Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won’t be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.

Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.When I was a kid, I claimed my stomach had three compartments: one for bread, one for dessert, and one for the rest of the foods. Naturally, the bread and dessert compartments were the biggest.
 
As I’ve gotten older and pretty adept at creating tons of goodies to fill my two favorite compartments, certain things I make tempt me way more than others. As much as I bake sweet treats, my sweet tooth has gotten a lot smaller since I’m constantly surrounded by desserts. Usually, a bite of a brownie or cookie is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.That being said, I’m totally helpless around bread. I’m a firm believer that crusty, toasted bread and salty butter is the best hangover cure/sick food around, and still have to restrain myself from tearing into the bread baskets at restaurants or I’ll get full before dinner every time.
 
Now that I can make my own bread, I need to exercise maximum control, especially when the light and fluffy bread is filled with flavorful pesto and gooey mozzarella cheese! 
Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.This bread is pretty easy to throw together, and like most of my favorite bread recipes, it uses instant yeast. I never like the nerve-wracking experience of making the yeast activate with hot water, and I love that with instant yeast I can just toss it in with the rest of the dry ingredients. This bread has a quick rise, only an hour each for the first and second rise, but you can throw it in the fridge overnight if you need to.
In between the rises, you roll out the soft dough into a big rectangle, slather it with pesto (I used Trader Joe’s – easy and delicious!), sprinkle with mozzarella, roll it up, twist it around, and lay it in the pan for another rise. Another sprinkle of cheese goes on before the loaf goes into the oven, and 45 minutes later, your house will be smelling delicious and you’ll have a gorgeous swirled pesto loaf in front of you!
Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.This bread stays good for a few days, and it toasts wonderfully. Have it toasted with a little butter, use it as the best ever sandwich bread, or do what I did and just tear off chunks whenever you walk by. #noshame
This is good stuff, guys. Who doesn’t like fresh bread, pesto, and cheese?! Enjoy!
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Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.

Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Rachel Conners
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 12 slices 1x
  • Category: Appetizer, Snack
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2¾ cups bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup milk (I used 2%)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 eggs (at room temperature)
  • ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese

For the filling

  • ⅓ cup pesto sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 1¾ cups of bread flour with sugar, salt, garlic powder, and yeast, and stir to mix. In a small saucepan heat milk and butter over low heat until butter is just melted, then set aside for 1 minute and add water. Add milk mixture to the flour and stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. This will take a few minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and parmesan cheese and knead the dough on low for about 4-5 minutes. It will still be slightly sticky but resist adding more flour.
  2. Set dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel, then set in a warm place to rise for one hour. After one hour, punch the dough down and either refrigerate overnight, or use it now. When ready to construct the bread, lightly flour your workspace and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a giant rectangle, about 12×18″. Spread evenly with pesto, leaving some empty space around the edges, and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.
  3. Roll the dough up from the horizontal side, so you have a long roll of dough. Fold the dough in half, and then twist the dough together. Place the rolled dough in the pan, tucking the ends under. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise for another hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9×5” loaf pan and set the prepared pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a tap of the bottom of the pan sounds hollow.
  5. Let cool in the pan. Slice, and serve! This bread toasts really well. Keep wrapped in plastic for up to three days.

Gooey mozzarella cheese and pesto are swirled throughout a light and fluffy yeast bread to make this Cheesy Pesto Swirl Bread you won't be able to get enough of! Put a slice in the toaster for a delicious snack.

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