Bread is an alluring comfort food that can instill cravings as powerful as any dessert, which begs the question, what could be better than bread?  To Eric Kayser, a third generation Parisian bread maker who grew up with bread as an essential part of every meal, nothing may be better than bread, but he certainly believes you can create better dishes with bread.  In “Beyond the Bread Basket”, Kayser shares a collection of personal recipes that use bread to create wonderful dishes for any meal using bread.  His recipes range from ‘bread as a plate’ , to ‘bread as an ingredient’, and even ‘bread as a dessert’.   The recipes are appealing and often simple, such as the  “Mini Rustic Bread Tartlets with Sautéed Mushrooms” recipe that combines bread and mushrooms to create a wonderful quick treat or elegant appetizer.  Equally simple and elegant is the “Cherry Tomato Gazpacho and Rustic Bread” recipe shown below which uses the bread as wonderful little bowls for the hearty gazpacho.  Other recipes include a section devoted to sandwiches from around the world and a large selection of bread based desserts.  If you enjoy bread, these recipes are highly luring which should come as no surprise since they are from a bread baker who has bakeries in France, Greece, Japan, Lebanon, Russia, Taiwan and Ukraine! 

Cherry Tomato Gazpacho and Rustic Bread

From “Beyond the Bread Basket: Recipes for Appetizers, Main Courses, and Desserts”

By Eric Kayser.  © Beyond the Bread Basket, by Eric Kayser, Flammarion/Rizzoli, 2008. 

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

• 2 lb cherry tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper
• 4 x ½ lb small round rustic loaves (sourdough)
• Summer savory or thyme flowers
• Slat and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 250° F. 

Blend the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil.

Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into pieces. Blend them with the tomatoes and the oil.

Cut off the tops of the loaves and empty them out, setting aside 6 oz of the soft inner part, to form soup bowls. Drizzle a little olive oil over them and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Add the reserved soft part of the bread to the tomato and pepper mixture, and blend the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper. 

When the bread bowls have cooled down, pour in the gazpacho and scatter with the summer savory or thyme flowers.

Baker’s tip:

In this recipe, the acidity of the sourdough rustic bread replaces the sherry vinegar usually used. This is why it’s essential to use a bread with a natural leavening.

About Beyond the Bread Basket

Master baker Éric Kayser reveals the secret of his marvelous creations, and provides innovative and delicious ways of incorporating bread into a variety of main courses, accompaniments, and desserts. With much flair and the hand of a practiced baker, he presents his collection of sixty surprising and easy-to-follow recipes, transforming bread into a condiment in recipes such as Stuffed Mussels, Breadcrumbs with Curry, or Sausage Crumble, or the main ingredient of a dish as in Chicken with Raisin Bread Stuffing. Kayser uses bread as a plate or bowl for his bruschetta, tapas, soup, and Roasted Vegetable Salad. He reinvents the humble sandwich and offers new versions of open-faced tartine sandwiches, whether classic Foccacio with Sesame Seeds or exotic Tandoori Chicken. Rounding off this collection are irresistible desserts that are pure treasures of sweetness, such as French Toast with Caramelized Apples, Chocolate Soup, and Toasted Brioche.

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