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This is heavily modified from Liam Charles’ Pizza Star Bread from JBBO – I didn’t use any tomato sauce and subbed in my favorite Pistachio Pesto from Gimme Some Oven, as well as a “dupe” for Domino’s garlic cream sauce.
Ingredients
For the pistachio pesto:
- 3 cups lightly-packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2/3 cup shelled pistachios
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the garlic cream sauce:
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- pinch salt
For the dough:
- 2 ⅓ cup self-raising flour (or, 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour + 3 teaspoons baking powder + 3/4 tsp salt)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cup Greek yogurt
For the shaping and topping:
- ~3.5oz shredded mozzarella
- 2.5 in biscuit cutter or a glass with a ~2.5in-diameter rim
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F
- Make the pistachio pesto: Place all the pesto ingredients except for the oil in a food processor and blitz until there are no big basil leaves remaining and the pistachios are broken up. Then, keep the food processor running as you slowly stream in the olive oil, until it comes together into a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Make the garlic cream sauce: Melt the butter in a pan over low heat, and then add the garlic. Stir gently and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, slowly pour the heavy cream into the pan. Keep stirring gently. Sprinkle in the Italian seasonings and salt. Then, sprinkle in the grated cheese a little at a time, while you continue stirring. Keep the heat down low and let the sauce cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make the dough: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yoghurt. Mix with a fork, then use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it lightly until just smooth. Divide into 3 equal balls.
- Roll out each ball into a large circle about 11-12 inches in diameter. Using a dinner plate as a guide, cut out 3 circles each of 11 inch diameter. Carefully place 1 circle of dough onto the lined baking sheet.
- Spoon some of the pesto over the dough and spread it out using the back of the spoon, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the pesto, then cover with a second circle of dough.
- Spoon some more of the pesto over that circle of dough and spread it out using the back of the spoon, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the pesto, then cover with the last circle of dough.
- Place a 2.5 in round cookie cutter or glass in the middle of the dough but do not press down. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 evenly spaced wedges going from the edge of the cutter or glass to the outside edge of the dough. (If you think of the dough as a clock face, make cuts at every hour.)
- Remove the cutter or glass. Pick up one wedge in your right hand and the wedge next to it in your left hand. Twist the right-hand wedge clockwise 3 times and the left-hand edge anti-clockwise 3 times, then bring the ends of the two twisted wedges together and pinch to seal into a point.
- Repeat all the way round the ‘clock face’ so that you end up with a six-pointed star.
- Bake the bread for 30–35 minutes, until golden and crispy. (Check after 20 minutes and cover the bread with foil if it’s browning too quickly.)
- Once baked, serve the pizza star bread with a pesto aioli or marinara dip if desired.