Parmesan Pesto Challah Bread Recipe

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A beautiful braided bread, this challah bread recipe is all you need to make a perfectly fluffy loaf filled with pesto and topped with sesame seeds! So soft on the inside but wonderfully golden on the outside thanks to the egg wash, you'll be wishing you made two loaves!

A delicious and flavorful spin on a traditional challah bread, you'll love how we infuse parmesan and pesto into the dough before baking. It's super easy, all you have to do is brush on the pesto inside each piece of dough before rolling it into a log and braiding them together.

This technique gives your bread a beautiful ribbon of pesto through the bread when you slice it open.

What is Challah Bread?

Challah is a rich, traditional Jewish bread served on the Sabbath or to celebrate other major holidays. Challah is often braided and brushed with an egg wash to give it that perfectly golden exterior.

The interior has a pale yellow color due to the amount of eggs that are added to the dough. The taste of the bread is similar to brioche and the texture is soft and spongey.

There's also a bit of a sweet tang to it thanks to the honey. Check out the pesto challah bread story!

Why This Recipe Works

1. It easy to make. Bread shouldn't be intimidating! The braiding for the challah looks complicated but it's super simple, I promise. You pretty much just alternating bringing the strand on the outer side into the middle.
2. The challah bread is moist, tender, but also firm.
3. Most of the ingredients needed to make this can probably be found in your pantry!

The Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

All purpose flour — No need to get fancy and use speciality flours, all purpose flour yields perfectly fluffy challah bread.

Eggs — There are a ton of eggs in this. For the best results, be sure to bring your eggs to room temperature.

Oil — A traditional ingredient that sets challah apart, you can't skip the oil in the dough.

Yeast — We use active dry yeast. A package is more than enough.

Pesto — We make a homemade pesto consisting of fresh basil, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and salt. In a pinch, you can use store bought pesto.

Step By Step Instructions

In a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast. Whisk to dissolve the yeast. Leave for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Whisk in the remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, honey, oil, and salt. Slowly add the flour.

Knead the dough until smooth with the hook or by hand for 8-10 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about two hours.

While challah is rising, make pesto. Pulse basil in a food processor with olive oil until a fine paste.

Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Adjust salt as desired. Set aside.

Divide the dough into three pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope.

If the ropes shrink as you try to roll them, let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten, and then try again.

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Flatten each rope and fill with pesto. Seal up each strand, pinch the three strands at one end, and carefully braid.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully transfer challah to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cover loosely with plastic, then let it stand until soft and fluffy, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk the egg yolk with water and brush over challah. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Expert Tips

• Don't want to make pesto? Store-bought pesto is perfectly fine.
• Be careful to not over knead or add too much flour to the bread as it can cause the loaf to be dense.
• Be patient, the dough can take longer to rise if you have a cold kitchen.
• Don't have time to wait for the dough to rise? Leave it in the fridge and let it do a slow rise overnight in the fridge.
• If your yeast isn't bubbling, it has expired. You'll need new yeast and there isn't anything you can do to fix it.
• Water that is too hot will kill your yeast and too cold will not activate your yeast. Be sure to use warm water.

Common Questions

Did you make this parmesan pesto challah bread recipe? rate it and leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out!