Best Homemade Basil Pesto Bread Recipe

Summer herbs transformed into the finest homemade pesto yeast bread mixture, for a recipe featuring fresh basil or other freshly harvested garden herbs.

Traditional Homemade Basil Pesto

A traditional fresh basil pesto comprises an amalgamation of fresh basil, garlic, high-quality olive oil, typically parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.

Nonetheless, these days we enjoy being inventive and substituting traditional components with other flavorful choices.

For my preferred pesto recipe, I’ve opted for almonds in place of pine nuts, and pecorino instead of parmesan, so feel free to be inventive and utilize what you enjoy, or have readily available.

Basic Ingredients From The Garden

By now, you’re aware of my passion for cultivating nearly anything edible, which inspired my recent book Dirt To Dish; four seasons of fantastic crops we can grow.

Let’s face it, what isn’t to adore about delightful summertime pasta salads, but during the frigid winter months, we can still savor a warm pasta dish featuring that vibrant ‘green hue’ of classic basil pesto.

All we need to do is freeze single portions of our summer basil pesto for winter meals, like these delectable basil pesto bread buns that would pair perfectly with holiday delights.

And indeed, pesto can be created from various other leafy greens, as you might appreciate my version of Spinach Pesto or Pea Pesto!

Avoid Store-Bought Pesto

If you’ve ever harvested fresh basil, or snipped the tops off a bundle of root-packaged basil from the supermarket, you understand that the tender delicate leaves start to brown rapidly.

Oh, certainly, you might have come across information online on numerous blogs like Mediterranean Dish or even the reputable Epicurious, stating that basil can maintain freshness for up to 12 days if appropriately stored in water, or wrapped in damp cloth, which is helpful information, but what they neglect to mention is something I believe is significant.

However, a crucial detail not stated is that although basil may not wilt for several days when stored correctly, it does discolor, and who desires brown pesto!

For this reason, how long do you think the basil is in commercially prepared pesto, or what ingredients contribute to keeping it green? No thank you, it takes less than 5 minutes to create fresh!

Pesto Pull-Apart Homemade Bread Buns

Of course, you could spread a generous amount of your finest basil pesto over a slice of store-bought Italian bread, but with just a bit more time and effort from you, you could present your family with the most delightful pesto pull-apart bread!

This airy bread recipe is one of the new additions to my collection of bread recipes as it has proven to be the ideal dough for sweet or savory fillings, such as:

• Beetroot Dal Chutney Filled Buns – Homemade bread buns filled with beetroot dal chutney rolled inside for a vibrant and nutritious appetizer or side dish.
• Beetroot Spinach Bread Braid – A scrumptious, healthy, standout dish of beetroot with garlic dough and spinach with lemon dough, intricately braided together.
• Sage Rolls – Sage Rolls embody the soothing healing aroma of sage, enveloped in the ultimate comfort food; bread.

What Makes This The Ultimate Basil Pesto Bread?

Beginning with the fresh components from the homemade pesto, which I’ve previously described, but how about this fantastic bread!

A bread mixture that is quick to combine, utilizing a bit of warm milk, active dry yeast and two eggs, along with a touch of olive oil creates an enriched dough that rises swiftly and stays moist for several days.

Required Equipment

• 2 12-cup muffin pans, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
• Mini food processor or blender for a swift pesto puree
• Mixer with a dough hook, or by hand using a large bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Basting brush
• Oven

Needed Ingredients

• Milk
• Sugar
• Instant yeast
• Eggs
• Olive oil
• Bread flour or all-purpose flour
• Salt
• Coarse salt for sprinkling on the buns before baking
• Fresh basil leaves
• Almonds or pine nuts
• Pecorino cheese, parmesan or non-dairy cheese
• Garlic
• Lemon juice

Homegrown Inspired Bread Recipes

For additional homegrown inspired bread recipes, I’m thrilled to inform you that I have several!

Some can be found in my Dirt To Dish cookbook, while others are even featured throughout My Muffin Madness cookbook, since muffins qualify as a quick bread, but here are just a few from my blog.

• Carta Di Musica Bread-Crackers – An old Carta di Musica Bread-Cracker recipe, enriched with herbs and edible flowers, results in wonderfully tasty hors d’oeuvre crackers.
• Dandelion Flower Bread – Crafted from early spring dandelion flower petals, lemon and banana, for a moist quick bread.
• Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Bread – A subtle tea made from butterfly pea flowers, then the infusion serves as the base for a purple and white bread.

How To Create Simple Pesto Filled Bread Buns

With two simple recipes for both the basil pesto and the soft enriched bread dough, once each is ready, the buns blend together splendidly.

Roll the risen bread dough into a long strip on a floured surface, approximately 8-inches wide.

The basil pesto filling is spread along the center, and starting from the long edge, the dough is tightly rolled, sliced and baked in muffin pans or on a cookie sheet.

The lovely spiral of basil pesto is visible throughout while the soft bread is irresistibly pull-apart delicious.