Much like my rosemary potato latkes, this pesto babka is a mashup of my Italian and Jewish heritage; a traditional braided and swirled Jewish bread layered with savory Italian pesto.
Babka is essentially a yeasty bread (technically a bread and not a cake, even though it’s most often served for dessert) that’s braided with some sort of filling to give it a beautiful swirled appearance. It originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine, but now has become a staple in many of the Jewish bakeries here in New York and around the country. Most of the babkas you’ll find in the store are sweet, most commonly chocolate, cinnamon (the lesser babka, according to Seinfeld) or fruit. But it’s pretty rare to find a savory babka. My goal with this pesto babka was to make a savory swirled bread that combined my two heritages; a traditional Jewish bread with a garlicky, herbaceous Italian filling.
This pesto babka may look impressive and difficult to make, but as far as baking bread goes it’s actually pretty simple. Braiding the bread is probably the most difficult part (we’ll get to that later), but the dough itself is a simple yeast dough that’s fortified with an egg and butter. As for the pesto filling, this part can be as simple or as complicated as you like. There are some great store-bought pestos out there that you can use to make this recipe even easier. If you’re using store-bought pesto, I usually opt for the ones found in the refrigerated section over the jarred pesto. They’re generally fresher and tastier; our favorite brand is Buitoni.
But if you’re feeling ambitious, feel free to make your own pesto. There are tons of great pesto recipes out there, but some of my favorites are my leek and stinging nettle pesto or my spinach pesto.
BRAIDING BABKA
This pesto babka has a beautiful and show-stopping top, a swirl of bread and filling that looks intricate and complicated. But braiding a babka is actually much easier than you might think. Mine didn’t come out perfectly, but that’s ok. The top was still beautiful to look at, and there was still a swirl of pesto in every bite of bread. The steps to getting this beautiful swirl are simple:
Roll out the proofed dough into a roughly 9×20 rectangle. Spread the pesto in an even layer over the dough.
Slice this log in half lengthwise and position the two halves so they are cut-side up. Pinch the ends closest to you together.
Roll the dough into a tight log starting from the shorter (9 inch) side. Some of the filling may squeeze out; that’s ok.
Braid the dough by crossing one of the halves over the other about 2-3 times, being sure to keep the cut sides face up. Pinch the far ends together as well.
Transfer the babka to a loaf pan and cover. Allow to rise for 45 minutes before baking.
Once your pesto babka is braided and proofed for the second time, it’s time to bake. The baking time can very depending on your oven and the size of your loaf pan. A smaller loaf pan will result in a thicker bread that takes longer to bake, while a larger one will give you a thinner bread that bakes faster. My pesto babka took about an hour to bake. But you can also ensure it’s doneness by using a thermometer. Baked bread should reach an internal temp of 190 degrees.
Pesto Babka
Equipment
- Stand mixer (optional)
- loaf pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp salt (plus flaky salt for topping
- 1/2 cup pesto (either store bought or homemade*)
- olive oil
Instructions
- In the bowl of the stand mixer or a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt.
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over low heat until butter is melted and milk is warm.
- Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. On low speed, add the beaten egg and mix to combine. Then slowly drizzle in milk/butter mixture. Increase stand mixer speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy, 10 minutes. Alternatively you can knead by hand for 5-10 minutes.
- Lightly oil a separate large bowl. Transfer the dough to this bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 hour.
- One the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a roughly 9×20 inch rectangle. Spread the pesto evenly over the dough, coming to about 1/2 inch from the edges.
- From the shorter end, roll the dough into a tight log. Form the babka by slicing this log down the center lengthwise and turning the two logs so they are cut side up. Pinch the ends of the logs together and then criss-cross the two logs over each other 2-3 times, being sure to keep the cut sides face up. Pinch the other ends together.
- Prepare your loaf pan by buttering it and lining with parchment paper. Carefully transfer the babka to the loaf pan (you may need to squeeze it a bit to get it to fit; that's ok). Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until it fits the pan and is level with the top, about 45 minutes.
- While the babka rises, preheat the oven to 350.
- Top the risen pesto babka with a sprinkle of flaky salt. Bake until golden on top and baked through (190 degrees F in the center), about 1 hour. Check doneness around 45 minutes; if the top is getting too dark but the bread is not baked through, cover the top with foil for the remainder of the bake,
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