Pesto buns are ideal as appetizers, they are also perfect with cold meats and cheese, and you can have them with spread. These pesto buns are so delicious they can even be enjoyed on their own! If you are a big fan of pesto, like me (you’ll find several recipes on this blog), I am sure you will love this recipe. On this occasion I have used basil and arugula, to give it a special touch.

This bread buns are super easy to make, they are deliciously tender and have that unmistakable pesto taste. The only one problem is that you’ll have trouble controlling yourself, because you’ll want to eat all of them in one sitting.

INGREDIENTS for 12 buns

425 gr plain flour

230 ml fresh whole milk

12 gr brewer’s yeast or 7gr dry yeast

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

1 tablespoon white sugar

For the pesto

A handful of basil

25 gr aurugula

6 nuts

1 garlic clove 

The juice of half a lemon  

A dash of olive oil

Two pinches of salt 

METHOD

Heat the milk and add the yeast and the sugar. Mix thoroughly until you have a smooth dough. Now, sift the flour in a bowl and slowly start adding the milk and yeast. Mix well and add three pinches of salt. Now start working the dough with your hands or in the food processor for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth. Make a ball with it and place in a bowl sprinkled with flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until it doubles in size (approximately 2 hours).

Now let’s prepare the pesto. Put the basil, the aurugula, garlic clove, nuts, oil, salt and the Parmigiano through a mincer. To prevent oxidizing or browning, you can add some small ice cubes. Mince, taste and add more salt if necessary. 

Once the dough is ready, split it into two and using a rolling pin to roll out each half into a rectangle. Cover half of one of the rectangles with the pesto and then fold the other half over it. Now do the same with the other rectangle.

With a knife cut 2cm-wide strips. To create the shape of the bun take one strip, make a classic overhand knot in the center. Take the end that rests over the knot and fold it around the bottom of the knot and pull its tip up through the hole, as shown in the photograph. Take the other end and fold it over the knot and stick the tip through the other hole and voilà, you have your bun!

Place the buns on an oven tray and cover them with a cloth for 15 minutes. Now use a brush to apply some oil on top and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden, at 180ºC. Enjoy your pesto buns!