Basil bread is very similar to ordinary bread, except it has chopped or pureed basil mixed into the dough. Bread with a large amount of pureed basil in the mixture can turn green, and if less basil is mixed in, the color is much milder. Alternatively, basil bread can be made with chopped basil, which flavors the loaf as a whole, but doesn’t alter the color. When using chopped basil, either fresh or dried, there will be small specks of green scattered throughout the loaf.
Basil is a herb that is in the same genus as mint. The leaves of an ordinary basil plant are green, with rounded sides and sometimes a pointed tip. Some types of basil have different colored leaves; for example, opal basil has purple leaves. Other types of basil include lemon basil, clove basil and anise basil. The flavor of basil features heavily in pesto, an Italian pasta dressing, and some tomato soups. It is used in many different cuisines, such as Italian, Thai and Vietnamese. Basil can be grown easily in the home, or can be bought dried in most grocery stores.
Bread is a carbohydrate-rich food made from flour, yeast, water, salt, sugar and a small amount of oil or butter. The mixture forms a dough, which is then left to rise before being baked in an oven. Bread is used for a variety of purposes, such as to make sandwiches, toast, and to dip in soups. A slightly altered form of bread is used to make the base of a pizza. This generally follows the same recipe, except more oil is added. Many different types of bread can be made, and some popular examples in the United States include raisin bread, garlic bread, zucchini bread, and banana bread.
To make a batch of basil bread in its simplest form, all that would need to be done is to add basil to a generic bread recipe. The amount of basil that is added is up to personal preference, but a general ratio may be one-half to three-quarters cup of basil for every five cups of flour. The basil that is added into the bread mixture can be either pureed or chopped, and this decision mainly affects the color of the resulting bread. Basil bread can be made using garlic as an accompanying flavor, and is also suitable for use as a pizza base.