Foraged Nettle Pesto Bread Swirls

Yields: 8-12 bread swirls

We foraged fresh stinging nettle along with wild onions to make these delicious bread swirls, however these ingredients can be substituted for basil, and chives. This bread is light and full of flavour. It is great on its own, or as a dinner side. 

Bread Dough

• 1 1/8 cup water 

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast 

• 2 cup Anita’s Organic All Purpose Flour

• 1 1/2 cup Anita’s Organic Whole Wheat Flour

• Pinch of salt

Pesto

• 1 cup wild onion (or chives)

• 2 L nettle tops, blanched

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• Pinch of salt and pepper

• Optional: 1/8 cup parmesan cheese (or other cheese)

For the Pesto

1. Blanch 1L of nettles in a big pot of boiling water for 4 minutes, strain, then cool. Once cooled, squeeze out the remaining liquid and roughly chop. Don’t worry about getting stung by the nettle as the blanching takes care of that! 

2. In a blender or food processor, add the garlic cloves, wild onions, salt, pepper, and optional cheese and blend well. Then add the nettles and olive oil, blending until consistent. Set aside, and prepare the dough.
   

For the Bread Dough

1. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, salt and water, and let stand until yeast is dissolved. Gradually add the flour, one cup at a time to the liquid and mix thoroughly by hand or using a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead.

2. Knead the dough by folding the far edge of the dough back over itself towards you and pressing it with the heals of your hands away from you. After each knead like this, rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Lightly dust surface with flour to prevent sticking. Once you’ve kneaded for about five minutes, let the dough rest while you clean your mixing bowl and grease with a couple drops of olive oil to prevent sticking. 

3. Transfer dough into the mixing bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm area for about an 1, or until it has doubled in size.

4. Once your dough has risen, it is time to shape it. Punch it down with your fist and quickly knead out the air bubbles. Lightly dust your surface and using your hands, start flattening the dough out into a rectangular shape, then roll it out with a rolling pin until it is to your desired thickness. We rolled ours out to about 1/8th of an inch thick. Spread pesto across the surface of the rolled out dough and then roll up length-wise into a cylindrical shape. Use a knife or thin twine (we sometimes like to use flavorless floss) to neatly divide up pieces of rolled up dough. Place together in a cast iron, or round baking pan and cook a 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

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