Deep, unimpeded, sweet tomato flavor with swirls of garlic and rich velvety olive oil, bright fresh basil and, listen to this, your hunky crusty bread dips are already included! Make way for tomato and bread soup also known as pappa al pomodoro.

THIS RECIPE

Pappa al pomodoro hails from the Tuscany region of Italy and is especially popular and fiercely claimed in Florence and Siena. It essentially translates to “tomato mush” and depending on where you have it and who is making it, it can range in texture from more of a porridge to a slightly thinner soup or stew consistency like we have here. But any way you have it, it is definitely all the yum. Just, all of it.

This recipe is from Marika Contaldo Seguso, an Italian cookbook author, and you can find her original pappa al pomodoro recipe in Milk Street.

In This Post: Everything You Need For Tomato and Bread Soup

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Ingredients We’re Working with For This Soup

The ingredient list for tomato and bread soup like this is always beautifully short, each flavor standing on its own. Here’s what you’ll need for this version:

• canned whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes

• dried or stale bread

• extra olive oil

• garlic

• fresh basil

• vegetable/chicken broth

Because there are so few elements, you really want to use high quality ingredients to reach peak flavor. San Marzanos are delicious, fruit, and less acidic than other tomatoes. You’ll want really good extra virgin olive oil both for the soup and for the silky drizzles on top for serving. Fresh basil as opposed to dried here. And a good crusty white bread will do the trick.

Let’s Make Pappa Al Pomodoro (Tomato and Bread Soup)

As mentioned, this recipe is a little thinner than a more traditional pappa al pomodoro but by all means, if you want to thicken it up, you can adjust the broth/bread ratio (or omit broth altogether and just let the tomatoes serve as the liquid) until it’s so thick your spoon stands up! Which, depending on where you are, can be the mark of a truly divine pappa in Italy. You could also thin it out if that is more pleasing! Our texture sweet spot was usually a one cup of broth per ciabatta roll ratio.

Here’s how we did this one:

1. Tomatoes. Get your hands in there and crush!

2. Garlic & Olive Oil. Sauté garlic in oil until fragrant and then add your crushed tomatoes and let simmer for a bit. Then add your broth & basil and keep simmering.

3. Bread. Add dried bread to the tomato/broth mixture and simmer until the bread is soft. Then you can use a potato masher or whisk to keep breaking it down.

4. Serve. We served this with extra olive oil drizzles, more fresh basil, and ok also some Parm, yum!

What Kind Of Bread To Use Here

Italian tomato and bread soup is actually born of a time where it was the worst possible crime to let a single bit of bread go to waste (still feels accurate…we ❤️ bread), even if it’s a stale one. So traditionally, it’s made with very stale Tuscan bread, ideally left out for several days. Tuscan bread specifically is made without salt (which dates back to the 12th century when trade lines were cut off to Florence making salt super expensive!) and that meant the bread went stale rather quickly. Thus, this soup, and other delicious things like panzanella salad, was a way to turn stale bread into a dream of a dish.

Traditionalists say a no-salt Tuscan bread is the best here, but that is hard to find outside of Tuscany, so any crusty rustic white bread would do like:

• ciabatta (we used the rolls, cut up and dried out)

• boule

• any country-style bread

• any other rustic Italian or French bread

Your Bread — The Drier, The Better!

If you haven’t thought ahead and left your bread out (or just happened to forget you had bread and it got stale all on its own! Go you! That’s not an oops, that’s a yay this time!), you can cut up your bread and toast it in the oven to dry it out.

• Cut bread into slices/cubes or tear it up & spread on a sheet pan

• 450 degree oven for about 5–7 minutes until it’s dry (not browned), tossing midway

But again, if on a Monday you’re thinking, “Man, I’d love some tomato bread soup on Wednesday”, toss that loaf on the counter, friend, and just absolutely forget about it!

ITALIAN TOMATO AND BREAD SOUP: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How should I store or serve leftovers of this soup?

This soup will do okay as leftovers in the fridge for 1 day. It can still be eaten, enjoyed, and not too soggy. If you’re sensitive to texture, make the tomato base and add the bread about 10 minutes before serving the soup.

Do you recommend fresh or dried herbs for this soup?

Fresh is the way to go here, if you can find them in the store.

How can I make this soup vegan?

Just use a vegan Parm cheese, if you plan to add that in, and use veggie broth.