Sun-dried tomatoes are quite possibly my favorite sourdough inclusion of all time. Mix them with tangy cheese (goat cheese and feta are my favorites), and you have the most delicious sweet yet tangy loaf of bread on the planet.

But my question was this: should I be using dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes or the oil-packed ones that come in a jar?

I experimented and found the clear winner.

comparing oil vs dried sundried tomato in sourdough
Oil-packed on left; dry-packed on right

Dry vs Oil-Packed Sun-dried Tomatoes

Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes are sold in pouches or bags and are completely dehydrated, just like other dried fruit.

sundried tomatoes in pouch

Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes are sold in jars. The dried tomatoes are submerged in oil, typically infused with Meditteranean herbs. Oil-packed tomatoes are more expensive than the dry-packed alternative.

sundried tomatoes in oil

At my local grocery store, the oil-packed tomatoes cost $5.99 while the dried version costs $3.99.

So, yes, I was totally hoping the dry-packed option would be the winner!

My Inclusion Method

In order to get the best distribution (and maximum flavor throughout the loaf), I like adding inclusions during the second set of stretch and folds.

P.S: You can get the full winning recipe here.

stretch and folds

For the oil-packed tomatoes:

  • Drain the oil from the jar (save that oil for something else!)
  • Chop the sun-dried tomatoes if you like
  • Add them right on top of the dough

For the dried tomatoes:

  • Chop them if you like
  • Add them right on top of the dough
adding inclusions
Note: I did not rehydrate the dried sun-dried tomatoes before adding them to the bread. You can experiment with doing that (if I don't beat you to it and update my findings here!).

Differences I Noticed

A few things I noticed throughout the entire bread-making process:

  • The color the oil-packed tomatoes added to the dough was a vibrant orange-red. It looked gorgeous!
  • The oil-packed tomatoes also made the dough extremely fragrant. The dried sun-dried tomato dough didn’t smell any different than a regular loaf of sourdough.
  • The dried sun-dried tomato dough was a bit easier to handle since there was no oil to make the dough more slippery.
stitched sourdough loaves
Oil-packed on left; dry-packed on right
  • After the baking was finished, I did see a slightly better rise from the dried sun-dried tomato loaf. The oil seemed to weigh down the other loaf a little bit, though the difference wasn’t extreme.
beauty shot of the cute bread
Dry-packed on top; oil-packed on bottom
  • The flavor from the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes was remarkable. Every single bite – whether it had a tomato in it or not – was encased in strong sun-dried tomato flavor. The dry-packed loaf was missing that entirely; you only tasted the tomato when you got a piece of it in that bite.
sourdough in bannetons before stitching
Before stitching

The Verdict

The clear winner was the oil-packed sun-dried tomato loaf. (Grab the recipe here.)

While the loaf didn’t get quite as much lift as the dried alternative, the flavor bomb it provided knocked the other out of the park.

sundried tomato experiment side by side
Oil-packed on left; dry-packed on right

I could tell the difference as soon as I did the first set of the stretch and folds with the inclusions. The smell coming off of the oil-packed dough was insane.

While I did drain off the herb-infused oil from the jar, bits of it still got into the dough.

The Mediterranean herbs in that jar were the perfect addition to the loaf, which the other loaf was seriously lacking.

I want to experiment more in the near future, including:

  • Rehydrating the dried-packed tomatoes in salted water before adding to the dough
  • Buying dry-packed tomatoes and infusing them with my own oil and herb mix
  • Adding fresh herbs to the overall recipe, such as fresh basil or oregano

I’ll keep you posted on that! Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried sun-dried tomatoes in your sourdough and what you thought of it.

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2 Comments

  1. Why is there not an option to print the recipes without downloading some suspiscious app? I would love to use your recipes, but so hard to print. 🙁

    1. There’s no need to download any apps! You can definitely print them. You may have to enter your email (subscribe to my email list) to print it, but that’s it!

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