Pesto Parmesan Sourdough Christmas Tree Bread
A delicious bread in the festive shape of a Christmas tree with swirling limbs stuffed with pesto and parmesan cheese!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter active and bubbly
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3-3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp herbs rosemary, basil, or Italian blend
- 1/4 cup pesto
- 4 oz shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Combine sourdough starter and warm water in a large mixing bowl (or bowl of stand mixer). Allow to dissolve about five minutes. Stir.
- Add honey, salt, baking powder, and 2 cups flour. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is nice and firm, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. (Mine took about 3 ¼ cups.)
- Allow dough to rise for about one hour then ferment in the refrigerator overnight or on the countertop for about 8 hours.
- After fermentation place dough on a well floured surface. Roll out in a egg shape by rolling folding the dough into thirds and shaping into a oval loaf. Then roll flat, rolling the bottom thinner than the top to make it an egg shape surface. See Picture.
- Cut five strips at an upwards angle using a pizza cutter or bench scraper. Giving you four "branches", a topper, and a triangular shape at the bottom.
- Apply pesto and parmesan cheese everywhere then cut the branches in halves (red lines in the previous picture indicate where you should cut into halves).
- Shape the topper. Twist the two pieces you divided to form one individual branch. Fold the triangle at he bottom into thirds to form a stem. SEE NOTE.
- Allow to rise 30 minutes.
- Bake at 350℉ for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce for best results.
Notes
For more detailed info on shaping your tree go check out the blog post section about shaping.