Pesto Rose at Last

Have just returned from a wonderful trip to the East coast. It was so enjoyable seeing family and then seeing fall color on the trip to West Virginia. Loved the class on Irish culture at Cedar Lakes in Ripley and met so many delightful people and heard lots of great Irish music. The drive home via a different route was magical, full of more autumn shades of red, gold, burgundy and rust as the hardwoods welcomed the cold nights. Photo above is of Seneca Rocks, taken along the way by my talented sister. (I'll be posting more about the trip in future posts.) The only fly in the ointment is that I also came home with a cold, so will be spending time in bed that I'd wanted to spend at the computer.

Before I fall asleep again, here is the late-in-posting, but delicious Pesto Rose bread. Last week many Bread Baking Babes posted their version of this Caucasian Rose bread.

Hope you had time to check them out, but, if not, the links are to the right. Our kitchen of the month was the delightful Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. She is enjoying trying new ways to shape bread. This one sounds difficult, but is actually easy.

You are going to want to bake this bread! I know it looks complicated, but it really isn't. If you can roll out a pie crust, you are 1/3 of the way there. If you can roll up dough to make pinwheel cookies or cinnamon rolls, you are the second 1/3 along, if you can braid hair you will have no trouble with the final part of the recipe. See, you can do it.

Find a place to roll out the dough where you can roll it waaaay out. Smear all except the outside inch of dough with pesto. Roll it up like a jelly roll/pinwheel cookies/cinnamon rolls into a nice long log. Pinch the edges and ends (the parts without the pesto on them) to keep that luscious pesto inside.

Now for the fun part! Take a sharp knife and slice down the log, like you would to tuck cheese into a slit in a hot dog...only slice the log in half. The two sides will sort of fall to the sides with the pesto insides showing. Pick up one side and cross it over the other to make a big 'X'.

Then, it is just like braiding with two strands: lift and cross, lift and cross, lift and cross until you get to one end. Tuck the ends under. Go to the other end, life and cross, lift and cross until you get to the other end. Tuck the ends under.

Make a snail of the braided log. Plop the snail into a springform pan. Now it is just the usual rising and baking. The nest to best part? Your kitchen smells heavenly of pesto and you'll get to eat a luscious bread. The best part? Everyone will be SOOO impressed...and will want a piece.

Now you want to make this bread, right? You can also use another filling...cinnamon and sugar, Nutella, apricot jam and ground almonds...you get the idea. Here is what I did:

Pesto Rose
Adapted from http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19320/caucasian-bread
Yield: 1 loaf - shown above unbaked, right before it went into the springform ring.

Ingredients:
Filling - 1 cup fresh pesto using basil from my garden.

Dough:
200 grams bread flour
200 grams whole wheat flour
200 grams all-purpose flour, unbleached
2.25 teaspoons dry yeast (Fresh Yeast 28g (1oz)
10 grams Sugar 10g (0.35oz)
10 grams Salt 10g (0.35oz)
50 grams Olive Oil 50cc (1.7 fl oz)
300 grams Water 300cc (10 fl oz) this is approximate

Note: I added almost an additional 1/2 cup water, a tablespoon at a time

Directions:

1. Set oven to 210c (410F) Prep: Baking Pan - 26cm (10") springform (no bottom), take a piece of parchment paper and crimp tightly around the bottom of the springform, oil the sides. Place on top of a baking sheet. Set aside. Note: I placed the springform pan directly onto a Silpat lined, rimmed sheet pan.

2. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, add the water carefully as you start mixing. Use the dough hook 2-3 mins. on low speed and 2-3 mins. on medium speed. Dough should be supple and not sticky to the touch. Add water or flour if dough is too stiff or too loose (respectively). When dough is ready, spray a bowl with oil and gently put the dough in the bowl. Spray a little more oil on top and cover. Let rise (80%) about 40 minutes to an hour.

3. Lightly flour your work area. Flatten the dough gently with your hands.
Roll the dough as thin as you can using a floured rolling pin.
When rolling out the dough, try not to lift and move it too much. You can try and gently pull the dough to stretch it thin like with Strudel.

Note: I used the largest bread board I have and rolled the dough out to the edges.

Apply a thin layer of your filling on top of the dough (leave the edge clear 1/4").
Slowly, tightly and very gently roll the dough into a roulade (pinwheel ). You will now have a very long roulade.

4. Take a sharp chef's knife (not a serrated knife) and cut (not saw) the roulade lengthwise trying to keep the knife in the middle so you end up with two equal parts (you can cut down from the seam but it is not make or break).

5. Place the two halves crossing each other (open roulade layers facing up) to create an X shape. Gently pick up the two ends of the bottom half, cross them over the top half, and place them back down. Continue this process, taking the two bottom ends and crossing them over the top until all the roulade has been used. This taking up and crossing is just like a three strand braid, except there are only two strands to cross.

