Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread

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Homemade Pesto Sauce

Pesto is my all-time favourite flavour sauce.  It is so versatile, I use it in pasta, risotto, as a pizza base sauce or like this recipe that I am going to show you, I use it as a filling in my homemade bread: Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread.

This bread is so incredibly fluffy and soft when it comes out from the oven – you can smell the freshness of the basil and the saltiness of parmesan cheese.   It is so irresistible and perfect to share it on the table with your family and friends. Yum!

My fridge always has a jar of homemade pesto sauce.  It has only a few ingredients and very easy and quick to make.  In this post, I am also sharing with you my homemade pesto sauce recipe.  You can learn how I make it in my How I cook EASY & DELICIOUS home cook meals with my TOP 3 kitchen appliances efficiently? video tutorial. Since I made my own, I never use store bought one.

 “Happiness is the smell of freshly baked bread!”

Watch the video tutorial

The Yeast ​

Yeast is one of the most important ingredients in making bread, so I keep my yeast like keeping jewellery in the safe.  My yeast is always kept in the fridge in order to keep it ‘alive’. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating when dough does not rise in the middle of the proving process – this usually means that the yeast is dead already.  Keep it in mind: keep your yeast properly!

This is the yeast that I always use. The packing is resealable after opening it. Beside the packing, I also tape it to double secure it!  

How to activate yeast?

Yeast is like human beings we both like to be in a warm and cozy environment.  After that, it also likes some sweetness. How do we make the yeast happy and active? We need to warm some milk first.  DO NOT add the yeast into cold milk or cold water. It will not be activated if you do this. Then add sugar into the warm milk to activate the yeast.  Stir it gently until the sugar dissolves. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then the warm milk will gradually transform to a foamy texture. It means the yeast has been activated.  If you cannot see the foamy texture after a few minutes, then the yeast probably is dead (RIP – get some fresh yeast).  

Mixing the bread dough

Personally, I think that bread dough is the easiest dough to make.  First, the flour doesn’t need to be sifted, it saves a lot of time and effort. :))  Add salt, melted butter and egg yolks plus the yeast mixture together and start mixing it using the dough hook in a stand mixer.  That’s it!!! How easy is that? If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can start mixing it with a fork and then transfer it onto a lightly dusted surface and start to knead.  Kneading the dough can be quite mindful…. just focusing on the kneading … let your mind wander….peace. Sometimes I like kneading the dough by hand rather than using my baking buddy stand mixer, just because it is so satisfying to do.

After 5 to 8 minutes, the dough will start to pull away from the bowl sides. Then it means the dough is ready to prove.  If you knead it by hand, the dough will become silky smooth and not sticky at all!

Pop it in a lightly oiled bowl, you can use whatever oil in your kitchen.  I use olive oil because it is handy. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in a warm place.  I put the bowl in my oven with a cup of warm water in order to create a warm environment. Let it prove for 60 minutes or until it doubles in size.  This is probably my favourite part of making bread – it is so satisfying to see the dough rise… hahaha ….

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Knocking out the air

After the first proving, this is another favourite part, dust your hand with flour … ready to punch the dough a few times …. Oh!  It is so So SO satisfying … actually it isn’t for fun … punching the air out helps to remove the large air bubbles and creates an even texture of the bread.

Parchment paper trick

First of all, you need to prepare a sheet of parchment paper which is slightly bigger than 20cm diameter.  After rolling out the first piece of the dough into around 5mm thickness, slide the parchment paper underneath.  It will be a lot easier to move around the dough later on. Remember this trick! You will be so thankful for the parchment paper.  Then repeat this action 3 times to build up four identical layers.

Making the star

Now it is the time to start shaping your bread into your desirable shape, it could be a flower, a dinner roll or this recipe: a STAR.  All you need to do is try to divide the dough into four pieces as EQUALLY as you can. You need four layers of equal size and thickness.

Place a small drinking glass in the centre of the dough as a guideline.  Find a very sharp knife to cut the dough all the way down into 4 equal pieces.   DO NOT cut the core of the dough. Then keep cutting each piece into half and half again…. until you end up with 16 segments.

The next step will be a bit tricky but trust me … if you can make the first pair, you will be fine.  Treat each two segments as a pair. Lift them up and twist them twice each one in the opposite direction to its pair and place them down.  Continue to twist the next 7 pairs.  Twist … twist

The last step is use your fingers to pinch the two ends of each pair, pinch … pinch …  together so that you will see a BEAUTIFUL star shape bread appear as if by magic … all the hard work is worth it.  You will be super proud of yourself.

Second Prove

Do you remember the parchment paper that we slid underneath the dough?  Now you will find it very useful!!! Lift the whole dough up by holding the paper and place it into a 10” cast iron pan and cover it with a tea towel for the second proving for 45 minutes.  You can place it in any similar size baking pan, whatever you have in your kitchen. It gives time for the yeast to work and create the texture and flavour for the bread. Sounds delicious!

Preheat the oven

Do not forget to preheat your oven to 170 ℃ before finishing the second proof.  Otherwise, you probably need to wait for another 10-15 minutes for the oven. This is the time that we do not want to waste because all we want now is to eat freshly baked bread straight from the oven. My mouth is watering!

Egg wash

If you want to have a nicer colour to the bread, don’t forget to lightly brush the egg whites over the surface of the bread. 

