Who wouldn’t love a piece of some delicious bread? I’m a real sourdough loaf lover, but every now and then it’s fun to bake something else too. I’ve made this pesto filled savoury babka many many years ago and now it was time to update the recipe and bake it again! And I must say it turned out really delicious! Perfect for weekend brunches and gatherings with family. You can enjoy the fresh baked bread just how it is or dip it into hummus or some other yummy spreads and sauces!
Delicious Pesto Babka
- Prep Time: 30 min.
- Cook Time: 60 min.
- Total Time: 90 min. + 2 hours for rising
- Yield: 1 babka 1x
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 dl (200 g) milk
- 2.5 tsp dry yeast
- 7 dl all-purpose flour (about 450 g)
- 50 g butter softened (+ 1–2 tbsp for greasing)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
Pesto (or use readymade):
- 50 g pine nuts
- 1 big bunch of basil
- 1/2 bunch of flatleaf parsley
- 1.5 dl (about 0.65 cups) grated parmesan cheese
- 1 dl (about 0.45 cups) extra virgin olive oil
- 0.25 tsp salt
- (sesame seeds on top)
Instructions
- Make the dough. Heat the milk until lukewarm and pour into a big bowl. Stir in the dry yeast and let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Add flour, soft butter, egg yolk, sugar and salt into the milk mixture. Mix until the dough comes together and then knead until it’s very smooth and elastic – for about 7-10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 1.5-2 hours until puffy.
- Make the pesto. Mix all the ingredients in a blender. Season with more salt if needed.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C.
- Turn the dough onto the table. Press and roll the dough out into a large rectangle. (See pictures above).
- Spread a thin layer of the pesto evenly over the dough. Roll the dough into a long tight roll. Cut it in half lengthwise, so you can see the pesto layers (see pictures above). Braid the two long pieces so that the pesto layers are facing upwards.
- You can bake the bread just on a baking tray or use a loaf tin to make it keep it’s shape. Line the loaf pan with baking paper and lift the braided pesto bread carefully into the pan. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and brush the bread with melted butter.
- Bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until the bread is just cooked and beautiful golden brown on top (don’t let the bread dry in the oven). Enjoy just how it is or with some delicious toppings!
Hallo! I have a problem whit a “dl” in recipe. How many grams is this. I this moment I make Babka and I decide to put in dough 350gr flour, because I don’t now “dl”. Thank you for the recipe! Congrats from BULGARIA and be safe and healthy!
Hi Silviya! When it comes to flours, 1 dl is about 65 g flours so in this recipe I’ve used about 455 g flours. Even though you’ve used less I hope the babka turned out delicious! I’m sorry for using dl, it’s really common in Northern Europe and sometimes I haven’t remembered to test the recipe in grams.
Stay safe and healthy!!