This pesto brioche swirl bread is much easier to make than you think and it pairs so well with any pasta dish! Make the dough the night before and bake it off the next day, just in time for Italian night! By now, you must know that brioche is my favorite thing to bake, and, trust me, after you make this bread, brioche will be your favorite too! As an enriched dough, brioche bakes up incredibly soft and flavorful. The swirled shape gives it a show-stopping effect too!
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Ingredients
- Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast: If using active dry yeast, combine  with milk and sugar and allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, there is no need to let the yeast sit in the mixture.
- Whole Milk:Â Use whole milk for optimum flavor, and warm the milk to about 110 degrees F to activate the yeast.
- Granulated Sugar:Â The sugar will need to be mixed in with the milk and yeast to help activate the yeast.Â
- Eggs: You’ll need to 2 eggs at room temperature.
- All-Purpose Flour:Â The best way to measure your flour, as well as the rest of the ingredients, is by weight. You can buy a good kitchen scale for around $10!
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll need about 6 tablespoon of unsalted butter at room temperature, which will need to be added one piece at a time to properly incorporate into the dough.Â
- Pesto:Â Be sure to use a pesto brand that you really love! I used Delallo!Â
How to make this bread in 6 easy steps
- Make the dough the night before and allow to proof overnight in the fridge.
- The next day, roll the dough out to a rough rectangle about ¼'' in thickness. Spread pesto all over and roll up from the long side.
- Cut the dough down the middle and braid, keeping the layers facing upward.Â
- Curl both ends toward the middle to form an S-shape.
- Allow dough to proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Bake the bread for 20 minutes.Â
Other brioche recipes you'll love
- Overnight Buttermilk Cinnamon Star Bread
- Cardamom Brioche Star Bread with Chocolate Hazelnut Filling
- Maple Glazed Brioche Donuts
A few extra baking tips
- I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and assemble immediately.
- You can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. For active, you’ll need to combine the yeast with the lukewarm milk and sugar and allow to sit for about 15 minutes until foamy and activated. For instant yeast you do not need to let it sit.
- As we all know, yeast has been hard to find recently, so I bought a 2 pound bag of active dry yeast from Amazon so I don't have to worry about running out! You can store yeast in the fridge or freezer to keep it fresh longer.
- This bread is best eaten the day it is baked.
Happy Baking! x
Pesto Brioche Swirl Bread
This pesto brioche swirl bread is much easier to make than you think and it pairs so well with any pasta dish! Make the dough the night before and bake it off the next day, just in time for Italian night!
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 115 g whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
- 20 g granulated sugar
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 85 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 85 g pesto
- egg wash, 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Heat the milk to 110 degrees F and stir in yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step.
- Mix the eggs into the milk yeast mixture.
- Combine flour and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.
- Add in one piece of butter at a time, allowing it to fully incorporate before adding the next. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 6-8 minutes. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof overnight in the fridge. Alternatively, you can let it rise in a warm environment for about an hour or until doubled in size.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough rectangle about ¼'' in thickness. Spread the pesto evenly all over the dough, leaving a border around the edge. Roll the dough up from the long side. Cut the dough down the middle and place one piece over the other, keeping the layers facing upwards (see pictures). Shape dough into an S-shaped swirl and transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover the dough loosely and allow to rise in a warm environment for 30 minutes.
- While the dough proofs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Towards the end of the proof time, brush the dough with an egg wash.
- Bake bread for 20 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting.Â
Notes
- I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and assemble immediately.
- You can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. For active, you’ll need to combine the yeast with the lukewarm milk and sugar and allow to sit for about 15 minutes until foamy and activated. For instant yeast you do not need to let it sit.Â
- As we all know, yeast has been hard to find recently, so I bought a 2 pound bag of active dry yeast from Amazon so I don't have to worry about running out! You can store yeast in the fridge or freezer to keep it fresh longer.Â
- This bread is best eaten the day it is baked.
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Tali Millo says
Just wondering why it says to add vanilla into the mixture... I'm worried to start this recipe as I feel like there may be an error and two are meshed together.
Sloane says
Yes, that was an error - sorry about that!