Sun-Dried Tomato Bread

5 from 2 votes

This sun-dried tomato bread is the best - crusty, soft on the inside, and full of flavor. Plus, there’s no kneading required!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 5

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 162kcal

Author: Adina

1 packet instant yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons/ 7 g/ 0.25 oz, Notes 3, 4
1 ½ tablespoons honey
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or another vinegar
7 halves sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, from a jar, roughly 2 oz/ 60 g, finely chopped
⅓ cup pine nuts 50 g
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon rosemary

Combine ingredients: Stir the yeast with the honey and water in a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, and vinegar. Mix everything with a spoon. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, basil, and rosemary, and mix well to distribute them evenly into the dough.
1 packet instant yeast + 1 ½ tablespoons honey + 1 ½ cups lukewarm water + 4 cups all-purpose flour + 2 teaspoons fine sea salt + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + 7 halves sun-dried tomatoes + ⅓ cup pine nuts + 1 teaspoon basil + ½ teaspoon rosemary
Let dough rise: Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature. The dough will be quite soft.
Prepare the Dutch oven: Lightly grease it with butter and dust it with a bit of flour.
Shape the dough: Generously flour your work surface and pour the dough onto it. Don’t knead it. Flour your hands and gently shape the dough into a ball by folding it from the outside in. Place the dough ball seam-side down in the prepared pot.
Bake: Cover with the lid and place the pot in the cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 400°F/200°C and bake the bread with the lid on for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for another 30–35 minutes until the crust is nice and crisp. The bread should release easily from the pot when fully baked. If it doesn’t, bake for another 5 minutes.
Cool: Remove the sun-dried tomato bread from the pot and let it cool on a wire rack.

Measurements: For best results, I recommend using a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) to measure the ingredients.
Pot: The Dutch oven is the best choice for baking this sun-dried tomato bread, as it helps the bread rise and form a crisp, golden crust. If you don’t have one, you can use a covered casserole dish or oven-safe pot with a tight-fitting lid to trap steam.
To replace instant yeast with active dry yeast, use the same amount - 7 grams or 2 ¼ teaspoons. However, active dry yeast needs to be dissolved first. Stir it into the lukewarm water with the honey from the recipe and let it sit for about 5–10 minutes until it becomes foamy. Once it's activated, continue with the rest of the recipe.
If you're using fresh yeast, you'll need 0.75 oz/ 21 grams. Crumble the fresh yeast into the lukewarm water with the honey, stir until it dissolves, and let it sit for a few minutes before proceeding with the recipe.