This classic tomato bruschetta tastes like Italy in every bite! Made with sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic rubbed bread and extra virgin olive oil, this is simple, authentic and full of flavour. I'll share the secret to keeping your bruschetta perfectly crisp (no soggy bread here!) plus tips on the best bread to use. Perfect for summer entertaining or aperitivo hour!
About This Tomato Bruschetta
There's nothing better than a classic Italian bruschetta. I'm sure you've tried many and they've all involved a range of things but I promise that classic, traditional Italian bruschetta is the best. It is made with sun ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, crusty Italian bread and lashings of olive oil.
I'm going to show you how to make tomato bruschetta that doesn't go soggy. You can leave this out for 30 minutes and it will still be beautifully crunchy-pinky swear! I'll also show you the best bread to use in bruschetta because not all breads are created equal for this.
I'll also show you what doesn't go in a classic bruschetta (looking at you balsamic vinegar haha!).
This is all thanks to my Italian oracle and chef friend Monica who gave me all of her tips all the way from Italy!
Video How To Make Classic Bruschetta
Step by Step Video: How to Make a Classic Bruschetta
Tips For Making Tomato Bruschetta
1 - The key to bruschetta (apart from beautiful tomatoes) is the bread. Monica spent a lot of time explaining which bread works and which one doesn't. Sourdough is too hard when it is toasted and ciabatta is too soft even when toasted. The worst type of bruschetta is when the bread falls apart or goes soggy. So which bread do we need to use for tomato bruschetta?
Pane di casa! Just a good old pane di casa is perfect. This simple white rustic has a tight crumb, chewy texture and crisp crust and holds up perfectly for bruschetta and is easy to find. Look for unsliced pane di casa because you want to make sure that it is sliced thickly (in Sydney's inner west Panetta's in Marrickville sells a great pane di casa from Pasticceria Papa). Supermarkets sell pane di casa but they slice it very thinly. We want it thick, around 1.5cms or 0.6 inches, so that it can support the tomatoes.
2 - We need to toast or grill the bread until uniformly dark golden on both sides. This is important in order for the bruschetta to not go soggy.
3 - Drizzle the oil after the bread is grilled not before! This keeps your grill cleaner but also keeps the olive oil in its raw form.
4 - There is no garlic in the tomato mixture. The garlic is used to rub on the bread. But as the bread is so well toasted, it acts as a grater and can finely grate the garlic easily with hardly any pressure. You want the bread to be very garlicky so I use about 1/2 a small clove of garlic per slice of bread.
5 - There is no need to deseed the tomatoes. In fact a little of that delicious tomato water makes this so good. Even after the bruschetta sits out for 30 minutes it will still be crunchy.
Chiffonaded basil
6 - Basil is delicate so the best way to cut it up is to chiffonade it. Stack the leaves, roll them up and thinly slice. This is the best way to slice up leaves like mint, baby spinach or kale.
7 - What type of tomatoes are best for bruschetta? Whatever is the best quality at the time whether it is regular round or Roma tomatoes! Focus on the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes rather than the variety :)
8 - Tomatoes need salt for flavour. Always taste your tomato mixture before adding it. Tomatoes always need more salt than you think they need.
9 - I drain the tomatoes just with a spoon tilted against the bowl but then I also add back a teaspoon of the tomato "juice" as well to moisten it a little but not get it too wet.
See the little patch on the bottom right? We want to avoid that as that will be too soft
Step 1 GRILL - Slice the bread into 1.5cm/0.6inch slices. Grill until golden all over on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil (be quite generous).
Step 2 RUB - Take a clove of garlic and rub it against the bread-the crunchy toast will act like a garlic grater. I use a lot of garlic (like almost half a small clove per slice).
Step 3 DICE - Dice the tomatoes and place in a bowl. Stack the basil leaves on top of each other and roll them up. Slice thinly (aka chiffonade) the basil. Mix with the tomatoes and add a generous amount of olive oil and salt. Season with black pepper and taste and add more salt if needed. No need to marinate or let the tomatoes steep.
Step 4 TOP - Take a spoonful of the tomato mixture (just tilt the spoon against the bowl to drain) and top the bread with the tomatoes and serve. I also put a teaspoon of the tomato water back on top of the tomatoes so that it isn't bone dry. Serve within 30 minutes.
Substitution notes and ingredients:
This recipe is about summer freshness so fresh basil, garlic and tomatoes. So I don't have any subs for these ingredients-sorry!
Look for ripe, red tomatoes and always store your tomatoes at room temperature. Sometimes I buy them 3-4 days ahead of time and let them ripen even further on the benchtop.
I prefer basil in pots because I find the ones already picked don't last very long.
I know I've been going on about pane di casa vs other breads but really you can sub it with other white bread loaves like sourdough and ciabatta too (I'm just saying that pane di casa is ideal if you have a choice). Just make sure to toast them well.
Personal Note
I really grilled Monica (no pun intended) about making bruschetta. We go through so many tomatoes in this household in spring and summer and now that the weather is warming and we are having people over this is what I've been serving.
There are so many recipes where balsamic vinegar and onion are used and I've made some but they have never tasted quite right in a tomato bruschetta. On another one yes but not tomato. So I started by sending Monica questions because she is the most Italian Italian person I know. She and I always talk about food, even now that she has moved to the other side of the world. Plus I've had her bruschetta and it's so good.
"Do you put anyting special in your tomato bruschetta? Do you use onion?" I asked.
"No, just rub the bread with garlic after you grill it," she responded.
Usually Monica and I can go back and forth about food a lot and I was a bit surprised at the brevity of her response. So I just said, "okay thanks" and left it. I wondered, were my Italian privileges being revoked now that we hadn't seen each other in almost a year.
Then a voice note came through. She apologised for her shortness, she had just woken up. I was relieved that my Italian consulting privilges were still intact!
I asked her about desseeing the tomatoes (no need), the size of dicing the tomatoes (not too small) and there was a long conversation about the bread (no ciabatta). And then we discussed the level of toasting the bread should have and the amount of garlic that you should rub on the bruschetta (it should be very garlicky). Because well our friendship involves two food obsessives!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have any long distance friendships? And do you have a favourite bruschetta topping?
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