6. You now have a two strand rope shape. If for some reason some of the open roulade layers are pointing down or sideways, carefully turn them so they are facing up. Gently pinch the ends to seal. Look at the braid. If one end looks a little thinner make that your starting point. If not, just start from either end. Slowly and very gently, roll the braid sideways (horizontally) without lifting your hands from the table. You should keep those open roulade layers facing up. Pinch the end delicately. The end result should look like a giant snail shell or a very large cinnamon bun.

7. Carefully pick up the braid and place in the prepared springform. Keep it flat on the parchment. The bottom of the braid should set nicely. Cover. Let rise until the braid hits three quarters the way up the springform. Depending upon the temp in your kitchen this may take from 20 to 40 minutes.

8. Bake at 210c (410F) for 5-10 mins., lower oven to 180c (355F) and bake for another 20-30 mins.

There should be a decent amount of oven spring. The bread should rise above the springform edge.
When the bread is out of the oven lightly brush olive oil or butter on top and sides.

Note: I omitted any extra oil...the pesto had enough.

Let cool on a rack.

9. Elle's changes: I used 200 grams each all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and bread flour, weighed with the digital kitchen scale. I used a full packet of dry yeast, adding it to 1/4 cup of the water to 'bloom' before adding the rest of the water to it then adding dry ingredients to the wet (which is how I prefer to work), using the stand mixer to mix and knead. I did need to add a little less than 1/2 cup more water to make a nice dough. Used olive oil instead of canola oil. Did not wrap springform in parchment; put the springform ring onto a small rimmed cookie sheet that had a silicon mat on the bottom. That worked well. The oil did seep out during baking, but then was soaked up again into the loaf. Did not use anything other than fresh pesto for the filling; no butter, extra Parmesan, etc. Really didn't need anything else. Did not brush baked loaf with anything...it was plenty oily. Also didn't sprinkle anything over the snail-rolled roll. It was excellent and made a nice base for chopped up tomatoes, too.

Now we know you are going to bake this bread, so why not be a Bread Baking Buddy, too? Send Tanna an e-mail with a photo, link and your baking experience so she can send you a Buddy Badge for your post. Thanks, Tanna for a great recipe! Also, don't forget to visit the other Bread Baking Babes (links on the sidebar) to see their beautiful roses. Au revoir mes amis.

Here is what Tanna gave us to work from:
Recipe Caucasian Rose By: Adapted from http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19320/caucasian-bread

Yield: 1 loaf - shown above unbaked, right before it went into the springform ring.

Ingredients:
Filling - the options are only limited by your imagination and what's in your kitchen!

butter , softened
garlic, pressed
parmesan, finely grated
salt , to taste
rosemary or basil

Dough

300 grams bread flour
200 grams white whole wheat flour
100 grams sprouted wheat flour
considering different flour to replace some of above
2-3 tablespoons ground flax seeds or wheat germ or a combo
2.25 teaspoons dry yeast (Fresh Yeast 28g (1oz)
10 grams Sugar 10g (0.35oz)
10 grams Salt 10g (0.35oz)
50 grams Canola Oil 50cc (1.7 fl oz)
considering replacing canola with olive oil & part butter
1 tablespoon White Vinegar 1 tbls, where is this used???
300 grams Water 300cc (10 fl oz) this is approximate
will use some potato water as part of above water

Original recipe called for

AP Flour 600g (21oz) total

seasoning was pesto, dusted with sumac

Directions:

1. Set oven to 210c (410F) Prep: Baking Pan - 26cm (10") springform (no bottom), take a piece of parchment paper and crimp tightly around the bottom of the springform, oil the sides. Place on top of a baking sheet. Set aside.


2. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, add the water carefully as you start mixing. Use the dough hook 2-3 mins. on low speed and 2-3 mins. on medium speed. Dough should be supple and not sticky to the touch. Add water or flour if dough is too stiff or too loose (respectively). When dough is ready, spray a bowl with oil and gently put the dough in the bowl. Spray a little more oil on top and cover. Let rise (80%) about 40 minutes to an hour.

3. Lightly flour your work area. Flatten the dough gently with your hands.
Roll the dough as thin as you can using a floured rolling pin.
When rolling out the dough, try not to lift and move it too much. You can try and gently pull the dough to stretch it thin like with Strudel.

Apply a thin layer of your filling on top of the dough (leave the edge clear 1/4").

Slowly, tightly and very gently roll the dough into a roulade (pinwheel ). You will now have a very long roulade.

4. Take a sharp chef's knife (not a serrated knife) and cut (not saw) the roulade lengthwise trying to keep the knife in the middle so you end up with two equal parts (you can cut down from the seam but it is not make or break).

5. Place the two halves crossing each other (open roulade layers facing up) to create an X shape. Gently pick up the two ends of the bottom half, cross them over the top half, and place them back down. Continue this process, taking the two bottom ends and crossing them over the top until all the roulade has been used. This taking up and crossing is just like a three strand braid, except there are only two strands to cross.

