Cheesy Pesto Bread

This is one of my absolute favourites, cheesy pesto bread and it’s so easy! A soft, pull-apart bread coated in pesto and cheddar cheese. Is there anything better than the smell of freshly baked bread straight from the oven?

This recipe uses some of my homemade pesto which I make every year from the abundance of basil in the garden, but don’t worry shop bought pesto works just as well.

The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t need two rising times. You simply shape it and let it rise directly in the pan prior to baking.

Can I make these without a stand mixer? – A stand mixer will make the process much easier and quicker, but you can do it by hand and get the same perfect delicious results. It will take around 10 minutes to knead by hand.

Cheese and pesto are the predominant flavours of this bread but feel free to adjust the recipe as you desire. Check out my variations section for ideas.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and the other readers. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with! 🙂

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RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: easy, the hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise. Plan ahead for this!
• FREE FROM: for ideas on sugar and dairy-free, check my substitutions section for details.
• GREAT FOR: lunch or dinner, picnics, weekend baking, friends and family visiting.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: a soft, pillowy pull-apart bread coated in pesto and cheddar cheese.
• SERVING: great as a side dish, with soup or especially with your favourite Italian food.
• QUANTITY: 16 small buns
• TIME: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour 30 minutes proving time.

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INGREDIENTS

For this recipe all you need are these ingredients:

• White bread flour – is made from hard, high-protein varieties of wheat, which have a higher gluten content than other flours. Gluten is the substance that makes the dough more elastic and stretchable, giving the final baked bread its fluffiness and lightness.

• Caster or granulated white sugar – provides food for the yeast to activate.

• Yeast – ferments the sugars in the flour and releases carbon dioxide, but because the dough is elastic and stretchable the carbon dioxide cannot escape, causing the dough to rise.

Using fresh or dried yeast, click here for further guidance!

• Whole milk – another essential ingredient for creating that soft and fluffy texture we recognise in an enriched dough.
  

• Egg – another vital ingredient to an enriched dough, helping to build structure and flavour.

• Butter – a key ingredient to an enriched dough, giving it that rich butter flavour.

• Pesto – gives a beautiful mix of flavours, fresh basil, olive oil, cheese, pine nuts and garlic.

• Cheddar cheese – is great for adding an intense cheesy taste to the bread.

TIP: I highly recommend adding salt to your doughs. Salt helps balance out the flavours and elevates the other ingredients, bring out the best characteristics of any bread. I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

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SUBSTITUTIONS

I haven’t tried any of these substitutions, but they should work for this recipe, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

SUGAR-FREE AND LOW-CALORIE OPTIONS

• Sugar-free or calorie reduced options: try alternatives such as coconut sugar, honey, natural erythritol, xylitol, stevia or fructooligosaccharide powder instead. There are also sweetener mixes available, that are 70% calorie reduced and low in carb.

• Brown sugar suggestions: Pure Via Baker’s soft brown sugar or Sukrin Gold’s natural brown sugar alternative.

VEGAN OPTIONS

• Dairy-free option: the butter and milk can be replaced with vegan versions; the egg can be omitted but a little extra non-dairy milk or yoghurt (approx. 30-40 ml) will be needed to replace it.

• Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.

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WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

This recipe is very versatile and you can add your favourite ingredients to get different tastes. For example, try sundried tomato pesto or garlic puree instead of the basil pesto.

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NUTRITION

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STORAGE AND FREEZING

This bread is great served straight from the oven or any leftovers will keep for a day.

Freezing: This bread can be frozen for up to 1 month once baked, although it will not taste as good as when it’s freshly made. Once completely cooled down, tightly wrap in a layer of cling film. To reheat, simply defrost at room temperature, or in the fridge, overnight. Reheat in a low oven for about 5 minutes.

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TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer Die-cast Metal, 300 W, 4.8 ltrs
  

Not everyone is lucky enough to have one of these but they are useful if you do a lot of baking or making bread.

• Pyrex 1L Glass Mixing Bowl

I find these small one litre glass bowls useful for mixing small amounts of ingredients.

• Wire Cooling Rack, 40 x 25cm, Black

I find this cooling rack really useful and I actually have a couple for when I cool down cakes and biscuits.

• Deep Round Pie Tin/Pan, 23cm x 5 cm deep (9 x 2 inch deep)

This deep pan is great for baking bread, deep quiches or pies.

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TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

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RECIPE TIPS

Avoid over-heating the milk for the yeast – you should be able to comfortably put your finger in it and hold it there around 37°C / 98°F, if it’s too hot it will kill the yeast.

The dough should be sticky – don’t try to add more flour to eliminate the stickiness. You should only add more flour if the dough is wet. Only one tablespoon at a time until the dough turns from wet to sticky.

Type of baking pan – if you don’t have a baking pan like I used, you can use a springform pan or a loaf tin. I prefer to use a solid bottomed pan as it keeps all the butter in.

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