This tomato swirl bread is a recipe I created several years ago. I took a recipe for tomato bread and combined it with a recipe for plain bread — perfection!
Tomato swirl bread is a recipe that I came up with a couple of years ago. I love tomato soup and toasted cheese, I mean who doesn't, right?
Well this bread is the perfect bread for the toasted cheese sandwiches that you dunk into the soup...It is also fantastic with tomato sandwiches and anything else you want to make. I originally posted this in 2007 and I need to update the images....In the meantime give this a try...it really is good.

YUM! This has a faint aftertaste of tomato soup!

Tomato Swirl Bread
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Ingredients
Tomato Dough
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 package active dry yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons
- ¼ cup warm water, 110°
- 4 cups bread flour, may need more
Plain Dough
- 1 ½ cup water, 110°
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 package active dry yeast, (or 2 ¼ teaspoons)
- 4 cups bread flour, may need more
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Instructions
Tomato Dough
- Soften yeast in water.
- Heat tomato sauce, butter, and ketchup together and mix well.
- Let cool to lukewarm.
- Add sugar, cloves, salt and yeast mixture to tomato mixture.
- Mix in enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough.
- Turn out and knead until smooth and elastic.
- Rub lightly with oil and set aside to rise.
Plain Dough
- Soften yeast in ¼ c water with sugar.
- Microwave the 11/2 cups water until very hot.
- Add butter to the 1 ½ cups water, stirring until butter melts.
- Let cool to lukewarm.
- Add salt and yeast mixture.
- Add flour until you get a soft, kneadable dough.
- Proceed with the dough as you did with the tomato dough.
Assembly and Baking
- Let balls of dough rise until double-about 1 ½ hours.
- Punch down and knead lightly
- Cut each ball of dough into 2 equal pieces.
- Let rest 10 minutes.
- Roll each ball out into a rectangle of equal sizes.
- Place a tomato dough rectangle on top of a plain rectangle and roll up tightly pinching dough together at bottom to seal.
- Repeat with other loaf.
- Let rise in greased bread pans for 1 hour or until double.
- Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped...Let cool if you can.
Debbie Cagle
I made this bread and the texture is wonderful. Very easy instructions to follow. I did not, however, like the taste of the cloves (just a personal thing). I was thinking about substituting it with basil. Do you think I would use the same measurement as the clove? Thanks so much for sharing!
Marye
I think you would use about a teaspoon but am not sure.
Lacey
I love this recipe along with the past several I’ve tried from your blog this week. Your directions are incredibly easy to follow (I’ve had my 4 year old in the kitchen learning all week). I love your little articles before each recipe. They’re long enough I enjoy reading them and getting the personality through your recipes but not so long I forgot what I was even making. 🙂 Great recipe and great site!
Marye
Awww... thank you Lacey. That means a lot!