Let’s bake …

Oh!  This is the best moment of baking bread, my entire kitchen, even the living room, generally speaking, the whole house is full of this tempting smell.  All I want is just to eat the bread. I say bake for 15-20 minutes but it really depends on your oven. I bake mine for 18 minutes. So, please keep an eye on it.  When it is golden brown, it is time to take it out…don’t burn it after all this effort!

Let it cool down

Don’t be tempted to eat it right away because the bread is extremely hot.  Let it sit for 5 minutes on a wire rack. I serve it on a wooden board to avoid getting any moisture underneath.  

Ta-da!!! All the hard work is worth it!  This is a great recipe for sharing on a dining table with all of your family and friends.  

Diversify the recipe

Beside the pesto filling, you can also fill with other sauces… such as 

1. red pesto 

2. garlic butter, or even 

3. Nutella 

which was my first homemade bread.  Now that went down really well.   

Featured recipe

This Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread recipe is featured in BWN ASIA Magazine Issue 19.  

Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread

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• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: breakfast, main course, side dishes
• Cuisine: American

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Description

The smell alone will make you want to tear this Pesto Star Bread to pieces! Fresh from the oven, this is a real friends or family sharing treat! don't wait or it will be gone in a few moments. The fresh, bouncy bread, smoothly coated with delicious pesto sauce (smell that fresh basil and rich parmesan) tears easily on the table and enhance any meal. Try with Aglio Olio or some pan fried prawns. Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread will grace a formal dinner or snuggle up with the TV. Versatile, simple and completely irresistible. You know you want to …

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Tear and Share Bread dough

• 450 g bread flour
• 70 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp quick yeast
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 30 g unsalted butter (melted)
• 2 pc egg
• 180 ml milk (lukewarm)

Homemade Pesto Sauce

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts (toasted)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmiggiano Reggiano

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Instructions

Tear and Share Bread

1. Warm the milk in the microwave for 15 second. Add sugar and dry instant yeast. Stir to dissolve gently. The warm milk and the sugar help to activate the yeast. Set it aside for 5-10 minutes or until it is foamy.
2. Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Leave the egg whites for later.
3. In a stand mixer, attach the dough hook, add bread flour, sea salt, melted butter and egg yolks, mix at medium speed.
4. Add the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Mix them at a medium to high speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides. The bowl sides should be clean and the dough should be firm and elastic.
5. Prepare a large mixing bowl and oil it with a little bit of olive oil. Use a paper towel to wipe the excess oil. Put the dough into it and wrap it by cling film.
6. Place the dough in a warm place and let it prove for 60 minutes or until double in size.
7. Press the dough a few times to knock the air out. Roll the dough into a ball and divide it into 4 small equal pieces.
8. Start with one piece of the dough. Sprinkle with some flour onto the surface and roll the piece of dough into about 20cm diameter round and 5mm thick circle. Slide a sheet of parchment paper underneath. While working on the first piece, cover the other three pieces of dough with a tea towel avoid getting dry.
9. Use a spatula to spread the homemade pesto sauce evenly onto the dough (right to the edges).
10. Repeat the exact same process for the second and third pieces. Stack each finished layer on top of the others.
11. Roll the last piece of the dough and place it on the top.
12. Take a small drinking glass and place it in the middle of the round dough. Use it as a guide and use a sharp knife and cut the dough all the way down into four equal portions. DO NOT cut into the central core under the glass.
13. Then cut each portion into half again. Then again cut each segment into half. You will end up with 16 equal segments.
14. Take one segment and twist it twice to the left. Lift the next piece and twist it twice to the right. Move around the 16 segments repeating the alternative left/right twist pattern. Place each twisted segment back in its original position.
15. Working around the 8 pairs of dough, pinch the two outward facing ends of each pair together using your thumb and forefinger to make a beautiful 8 pointed star shape.
16. Lift using the parchment paper and place the whole dough into a cast iron pan (10" should be the correct size) or any baking pan of similar size. Cover it with a tea towel and leave it to prove for 45 minutes.
17. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
18. After the second proving, brush the dough with the egg whites before putting it into the oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
19. When it comes out from the oven, leave it cool down for a while on a wire rack. Serve it warm! Yum!

Homemade Pesto Sauce

1. In a food processor, add the garlic, pine nuts, basil and grind it.
2. Add the Parmiggiano Reggiano and continue to grind and slowly adding the extra virgin olive oil until it turns into a sauce texture.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• watch my video tutorial to learn the whole process. 
• If you have some left over homemade pesto sauce, store it in a glass airtight container, add some oil on the top to stop the air from going into the pesto sauce.

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Nutrition

• Calories: 440
• Sugar: 10.3
• Sodium: 110
• Fat: 21.4
• Saturated Fat: 4.5
• Carbohydrates: 54.2
• Fiber: 2
• Protein: 9.2
• Cholesterol: 49

Bake it

Give this recipe a try! Let me know how it goes for you! I love connecting and seeing your pictures. It really makes my day.

Try Bakabee’s Other Recipes

• Banana Cinnamon Bundt Cake
• Black Sesame Swiss Roll (video tutorial)
• Banana Walnut Cake (video tutorial)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you will enjoy this recipe.

If you’ve tried my Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread recipe, please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. The more we chat the more I know what recipes I should be making and sharing. If you have any recipe suggestions I would also love to hear them.

Rating the recipe once you’ve made this Pesto Star Tear and Share Bread may also help other readers decide whether to make my bakes, so I would love it if you could come back and let everyone know what you think.

Happy baking!

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