When I dry tomatoes I first peel them and remove the seeds. (I have never done cherry tomatoes - with those, I just put them in the VitaMix with other tomatoes - seeds skin and all to make sauce) The seeds won't change the taste, but I prefer to not have them in my dried tomatoes. You re-constitute them in a bit of boiling water and then add to all sorts of cooked dishes where you want little chunks of concentrated tomato flavor. They are also great in cold salads - macaroni, etc. Since I can't seem to can chopped tomatoes that stay chunky after cooking, the dried tomatoes are a perfect substitute.

> I'm not so worried about the safety factor. The problem is that the tomatoes are dried to a crunch and I've since found out that because they are that dry, they won't absorb the oil. What do you mean you found out? You heard it somewhere, or you tried them? If you tried them, how long had they been in the oil? I'm asking because it doesn't make sense to me -- I would think that, if anything, more dry would mean more absorption. But I bet it takes a few months, either way. >I should have only dried them to the leathery stage. I'm wondering now, since I saw wine used in one recipe, if I could strain off the oil, then mix them with the wine to slightly rehydrate them, then repack them in the jar with the oil? If it were me, I would fish out, like, 3 slices and try the wine thing on them, see if it's worth the nbother :). They might absorb the wine, or their oil coating might prevent that. But the result can't be anything but delicious either way, right?

Dave, Thanks for reply! I'm more concerned about the tomato/vinegar ratio than adding the pepper powder. So... lots more tomato powder than vinegar powder... right? Making up a care package for a good friend of mine bday on Thurs to send tomorrow. To me, the tomato powder is not as 'tomato tasty' as had thought would be. I just sprinkled it on & it might need some heat to bring out the flavor?

Sorry, I was at fault for missing the fact that you don't have a bread machine. But if you like that combination of ingredients, you can work with the suggestions here from joannaw and ksrosgers or look for a comparable recipe. Most sources talk about adapting conventional recipes to a bread machine, not the other way around. If you want to use that recipe, here's how to do it: Take 1 1/2 cups of warm water (no more than 105 degrees); add the sugar and the yeast and leave it to "bloom." Meanwhile, stir together 2 1/1 cups of the flour (reserve the rest for kneading in if the dough is too soft), the powdered milk, the salt, basil, pepper and shredded cheese. When the yeast has bloomed in the liquid, then you want to add the liquid mixture, the lemon juice and the reserved oil to the dry seasoned flour mixture. You can do it by hand or with a stand mixer. [There are some strategies for withholding the salt till later for a better rise and for adding some of the flour to make a batter, letting that rest a while then adding the remainder of the flour, but since you're a beginning baker it's simpler to just do it all at once except for the reserved half-cup of flour. This recipe has plenty of yeast so adding the salt right away isn't a problem anyway.] You have two choices with the chopped tomatoes. You can get 2/3 of the flour mixture added then toss the chopped tomatoes with the last 1/3 and mix that into the dough. Tossing the tomatoes with the flour helps separate them so they don't clump together in one glob. It's a good strategy for adding any ingredient (nuts, dried fruits, etc.) to quick breads, yeast breads, cakes. That way they stay separate and don't sink. Or you can mix up the dough and then knead the tomatoes in. That's harder. Once you have the dough check to see how stiff it is. You can add more flour with the mixer or you can take the dough and scrape it out onto a lightly floured board. (Use some of the half-cup you held back). Then gently knead the bread until the dough is smooth and resilient. This may be a sticky dough because of the oily ingredients, so oiling your hands will help. One thing to remember: The most common beginner mistake is adding too much flour; less is better. Once the dough has come together and is smooth, put in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough ball so all sides are oiled. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise until nearly double. Then turn out on the floured board again, give it a quick final knead and put in your greased pan. Allow to rise a second time and bake. Any of the recipes ksrogers linked to should give you comparable baking temps and times. You can also check u-tube for videos of kneading, etc. if visual will help. Good luck and let us know how your bread turns out. Carol