Basil Garlic Scallion Bread with Sun Dried Tomato Butter

Yesterday I stopped at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, and ended up buying a bunch of basil because it smelled so wonderful!  I also picked up the most beautiful fresh scallions I have ever come across as well as some garlic!  Now, although this sounds like the beginnings of a pesto of some sort, I got the idea into my head to make a bread using these wonderful herbs and alliums!  I pureed them in olive oil, and mixed them into a wheat bread base.  It made for a lovely pale green dough that smelled wonderful while baking!  While I was waiting for it to cool enough to slice, I thought a nice compound butter would be beautiful with it...sundried tomato!  The pale reddish tint to the butter was a nice contrast to the pale green bread!  But even better were the two flavors!  The basil bread would be wonderful on it's own, toasted or made into a sandwich, but it was awesome with the sundried tomato butter!  If you have loads of basil, this is your bread!  But better hurry, summer is almost over!

Basil Garlic Scallion Bread
makes 1 loaf

1cup fresh organic basil, packed

6 garlic cloves, peeled

6 scallions, roughly chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 Tbsp honey

1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups bread flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

In a food processor, combine basil, garlic, scallions and olive oil, process until smooth, and set aside.  Combine water, honey, and yeast in a bowl, and let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir in basil mixture and salt, then the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is not sticky but is still soft.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for about 10 minutes until it is elastic and smooth.  Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place to rise.  Let sit until doubled in bulk, about an hour, then punch down, form into a loaf and place in a 9x5 inch loaf pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Cover and let rise  until almost doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack set at the middle position.  When bread has risen, place in the oven and let bake for 40-50 minutes, or until it is golden and temps out at 190 degrees internal temperature when a thermometer is inserted.  Let cool in pans until cool enough to handle, then turn out onto a rack to cool. 

Sundried Tomato Butter

Makes about 3/4 cup butter

6 large oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1 stick butter, softened

Combine tomatoes and butter in a food processor and process until well blended.  Store in the fridge.