Tomato Bread

This pretty pink bread is great for a meat and cheese sandwich special.

Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato juice
• 2 Tblsp. Butter
• 3 Tblsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ cup tomato ketchup
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 7 cups sifted all purpose flour

Method

1. Heat tomato juice and butter together until butter is melted. Add sugar, salt and ketchup. Let cool to lukewarm.
2. Sprinkle yeast on warm water and stir to dissolve. Add tomato mixture and 3 cups flour to yeast. Beat with electric mixture at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally for about 2 minutes.
3. Mix in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, and mix by hand to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured board and kneed until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Place in a lightly greased bowl. Turn dough over to grease both sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
5. Shape into loaves and place in greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled.
6. Bake in a hot over (about 425 degrees) about 25 minutes, or until bread tests done. Makes 2 loaves.