Italian star bread with mozzarella, tomato and pesto
A pull-apart bread? A pizza? We don’t care what you call it, but it certainly is the star of the party. Cheesy? Yes it is! It may look impressive, and you might think it’s tricky to make, but all you need is a bit of twisting action for the magic to happen.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 240 ml full cream milk room temperature
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 2 tsp castor sugar
- 500 g flour
- 60 g unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp salt
Pesto filling:
- 40 g parmesan grated
- 1 small bunch basil
- 40 g salted and roasted macadamia or cashew nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 60-70 ml extra virgin olive oil
Mozzarella filling:
- 125 g tomato paste
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp Italian herbs dried
- 10 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 160 g mozzarella cheese finely grated
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
To make the dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk until slightly frothy.
- Sift in flour, then add salt, butter and the egg.
- Bring together with your hands, then knead for 5 minutes into a smooth dough. The dough is ready when it slowly springs back when poked.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size, approximately 60 minutes.
To make the fillings:
- Make the pesto by blending all ingredients in a food processor until a coarse paste is formed.
- Add extra oil if the mixture is too stiff. The consistency should be spreadable, but not runny.
- In a separate bowl, mix tomato paste with herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil.
To form the star:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan forced 180°C).
- Knock down the dough, then divide it into four equal pieces and shape them into smooth balls. Roll each piece out into a 30cm circle.
- Place one circle onto a lined baking paper. Spread with half the tomato paste mix, then evenly cover with half the mozzarella.
- Cover with another dough circle then spread evenly with the pesto.
- Repeat with another layer of dough and the tomato paste and mozzarella mix, then finish with the last layer of dough.
- Press down slightly to stick the layers together.
- To shape the star, place a small glass into the centre of the bread, then using a sharp knife, cut 16 evenly spaced cuts from the glass to the edge.
- Grab two strips and twist them away from each other twice. Press the ends firmly together to seal and fold the seam down.
- Repeat with the rest of the strips until you have a star with 8 points. Remove the glass.
Baking:
- Brush the bread with egg wash and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
While working on each layer, cover the remaining dough with a clean towel to avoid it from drying out.