Pesto Bread

Many breads I have made since then and I still have hopes that, with the baker blood of my grandmother running in my veins, I will excel myself in the art of bread confection. However, at this point, I am far from being so.
I have found myself failing numerous times in my attempts to bake bread… normal, whole, large, small or rustic. Too much flour, not enough yeast, the rising that did not go well, the texture that did not came out at all as expected. It is also part of the learning cycle to fail.  And the truth is that after so many failed attempts, I now begin to understand a little better of what makes a dough a good bread. This one is truly one of the best I’ve made so far.

Recipe
Dough
160 ml milk
20 gr fresh yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
300 gr flour
30 ml oil
2 teaspoon salt
Pesto
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
40 gr of grated parmesan cheese
1 small chilli finely chopped
1 tblspoon pecans nuts
80 ml of oil
salt
pepper

Method
1.Dissolve yeast in warm milk with sugar and let it stand. Add the flour with the salt and oil and knead well. Cover and let stand about 1 hour.

2. For the pesto, place all the ingredients except the cheese in a kitchen robot and pulse. At the end add the cheese and pulse some more. Rectify the flavors to taste.

3. On a floured surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle. With the help of a spoon spread the pesto over the dough.

4. Roll up lengthwise. With a sharp knife cut in half, also lenghtwise, so as to be 2 halves. Place in an oven tray with the open parts facing up and braid both together.

5. Bake at 180 degrees about 30 minutes or until golden.

Susana Machado  |  Suvellecuisine.com