Pull-apart bread with tomato and red pepper pesto

1. For the pesto, pre-heat the oven to 220 °C. Cover a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Halve and deseed the pepper, remove the stalk and wash inside and out. Pat it dry and place on the baking sheet, skin side up. Roast the pepper in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then take it out and leave it to cool for 20 minutes, ideally in an airtight bag.
2. Meanwhile, put the pine nuts in a small, dry pan and toast over a medium heat for 2 minutes until golden, then set them aside.
3. Peel the garlic clove and put it into the blender jug. Remove the rind from the Parmesan, cut it into 3-cm pieces and put them in the blender jug. With the measuring beaker in place, chop for 20 seconds/speed setting 10, then use the spatula to push the mixture down the inside of the blender jug. Wash the basil, shake it dry, tear off the leaves and put them in the blender jug. Drain the sundried tomatoes, reserving the oil, and add the tomatoes to the blender jug.
4. Pull the skin off the cooled peppers, cut the flesh into quarters and add it to the blender jug. Add the pine nuts, 30 ml reserved tomato oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 pinch of pepper and, with the measuring beaker in place, blend for 15 seconds/speed setting 8 to form a medium-smooth mixture. Decant and put in the refrigerator until you need the mixture again. Clean out the blender jug.
5. To make the bread mixture, put 300 ml lukewarm water and the sugar into the blender jug. Crumble in the yeast and, with the measuring beaker in place, warm everything for 3 minutes/37 °C/speed setting 1.
6. Add all of the other bread mixture ingredients and, with the measuring beaker in place, process with the knead button/2 minutes until you have a smooth dough.
7. Dust a large bowl with flour. Take the yeast dough out of the blender jug, shape it into a ball, put it in the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave it a warm place to rise for at least 45 minutes, until the dough has doubled in volume.
8. Grease the tin with soft butter or line it with greaseproof paper (with the greaseproof paper protruding a little above the sides of the tin). Knead the dough thoroughly once more on a floured work surface, then roll it into a large square measuring 30 x 30 cm. Spread the dough square evenly with the pesto, then cut it lengthways into 4 strips of even width. You could use a pastry wheel for this. Fold each strip this way and that in a concertina shape, so that the pesto is always on the inside. Nestle the folded dough strips alongside one another in the baking tin, brush the surface with olive oil, cover and leave in a warm place to prove once more for 15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 °C. Bake the pull-apart bread in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until golden, then leave to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully turn it out of the tin or lift it out using the greaseproof paper. This bread is best served hot or just warm.

TIPS

If you’re in a rush, you could substitute the roasted pepper with drained roasted peppers from a jar or an uncooked pepper.

If the pesto or the top of the bread starts to look too dark before the dough is fully baked, cover the bread with greaseproof paper and continue baking.

This pull-apart bread with tomato and red pepper pesto is great for buffets at a party or as a side dish at a barbecue.