven roasted tomatoes, garlic, and basil replaces most of the water in your standard loaf, creating an insanely flavorful, savory bread with a gorgeous sunset-orange color.
This is the time of year where everyone’s freaking out about pumpkin spice again, while I’m harvesting pounds and pounds of tomatoes out of my garden under a merciless sun. Frankly, I find it confusing. We’ve still got a month left of summer, and I intend to make the most of all the late-summer produce before I’m ready to embrace apples and winter squash.
To me, this special sourdough loaf is the epitome of late August. It packs in over a pound of tomatoes at their peak, along with fresh basil and tons of garlic. It’s absolutely bursting with savory summery flavor, and it doesn’t hurt that the whole thing is tinged a gorgeous reddish-orange color.
Drizzle slices of this bread with basil flower oil, dunk it into homemade soup, or use it to make the most epic BLTs of all time.
Below, you’ll find step-by-step photos and key tips for making this delightful tomato basil sourdough bread.
👉 If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like my Tomato Focaccia, Sourdough Caprese Focaccia, or Heirloom Tomato Galettes.
Recipe highlights
- Super savory with roasted tomatoes, caramelized garlic, and fresh basil
- Soft & chewy interior with a crispy golden crust
- Lovely reddish hue from the tomato purée
- A versatile summery side for soups, entrée salads, and breakfast
- No kneading required, just a few sets of stretch & folds
Recipe Tip
⏱️ Prep: ~30 mins active time • Fermentation: 4-6 hrs + overnight • Cook: 50 mins
🍴 Yield: 1 loaf
💪 Skill level: Beginner
😋 Flavor notes: Super savory with sweet summer tomatoes + roasted garlic + fresh basil. Pairs well with: Breakfast, pasta, salads, soups, basil flower oil, more fresh tomatoes.
How to make this tomato basil sourdough
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Feed your starter: Feed your sourdough starter and keep in a warm place until very bubbly and at least doubled.
- Roast the tomatoes: Arrange chopped tomatoes and whole garlic cloves on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and roast until soft and bubbly, about 25 minutes.
- Make tomato purée: Place roasted tomatoes & garlic in a food processor, add fresh basil, and purée until completely liquified, 1-2 minutes. Strain to remove skins and seeds.
- Mix dough: When your starter is ready, whisk together tomato purée, water, sourdough starter, and salt. Add bread flour and mix until it forms a cohesive, shaggy dough. Cover and rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Stretch-and-folds: Perform 4 rounds of stretch & folds every 30 minutes or so over the next few hours.
- Shape: Shape dough into a ball or loaf. Place seam-side up in a lined bowl/banneton.
- Continue bulk fermentation: Cover dough and allow to ferment at room temperature until puffy, airy, and risen by 30-50%, about 2-4 hours.
- Refrigerate overnight: Transfer to the fridge to rest overnight.
- Score & bake: Preheat oven to 450° F. Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, score the top of the dough, and lift into a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes.
Pro tips for perfect sourdough bread
Use an active, bubbly sourdough starter. Mix the dough when your starter is at “peak rise” (it’s at least doubled in size since you fed it, is airy and full of bubbles).
Bake with steam. A Dutch oven gives high heat + traps steam for bakery-style oven spring and that perfect crispy crust.
No Dutch oven? No worries, you can also cover your loaf with a large oven-safe bowl in the first half of baking or add a pan of water to the bottom of your oven.
Use good tomatoes. The flavor of this bread will be best if you choose tomatoes that are ripe, sweet, and tasty.
Serving & storing
To store: Wrap loosely and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To serve: Tomato basil sourdough pairs perfectly with soups, salads, and summery meals.
Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it:
- Made into grilled cheese sandwiches
- Dipped into homemade soup
- Drizzled generously with basil flower oil
- Used for epic BLT sandwiches
- Toasted on the side of a big summer salad
- Topped with slices of fresh tomatoes and/or cucumbers
- Turned into little Caprese toasts
- As a side for pasta and Italian-inspired meals
- Served with breakfast (scrambled eggs, toasted tomato sourdough + slices of fresh garden tomatoes sprinkled with flaky salt is SO GOOD)
What to bake next: Try Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough, Olive Feta Sourdough, Easy Tomato Focaccia, or any of these delicious sourdough recipes!
If you make this Roasted Tomato Basil Sourdough recipe, please leave a comment & star rating. It means so much to me!
Tomato Basil Sourdough
Equipment
- Dutch oven optional, but recommended
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
Tomato purèe
- 1 ¼ pounds fresh tomatoes
- 5 large garlic cloves, peeled
- salt & pepper
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
Tomato basil sourdough
- tomato purée, from above, (should be roughly 275 grams)
- 75-100 grams lukewarm water
- 10 grams salt
- 150 grams active, bubbly sourdough starter
- 500 grams bread flour
Instructions
- Feed your starter: Feed your sourdough starter and keep in a warm place until very bubbly and at least doubled.I like to feed my starter the night before or first thing in the morning when I'm planning to make a loaf.
- Roast the tomatoes: While your starter is munching and growing, make the tomato purèe. Preheat the oven to 425° F.Core your tomatoes (1 lb 4 oz), chop them into thick wedges, and arrange them on a baking sheet with 5 whole, peeled garlic cloves. Sprinkle all over with a little salt & pepper and roast until the tomatoes are soft and bubbly and lightly charred, about 25 minutes.
- Make tomato purée: Place roasted tomatoes & garlic in a food processor, add the ¼ cup fresh basil, and purée until completely liquified, 1-2 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove skins and seeds (you can discard those).Leave the tomato purèe to cool at room temperature until ready to use*.
- Mix dough: When your starter is ready, weigh your tomato purée in a large bowl. It should be roughly 275 grams, but if it's a bit over or under, that's fine. Add enough lukewarm water to bring this liquid mixture to 350 total grams. Then, whisk in 10 grams salt and 150 grams active sourdough starter.Add 500 grams bread flour and mix until it forms a cohesive, shaggy dough. Cover and rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Stretch and fold**. Pull dough from one side and give it a long stretch, then fold dough back to the middle. Turn bowl a quarter turn, stretch again and fold back to the middle. Repeat on all four sides, cover the dough back up, and allow it to rest again.
- Continue with stretch-and-folds. Over the next few hours, you’ll repeat this process of stretching and folding the dough about every 30-45 minutes or so. Plan to stretch and fold a total of 4-5 times, or until dough feels hydrated, smooth, strong, and elastic.Let the dough rest again for about 30 minutes after the final stretch and fold.
- Shape: Shape dough into a ball or loaf. Place seam-side up in a lined bowl/banneton.
- Continue bulk fermentation: Cover dough and allow to ferment at room temperature until puffy, airy, and risen by 30-50%, about 2-4 hours.
- Refrigerate overnight: Transfer to the fridge to rest overnight.
- Score & bake: Preheat oven to 450° F. Carefully turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and score the top of the dough in any desired pattern with a very sharp knife or bread lame. Lift dough into a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and baked through (205-215° F internal temperature). Allow bread to cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
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