Italian Wheat Pesto Bread Recipe

This recipe for wheat pesto bread is a soft and delicious Italian influenced bread. It’s lightly seasoned with the robust flavors of basil pesto, giving it just the right amount of brightness in every bite.

Like most homemade yeast bread recipes, there aren’t many ingredients. Bread is such a staple that many people scoured the internet for bread recipes at the start of the 2020 quarantine.

Recipe | Proofing Your Yeast | Basil Pesto

I think it must have made people feel better to be able to make something comforting, with their own hands. It’s a beautiful thing.

This wheat pesto bread recipe is the perfect addition to your recipes for something new and different.

To make things easier, I like to use our bread machine, but you can make this by hand as well.

I have a feeling that a lot of you could be owners of a shiny new bread machine, though. Am I right?

For more information, check out our Cuisinart Bread Maker Recipes.

Ingredients

Yeast. I’ve used regular Active Dry Yeast for this bread recipe. We never buy the quick or “instant” yeast. There’s something very satisfying about letting the yeast grow before starting. It’s also a great way to make sure your yeast is good before you add everything else. If you only have instant yeast, use the same amount but you may need to add a little bit more to the rising time.

Flour. For this recipe, I’m using unbleached bread flour and whole wheat flour in a ratio of 2:1. If you don’t want wheat bread, use all bread flour.

Sugar. The sugar is used to “feed” the yeast to start the “blooming” process. Today was the first time that I heard that proofing your yeast is getting the yeast to bloom. Kinda crazy, but there you go.

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Pesto. You know that I love to make my own pesto. Unfortunately, we don’t have any fresh basil in the Aerogarden ready to be harvested. I think I prefer this particular pesto for bread, though. I’ll write more about it below.

Salt. Himalayan Pink Salt is the preferred salt here at our house. I’m not sure why. Mom also has course red sea salt and black lava salt. I think she just likes the pink salt because it’s pretty. But, that’s just between you and me.

Cooking Spray. You may not need cooking spray at all. It comes in handy if you want to bake in the oven instead of the bread machine. It could also be used if you’re letting your dough rise in a bowl instead of a bread machine.

Proofing your Yeast

I always proof the yeast before using. It’s that one small step you do at the beginning of making bread that can be a make or break your homemade bread.

It takes such a small amount of time and well worth it. You don’t want to spend the next two hours making bread, only to discover that your bread is flat and dense because your yeast is out of date.

You need very warm water. Our water is perfect right out of the tap. The temperature needs to be 105-115°.

What you are doing in this step is making certain that your yeast is still good. It’s a living thing.

The yeast needs warm water and something to snack on. For this recipe, I’ve used regular granulated sugar for the yeast’s snack.

You’re looking for a nice fluffy, bubbly top. If it hasn’t bubbled up like this after 10 minutes, your yeast may be too old.

Older yeast can still be used in your recipe, in a pinch, but it will probably take longer to rise.

Homemade bread is one of life’s tragedies… for the yeast.

You put yeast in a nice warm sauna bath. Feed it a quick snack. Give it a massage. Then you plunge it into a fiery oven.

It must be traumatic, but the results are tasty!

Can you substitute all purpose flour for bread flour?

According to the King of flour, King Arthur Baking, you can subsitute all purpose flour for bread flour.

There may be some differences in appearance and texture, but “in a pinch”, it’s fine to substitute.

Let’s talk about the Basil Pesto

As you know, I like to make my own basil pesto. We grow basil nearly year round in the Aerogarden.

When I get ready to make pesto, I usually use my own Basil Pesto Recipe. If you wanted vegan, you could use vegetarian Parmesan or simply omit the cheese.

One big difference between my own pesto and jarred pesto is that I don’t use as much oil in my own. Breads need fats or oils, though. I would have to add more oil to my pesto in order to get enough oil for this recipe.

I love the Sam’s Choice Italia Basil Pesto. It has such a delicious flavor. I don’t mind telling you that I had a spoonful of it right out of the jar before I put it in the refrigerator.

You don’t use the whole jar for the recipe. I toasted some of this bread in the air fryer for three minutes then I slathered on some of the leftover pesto. It was delicious! It’s all I needed for a quick little snack.

Try These Bread Machine Recipes Too

If you like fresh bread, be sure to check out my Jalapeño Cheddar Bread, made easily in the bread machine. It’s the perfect blend of cheesy goodness with a little kick.

You’ll love the flavor explosion in our savory Honey Mustard Bread Recipe.

If you are craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, have a look at my White Sandwich Bread recipe, also made in the bread machine. It’s sturdy enough for all your favorite jams.

Recipe

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