6. You now have a two strand rope shape. If for some reason some of the open roulade layers are pointing down or sideways, carefully turn them so they are facing up. Gently pinch the ends to seal. Look at the braid. If one end looks a little thinner make that your starting point. If not, just start from either end. Slowly and very gently, roll the braid sideways (horizontally) without lifting your hands from the table. You should keep those open roulade layers facing up. Pinch the end delicately. The end result should look like a giant snail shell or a very large cinnamon bun.

Depending on your filling you may want to sprinkle on something (paprika, sumac, brown sugar & cinnamon). Keep in mind you don't want to cover up the effect of the shaping.

7. Carefully pick up the braid and place in the prepared springform. Keep it flat on the parchment. The bottom of the braid should set nicely. Cover. Let rise until the braid hits three quarters the way up the springform. Depending upon the temp in your kitchen this may take from 20 to 40 minutes.

8. Bake at 210c (410F) for 5-10 mins.,

lower oven to 180c (355F) and bake for another 20-30 mins.
There should be a decent amount of oven spring. The bread should rise above the springform edge.
When the bread is out of the oven lightly brush olive oil or butter on top and sides.
Let cool on a rack.


ORIGINAL RECIPE
Caucasian Bread - Julia's Rose
Recipe By: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19320/caucasian-bread
Yield: 1 loaf

Summary: This beautiful braided bread is made with a rich straight dough, layers of pesto and a generous sprinkle of Sumac.

I made this bread a couple of months ago. This bread is tender, rich, nutty, salty (evoo, toasted pine nuts and parmesan) and a little sour (Sumac). This bread requires moderate braiding skills, time and attention.

I have been baking for quite some time now. I love bread making.

Ingredients:
Pesto - I use evoo, basil, toasted pine nuts, parmesan (consistency should be not too thin and not too thick). Keep refrigerated until needed.
Sumac - for sprinkling

Dough ingredients:
AP Flour 600g (21oz)
Fresh Yeast 28g (1oz)
Sugar 10g (0.35oz)
Salt 10g (0.35oz)
Canola Oil 50cc (1.7 fl oz)
White Vinegar 1 tbls
Water 300cc (10 fl oz) this is approximate

Directions:

1. Set oven to 210c (410F) Prep: Baking Pan - 26cm (10") springform (no bottom), take a piece of parchment paper and crimp tightly around the bottom of the springform, oil the sides. Place on top of a baking sheet. Set aside.

2. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, add the water carefully as you start mixing. Use the dough hook 2-3 mins. on low speed and 2-3 mins. on medium speed. Dough should be supple and not sticky to the touch. Add water or flour if dough is too stiff or too loose (respectively). When dough is ready, spray a bowl with oil and gently put the dough in the bowl. Spray a little more oil on top and cover. Let rise (80%). My kitchen was at about 22c (72F), 35-45% humidity and proofing was about 40 minutes. Lightly flour a work bench or a large table. Put the dough on top and flatten gently with your hands. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a very thin circle, as thin as you can. When rolling out the dough, try not to lift and move it too much. You can try and gently pull the dough to stretch it thin (like bakers do with Strudel dough), this requires some skill. Apply a thin layer of pesto on top of the dough (leave the edge clear 1/4"). Sprinkle Sumac generously on top of the layer of pesto. Slowly, tightly and very gently roll the dough into a roulade (pinwheel ). You will now have a very long roulade . Take a sharp chef's knife (not a serrated knife) and cut (not saw) the roulade lengthwise trying to keep the knife in the middle so you end up with two equal parts (you can cut down from the seam but it is not make or break). Place the two halves crossing each other (open roulade layers facing up) to create and X shape. Gently pick up the two ends of the bottom half, cross them over the top half, and place them back down. Continue this process, taking the two bottom ends and crossing them over the top until all the roulade has been used. You now have a two strand rope shape. If for some reason some of the open roulade layers are pointing down or sideways, carefully turn them so they are facing up. Gently pinch the ends to seal. Look at the braid. If one end looks a little thinner make that your starting point. If not, just start from either end. Slowly and very gently, roll the braid sideways (horizontally) without lifting your hands from the table. You should keep those open roulade layers facing up. Pinch the end delicately. The end result should look like a giant snail shell or a very large cinnamon bun. Lightly sprinkle Sumac on top of the braided loaf. Carefully pick up the braid and place in the prepared springform. Keep it flat on the parchment. The bottom of the braid should set nicely. Cover. Let rise until the braid hits three quarters the way up the springform. In my kitchen conditions it proofed for a little over 30 mins.

3. Bake at 210c (410F) for 5-10 mins., lower oven to 180c (355F) and bake for another 20-30 mins. Their should be a decent amount of oven spring. The bread should rise above the springform edge. When the bread is out of the oven lightly brush evoo on top and sides. Let cool on a rack.