This vintage bread recipe is so pretty and unique. It looks a lot harder than it is so be sure to give it a try.
Don't want to scroll through the page to get to the recipe? Use the table of contents to click on the section you want.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- A unique, savory bread that's equally impressive and delicious.
- Perfect for sandwiches, grilled cheese, and as a side dish for soup.
- The stunning swirled design is simple to make, and I've included a guide so you can master yeast bread once and for all!
This tomato swirl bread is a great way to add fun flavor to your meals—and there is enough dough to make two loaves so everyone gets enough.
Cut your bread slices extra thick because, with a taste similar to old-fashioned tomato soup, you'll want to savor every last crumb.
📖 Variations
- Feel free to use any type of tomato sauce you like. Homemade from juicy, fresh tomatoes will work just the same as canned in this bread.
- Add some very finely chopped fresh basil or parsley to the plain dough if you enjoy herbal flavors.
- If you need to make a dairy-free version, you can swap the melted butter for a good extra-virgin olive oil.
🥫 How to store leftover tomato bread
Homemade, delicious bread like this one never lasts long in my house. That's a good thing, too—without any preservatives, it doesn't keep as long as stuff from the grocery store.
Cover leftover tomato swirl bread with plastic wrap, or store it in an anti-mold bread box. Keep it at room temperature and enjoy it within two days.
Place bread in the freezer to make it last up to three months. You'll need to wrap it tightly in a layer of plastic and then put it in an airtight container.
I recommend slicing before freezing so you can remove just one slice of bread at a time. Pop frozen bread directly into the toaster, and it'll be soft and fresh-tasting in no time at all.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Roll out the rectangles of dough so that the longer sides are a little shorter than the length of your loaf pans. Then, for a spiral in every slice, be sure to roll up the dough starting from one of the long sides.
- If you've struggled using yeast, check out my bread troubleshooting guide. Once you learn to master yeast bread, store-bought just isn't the same!
- Speed up the kneading by using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. (However, don't go above the second speed or the motor can break.)
- You've kneaded the dough enough when it stretches (like elastic) rather than snapping off. As weird as it sounds, it'll feel smooth like an ear lobe.
- Bread rises best in a warm place. If your oven has a bread-proof setting, feel free to use that. You can also set the bowl on top of a towel, situated over a mild heating pad. Just be sure it's not too hot.
- Slicing into bread while it's still hot can make it taste gummy, and it tends to tear. Try to let it cool as long as possible before cutting in.
👩🍳 FAQs
I don't recommend swapping, but if you really need to use up your AP flour, measure out a cup of it. Remove one tablespoon and replace it with one tablespoon of wheat gluten. Repeat for every cup needed.
Nope! Garlic can prevent yeast from doing its thing (rising). So it's best to add garlic after baking if you want it, like a pat of garlic butter.
It depends on how quickly you work, but the general standard for hand-kneading yeast bread is about 10 minutes. Give or take a few minutes, depending on your strength and speed.
It absolutely does! I love a golden brown slice with a melty pat of butter dipped into runny eggs in the morning. Yum!
No. Spanish tomato bread (pan con tomate) is a crusty bread that's rubbed/topped with tomato pulp. On the other hand, tomato swirl bread is a soft yet hearty bread, perfect for sandwiches and snacking.
📚 Related recipes
- No-Fail Amish White Bread is named that way because the fool-proof recipe ensures the fluffy sandwich bread always comes out perfectly.
- Without any fussy kneading necessary, this beginner-friendly Sourdough Bread is deliciously tangy and very, very addicting!
- Studded with salty olives and simplified for modern home cooks, Kalamata Olive Bread tastes like something out of a European bakery.
- No-Fail Amish White Bread
- French Onion Garlic Bread
- Mexican Day of the Dead Bread (Pan de Muerto)
- Molasses Whole Wheat Bread
🍽️ Serve with...
This bread is the perfect fit for Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup and grilled cheese or Southern jalapeno pimento cheese sandwiches.
📞 The last word
Y'all, with all the craziness going on at my house right now (if you're on my email list you know!) I haven't had a chance to reshoot this bread.
This image is from the original post in 2007 - so you can have a good laugh at my attempts at photography early one. Whatever you do - make this bread! It's delicious.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Tomato Swirl Bread
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
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
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.
Notes
- Roll out the rectangles of dough so that the longer sides are a little shorter than the length of your loaf pans. Then, for a spiral in every slice, be sure to roll up the dough starting from one of the long sides.
- If you've struggled using yeast, check out my bread troubleshooting guide. Once you learn to master yeast bread, store-bought just isn't the same
- Speed up the kneading by using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. (However, don't go above the second speed or the motor can break.)
- You've kneaded the dough enough when it stretches (like elastic) rather than snapping off. As weird as it sounds, it'll feel smooth like an ear lobe.
- Bread rises best in a warm place. If your oven has a bread-proof setting, feel free to use that. You can also set the bowl on top of a towel, situated over a mild heating pad. Just be sure it's not too hot.
- Slicing into bread while it's still hot can make it taste gummy, and it tends to tear. Try to let it cool as long as possible before cutting in.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published sometime in 2007. Last updated August 24, 2023 for editorial content.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
July 2010
This tomato 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!
I love the combination of tomato soup and toasted cheese and this is one of those breads that goes perfectly with that combination.
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 summer salads and anything else you want to make.
I originally posted this in 2007
Peg C says
I’d love a sourdough version of this!
Debbie Cagle says
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 says
I think you would use about a teaspoon but am not sure.
Lacey says
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 says
Awww... thank you Lacey. That means a lot!