I’m certainly enjoying the beginning of Spring and longer days, here is a seasonal recipe that I will be making in my kitchen this week.
WILD GARLIC PESTO BREAD

If you’re fortunate enough to have found a bunch of wild garlic, this is a great recipe to extend the shelf life and enjoy it for a little longer. The recipe is just a guide, you can easily substitute toasted walnuts or hazelnuts for pine nuts, pecorino for Parmesan, and olive oil for the rapeseed oil. If you prefer a stronger garlic flavour, add a clove or two of crushed garlic. 🌱

Ingredients:
150g wild garlic
60g pine nuts, toasted
50g grated Parmesan cheese
Juice of half a lemon
150 ml rapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

450g strong white bread flour
7g fast acting instant easy-blend yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 Tablespoons olive plus extra
Approximately 280ml lukewarm water
Wild garlic pesto

Recipe:

Blanch the wild garlic in boiling water for 10 seconds, drain, and quickly refresh in cold water. Set aside to drain well on kitchen paper before using. Place the garlic and pine nuts in a food processor or pestle and mortar and process/grind to a chunky purée. Add the Parmesan and lemon juice and process again. Slowly add the oil to bring the mixture together into a chunky pesto. Do not over-process the mixture for best results. Season to taste, the pesto is ready to use or it can be stored well sealed in the refrigerator for about 10 days.

Mix the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, olive oil, and water in a large bowl. Bring the dough together and knead for approximately 8 minutes until springy and elastic. If the dough is very dry, add up to 20ml additional water.
Bring the dough into a ball, place in an olive oil-greased bowl, cover and set aside for about an hour until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll and shape each half into a large circle (approximately 27cm or the size of a large dinner plate). Place one circle onto a sheet of nonstick baking paper, spread thinly with red chilli pesto to taste and dot with nduja. Place the remaining dough circle on top, place a circular object (like a glass) in the middle of the dough, and using the glass placement as a guide, cut 12 equal ‘slices’ through the dough. (Do not cut through the centre of the dough where the glass is! Leave the dough circle in the centre —think bicycle spokes).

Twist each ‘slice’ three times, remove the glass, cover the dough again with clingfilm and set aside to rise a second time until puffy (probably about 30-40 minutes).

Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan/200 degrees C. Bake for approximately 25 minutes until golden brown.

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I look forward to welcoming you to our new location soon.

Let’s Bake Together!

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