I just can’t think of a good name for this bread. Swirly bread? Savoury swirl bread? No, I think two-tone Italian bread just about covers things.

The two-tones in question are tomato and basil and cheese and ham, making this loaf perfect for cheese or ham sandwiches. Even better… cheese and ham sandwiches!

This is an easy adaptation of my Farmhouse White Bread, which is such an easy and friendly dough to work with. I wanted to make something a little different when we had some friends over for lunch, and since I had an abundance of fresh basil I decided to work that into the dough along with some other classical Italian flavours: tomato, Parmesan cheese and Parma ham.

You don’t need to run out and buy Parma ham especially for this recipe. Proscuttio will work just as nicely and I’m sure that almost any kind of ham would work. I just happened to have a couple of slices of the good stuff left over from another recipe, so used them up rather than let them dry out and go to waste.

As you’d imagine, all the flavours work together really well, making this a nicely balanced savoury loaf that can stand on its own as some seriously good toast or go onto make amazing sandwiches. If you happened to have any leftovers, then you could make a great savoury bread and butter pudding with them.

And as a nice additional bonus, for kids of all ages, you get the excitement of seeing different shapes in each slice you cut!

Two-tone Italian Bread

750g unbleached white bread flour (I use Doves Farm)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
30g unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons caster sugar
10g (1 1/2 sachets) easyblend/instant yeast (NOT dry-active)
450ml lukewarm water

25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 or 3 slices of Parma ham, diced
Black pepper

100g tomato puree
Small bunch of basil, leaves only
Extra flour for kneading in the tomato/basil

1kg loaf tin, greased

Gently warm the flour before you start: leave it in a low oven for a few minutes, or microwave for 15 seconds.

Mix the salt with the flour and rub in the butter gently until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and yeast.

Make a well in the flour and pour in approximately three-quarters of the liquid. Using a wooden spoon, start mixing in the flour. Add the rest of the water if necessary. The mixture should be a soft but not sticky dough. If the dough seems dry or there are crumbs at the bottom of the bowl then add a little more warm water.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface–don’t worry if it looks a horrible mess at this point. Using lightly floured hands, knead for about 5 minutes. The dough will feel firmer, very smooth and pliable.

Divide the dough into two. Cover the half you won’t be working with immediately.

Flatten out your dough and sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese, ham and a good grinding of black pepper. Squeeze and squish the additions into the dough and give it a good knead. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm.

Dust the countertop with flour and put the other half of the dough on the surface. Add a few tablespoons of the tomato puree and slowly work it into the dough. The dough will rebel a bit and it will seem as though the puree will never blend into the dough, but just sprinkle over a little more flour and keep working in more and more puree. Finally rip the basil leaves into small pieces over the dough and knead them in. Return the dough to the mixing bowl (wash it out and lightly oil), cover with clingfilm and leave both doughs to rise in a warm place for about one hour until doubled in size.

Remove each dough from its bowl and gently press out the air. Roll each into a thick sausage, slightly shorter than your tin. Then simply wrap them round each other to form a simple two-tone twist. Pinch the ends tightly so that it doesn’t separate then place the twist in the prepared tin. Lightly dust with flour. Cover the tin with clingfilm (leaving enough room for rising) or place in a large food-grade plastic bag. Leave to rise until almost-doubled in size. Do not let the dough rise any further or it may collapse in the oven. (This will take about 40-60 minutes depending on the heat in the kitchen and the vigour of the yeast.)

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas8.

Remove the clingfilm (or take tin from bag) and bake for 30-35 minutes until the bread is a dark golden brown and sounds hollow when turned out and gently rapped underneath. If you like your crust extra-crispy then return the turned out bread to the oven, placing it directly on the shelf, and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the crust is really crisp all over. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Keeps for 4 days and freezes well.