Gluten Free Two-Tone Pesto Swirl Bread
This Gluten Free Two-Tone Pesto Swirl Bread is a stunner in more ways than one. The softest possible gluten free bread is dyed vibrant orange and green with sun-dried tomato and basil pestos and rolled up to create a show-stopping swirl to surprise and delight when it's sliced!
I think my favourite thing about this bread is how unassuming it looks before you cut it. From the outside, this bread looks like a pretty plain brown loaf, and then you cut and BAM! Check. Out. That. SWIRL! My second favourite thing about this bread? It's actually really easy to make! It takes a little bit of effort to separate the dough into two halves to add the different pestos and keep the colours clean, but once that's done it's a breeze to put it together.
Here's how to make my Gluten Two-Tone Pesto Swirl Bread:
Mixing the dough: the process for mixing this dough is pretty simple. As always, we get the yeast and psyllium ready first, mixing them individually with some of the water and sugar and setting them aside while we measure everything else. This is a relatively soft dough, which helps to get that incredible fluffy texture, so I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one. If not, you can use a a rubber spatula to start mixing the dough and then go win with your hands to make sure it's really well mixed.
Adding the Pestos: Now the fun part - adding the colour and flavour! Essentially this is as simple as halving the dough and mixing a different pesto into each half, but I have a couple of pointers for the best possible result. Firstly, I like to weigh my dough to get the two halves even. This makes sure your swirl will end up evenly proportioned. Secondly, after mixing in the basil pesto make sure you scrape out you mixing bowl really well so there's no green left over, that way you'll avoid turning your tomato dough brown!
First Prove: I coat my doughs in oil to make sure they don't dry out during proving. We just need to drizzle about a tablespoon around and on top of the two doughs to coat. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, then choose a warm spot if you have one, but regular old room temperature is fine too.
Shaping: after kneading the two doughs (separately, of course) until smooth it's time to create the swirl! We just need to roll each dough out into a rectangle measuring about 20 x 30cm. Move your dough around regularly while rolling it and dust it with more flour occasionally to stop it from sticking. Use a pastry brush to dust off the excess flour so the doughs can stick to each other, and then just lay the basil dough on top of the tomato dough. Now we just roll it up from one short end, a bit like a swiss roll, tuck the ends under a bit and voila!
Second Prove: The second proof is the more important. It does take a bit of practice to get to know when gluten free bread dough is ready to go in the oven, but I do have some pointers. You're looking for your bread dough to be full of little air bubbles and feeling pretty soft when it's ready to bake. I always take note of how my dough feels when I've just shaped it - it'll feel pretty dense. Then I just periodically give it a gentle prod during the second prove, and if it feels light and airy at the top, bottom and along the side then we're ready to bake!
Baking: this loaf is baked in a hot 240ºC fan oven, with a dish of hot water on the bottom shelf. This creates a steamy environment which helps the bread to rise while a lovely light crust forms. It will darken to a brown colour during baking, but that just makes the swirl even more special once you cut it!
How to store Gluten Free Two-Tone Pesto Swirl Bread:
Like all homemade bread, this bread will be most fantastic on the day it's made. However, any leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days (it will be best eaten toasted after first couple of days), or it'll freeze really well too. To freeze just slice the cooled loaf and place in a freezer safe bag.
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