Yes, we are a family of Carbaholics! Admitting is the first step to realizing you have a delicious vice. Pasta, Bread, you name it my hubby and kiddos will devour it. In struggling to introduce different herbs and seasonings to my kids in hopes that my son will in turn eat more of the veggies I prepare, I found this bread recipe. Did he eat the bread and love it, yes! Does he eat more veggies cooked with basil, not so much. Back to the drawing board with that though process. We did get to savor this amazing bread though, it was well worth the shockingly minimal effort.
Quick breads are a great way to bake a nice loaf of bread without all of the painstaking steps of yeast rising at certain temperatures and the excess time. Let’s admit it real bread baking takes a fair amount of time. Super simple to make with exceptional results.
As many of you already know I love using fresh herbs and Essential Oils in my cooking as much as I can. This recipe I chose to use both and the flavor that resulted was to put it mildly AMAZING! The addition of the toasted pine nuts gives a nice texture pop to the bread.
Basil Pesto Bread Ingredients:
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup buttermilk
- 1 Large egg
- ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Cup pine nuts, toasted
- ½ Cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 Drops Basil Essential Oil To Purchase Basil Essential Oil
- Olive oil and salt for drizzling
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly oil a large (9 x 5) loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Put Pine nuts on a cookie sheet and place in oven for about 5 min to roast. Remove from oven and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and olive oil.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir together until just combined. Lightly fold in the pine nuts, cheese, and basil. Be careful not to overmix, the mixture will be sticky.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, while the bread is still in the pan lightly drizzle loaf with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and slicing.
Adapted From Rhubarb and Honey
Basil and Bread to of my favorite things .