What I present to you today are extremely tasty tomato bites that you can serve as a delicious substitute for bread or as appetizers. They are, in fact, small pieces of bread flavored in a pizzaiola style, since the dough contains oregano as well as tomato. I prepared them in the afternoon with the idea of serving them at dinner, but they never made it to the table. That inviting aroma inevitably drew everyone into the kitchen and… goodbye bites!

Other similar ideas that might interest you:

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low-cost
Rest time: 3 Hours
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Cooking time: 25 Minutes
Portions: 4People
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for the tomato bites

In this recipe I used active dry yeast, but if you prefer you can replace it with 8 g of fresh yeast (about 1/4 oz). If you have sourdough starter, you can use 80 g (about 2.8 oz). In both alternate cases (fresh yeast or sourdough), dissolve them in the warm water before adding it to the flours.

1 1/2 cups type 1 flour
1/2 cup durum wheat semolina (re-milled)
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp lard
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste (about 20 g)
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt

Tools

I made the dough for these tomato bites with a stand mixer, but you can use any other mixer. You can also knead by hand: work the ingredients first in a bowl and then on the work surface.

1 Stand mixer
1 Whisk
1 Bowl
1 Rolling pin
1 Bench scraper
1 Baking sheet

Preparation of the tomato bites

Place the two flours in the bowl of the stand mixer together with the active dry yeast and mix well with a small hand whisk.
Then add the water, the oil, the lard and a generous pinch of oregano and start kneading with the hook attachment.
When the mixture is well combined, add the tomato paste and the salt. Knead until you obtain a dough that is extremely soft but not sticky.
Shape into a ball, place it in a well-floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in volume in a warm place protected from drafts. The rising time depends a lot on the ambient temperature and can vary from two to three hours.
After this first rise, transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and roll it out with the rolling pin to a thickness of about 6–7 mm (about 1/4 inch). You can make them thicker if you prefer.
At this point, cut it into pieces using a bench scraper. Don’t worry if the pieces are not all the same size. These are rustic bites and you can shape them as you like. Mine turned out as squares, rectangles and even triangles.
Transfer the tomato bites to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them slightly apart. Cover and let them rise for another hour.
Finally, bake the tomato bites in a preheated static oven at 392°F for 20–25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly (if you can) before enjoying. Enjoy! Paola
I take this opportunity to remind you that you can follow me on various social networks to stay updated on the new recipes I publish. You can find me on Facebook (HERE), on Twitter (HERE), on Pinterest (HERE), on Instagram (HERE) and also on Tik Tok (@zenzero_limone). Thank you ♥!