Braided Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread
You’re going to LOVE this braided cheesy pesto garlic bread. Have you ever dipped a warm piece of bread in olive oil? Heavenly. Have you ever dipped a warm piece of bread in pesto olive oil??? Even more heavenly. If you’re not familiar, it’s essentially just garlic, basil, and parmesan cheese mixed together and added to olive oil. The result is an amazing dipping oil.
This local Italian restaurant that my boyfriend and I love serves their focaccia with this pesto dipping oil, and I always try to recreate it at home. But for this bread, I was thinking… what if the bread was the dipping sauce?? Like, what if the pesto and the bread were infused? I mean, you can’t possibly go wrong with garlic bread, so… here we are- braided cheesy pesto garlic bread!
The details:
First thing’s first, you gotta make the dough. For all my fellow impatient people out there, I’m sorry. Waiting for dough to rise sucks! But this honestly isn’t that bad- there are two rise times, both about one hour, and you’re making the filling during the first rise time, so it might go by faster? To speed things up/ ensure the dough rises, I cover it and leave it in the oven with just the oven light on to keep a warm environment. Please don’t accidentally turn the oven on.
The filling is basically a garlic herb butter, with cheese of course. To mince everything up, you can either add the garlic, parsley, and basil to a food processor, or do it the old fashioned way and chop by hand. The food processor is probably the way to go because let’s be honest, this is a sh*t ton of garlic. Personally, I like chopping by hand because I find it relaxing! But you do you. Add the garlic and herbs to your softened butter with the parmesan and salt, then combine. Voila! the filling is ready.
Once the dough has doubled in size, take it out and roll it on a lightly floured surface. Struggle tip: If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can be like me and use a wine bottle!! Works just the same, honestly. Roll the dough out into roughly a rectangle, spread the filling on making sure to leave an inch around the edges that isn’t covered in the filling. Sprinkle your mozzarella cheese on top to finish it off, and then roll it up lengthwise as tight as you can. Next, cut it straight down the middle using a sharp knife, but leave one inch intact at the end. Here’s the fun part: braiding it! It’s way easier than it looks/sounds. Just place one side of the dough on top of the other, alternating sides. Make it kind of tight, and try to keep the cut part facing up. Finally, place the braid in a greased loaf pan and let it rise for another hour. Brush with olive oil, pop in the oven, and wait 30-35 minutes for it to bake and try not to salivate too much as the most beautiful aroma fills your house! Mmmmmm, garlic.
Eat it dipped in some nice extra virgin olive oil with a drizzle of balsamic, and live your absolute best life!! Enjoy, friends!
Braided Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread
For the dough
- 1 1/4 cups milk (warm)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling
- 1 head + 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (chopped)
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 cup parmesan (grated)
- 1 1/2 sticks butter (12 tbsp)
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup mozzarella (shredded)
- In a bowl, combine warm milk, yeast, and sugar.
- Once the mixture becomes foamy, (should take about five minutes) gradually mix in the flour and salt. If the dough is still too sticky for you to handle, mix in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it no longer sticks to your hands.
- Knead the dough into a smooth ball. In a clean bowl, add a little olive oil and place in your ball of dough, tossing around in the oil to lightly coat it. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl, except the mozzarella, and set aside.
- Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough, making sure to leave an inch around the edges. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
- Roll the dough into a log lengthwise, as tightly as you can. Slice the roll in half lengthwise, leaving about an inch intact at one end. Twist the two sides into a braid, trying to keep the cut side facing up.
- Grease a large loaf pan, and place the braid inside. Cover and let rise again for about 1 hour.
- Toward the end of the rise time, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Uncover the dough, brush with olive oil, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown