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November 1, 2017

Pesto-Stuffed Challah

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Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

ah no, halloween is already over…

Hope everyone is recovering from the scary halloween movie/sugar high-induced nightmares.  Our choice of Halloween dessert, alone, was nightmare-inducing.  (Check out my insta-story, asap!)

I may or may not have made Darwin sleep right next to me all night in order to protect me from balcony ninjas.  Not that he would be any good at that anyway, seeing as how he gets scared by terrifying yip yip dogs, golf clubs, and the rear windshield wiper.  -_-  Despite his anti-cujo tendencies, fuzzybritches is always comforting, calming, and stress-relieving.

Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

Pesto-Stuffed Challah with Parmesan

Aka my new favorite, go-to, easy bread recipe.  (Sssshhhh, focaccia, i still love you.)

Challah is a very forgiving dough, so it is lots more fun playing with mix-ins and different flavors.  Challah is light and fluffy inside with a crispy, golden-brown outside.  Perfect for dunking in soup, toasting for a snack, and even carrying a juicy burger.

This pesto-stuffed challah has swirls of pesto and parmesan through each strand of the braid.  (Pro Tip:  dunking it in extra pesto makes it EVEN better.)  I love to reheat a slice of challah in the microwave, so the parmesan and pesto get a little gooey.  But it is also great for making a capresi sandwich.  (Pesto, tomato, mozzarella… done.)

Stay tuned for more variations . . . I’m addicted.

Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!
Pesto Challah - this soft bread is so easy to make, with swirls of pesto and toasted parmesan!

mikaela | wyldflour

2 Braided Loaves

Pesto-Stuffed Challah
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5 based on 1 review(s)

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Ingredients

    Low-Altitude Recipe:
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast (1 packet)
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 teaspoon + 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • High-Altitude Adjustments:
  • Use 1/4 teaspoon less yeast (just remove it from the packet)
  • May need a few less minutes in the oven--follow directions as is and watch carefully.
  • Stuffing & Topping:
  • Heaping 1/4 cup pesto (homemade or store-bought) + extra for dunking
  • 3/4-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Combine warm water and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the water, give it a quick stir just to wet the yeast, and set aside for 10 minutes.
  2. Combine flour, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Whisk eggs, oil, and honey together and set aside.
  3. Pour yeast mixture into the dry ingredients. Give it two stirs and then add egg and oil mixture to the bowl. Stir until the dough starts to come together and all of the flour is either mixed in or sticking to the dough ball. (I.e., no loose flour in the bottom of the bowl.) Dump the dough out onto a floured surface. Add a tablespoon-ish of oil to the bowl and use your hand to grease the entire bowl, all the way up the edges.
  4. Knead the dough, adding sugar to your hands or the surface as needed to prevent excessive sticking. You still want it to be a sticky dough, but you don't want your hands pulling dough away from the ball and unable to knead it. Continue kneading for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and satiny. You'll be able to tell, because the dough will start to skid and roll beneath the palms of your hands, rather than just squish and stick. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the oiled mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until double. (High-Altitude: About 1 hour, 15 minutes; Low Altitude: About 1 hour, 30 minutes.)
  5. Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into two equal parts. Divide the first part into three equal parts. Roll each of the three parts into a long, snake-like log, about 16 inches long. Use a rolling pin to flatten each of the three logs and spread to about a 3-inch width. Spread 2-3 teaspoons of pesto down the middle of the flattened log, leaving one long edge bare and spreading the pesto to the opposite edge. Sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of parmesan cheese down each pesto strip. At the pesto'd edge, roll the long edge inward to basically re-create your log. Bring the bare edge up over the log and pinch the dough to seal the pesto inside. (It's totally okay if some pesto escapes--it'll be messy but it'll all work out.) After sealing each of the logs, braid the three logs together, pinching the ends. Move the dough to a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat with second part of the dough. Allow both braids to rise in a warm place until puffed up. (High-Altitude: 20-25 minutes; Low-Altitude: 30 minutes.)
  6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Whip egg in a small bowl with a fork. Use a pastry brush to brush beaten egg over the two loaves. Sprinkle each loaf with about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of pine nuts (if desired). Bake the challah until golden brown. (High Altitude: 23-25 minutes; Low Altitude: 25-28 minutes.) Remove from oven and move the loaves to a cooling rack immediately. Slice and serve with extra pesto for dipping!
  7. Store loaves in an airtight plastic bag at room temperature.
7.8.1.2
92
https://www.wyldflour.com/pesto-stuffed-challah/
wyldflour

Nutrition

Calories

3399 cal

Fat

141 g

Carbs

416 g

Protein

112 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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Filed Under: Baked Goods, Breads, Special Diet-Vegetarian Friendly

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Comments

  1. romain | glebekitchen says

    November 1, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    I can so see this becoming a house favourite. Pesto, tapenade, olive and pimento, cheese inside, cheese outside, cheese everywhere. Sun-dried tomato bun for a lamb burger. Just a fantastic canvas to tinker with. Love it. Thank you! Do you think it would work with a starter culture? Would that be too sour?
    ★★★★★
    Reply
    • Mikaela says

      November 2, 2017 at 10:15 am

      Thank you, Romain! And ohmergosh--a sun-dried tomato bun for a lamb burger. That sounds fantastic. As for the starter culture... I'd be less worried about the sour-ness and more worried that the yeast has had more time to develop... I'd maybe drop the rise time a little bit or just watch carefully to make sure it doesn't more than double in size. If you experiment, definitely let me know how it turns out... i may just have to do the same...
      Reply
  2. Rosa says

    November 1, 2017 at 4:46 am

    You are slaying me, Mikaela! This looks gorgeous!! I have promised my husband (and myself) I would bake more bread and this looks perfect! Still a bit scared of yeast but I for sure am going to give this recipe a go! And...fuzzybritches...hilarious!!!
    Reply
    • Mikaela says

      November 2, 2017 at 10:11 am

      Hahahaha. Thank you, Rosa! Bread is always more intimidating... it seems like such an ordeal with the rise times and what not. But I was surprised by how forgiving this dough was! I was in a hurry and didn't seal my pesto in as neatly as I liked. But everything still puffed up and baked just fine!
      Reply

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