Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber (reserving about ¼ of it for garnish), red bell pepper, and onion. No need to be precise — everything is going into the blender.

If using bread, tear the stale slice into chunks, place in a small bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water firmly before adding to the blender.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, onion, garlic cloves, and soaked bread (if using) to a high-powered blender. Blend on high for 60–90 seconds until very smooth.

With the blender running on low, slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil through the lid opening to emulsify. This gives the gazpacho a silkier, creamier texture.

Add the red wine vinegar, salt, black pepper, and cold water. Blend again for 30 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning — add more vinegar for brightness, more salt for depth, or more water to thin the consistency.

For a silky, restaurant-style texture, pour the blended gazpacho through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl, pressing with a spatula to extract all the liquid. Discard the solids. Skip this step for a thicker, more rustic gazpacho.

Transfer the gazpacho to a large pitcher or airtight container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and ideally overnight. The flavor improves significantly as it chills.

Taste the chilled gazpacho again and re-season if needed (cold temperatures mute salt, so you may want a pinch more).

Ladle into chilled bowls or glasses. Garnish with finely diced cucumber, diced red pepper, small croutons, a drizzle of good olive oil, and fresh basil or chives. Serve immediately.