Pesto and Gruyere Stuffed Challah

To make the pesto: Place garlic clove, spinach, basil and parsley in a food processor fitted with blade attachment. Start pulsing. Drizzle olive oil and continue to pulse. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, add salt and pepper to taste and pulse until desired smoothness.

Place in an air-tight container until ready to use. *Note: after steaming spinach, make sure to remove excess water very thoroughly.

To make the challah: In a small bowl, place yeast, 1 tsp sugar and lukewarm water. Allow to sit around 10 minutes, until it becomes foamy on top.

In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix together 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar. After the water-yeast mixture has become foamy, add to the flour mixture along with oil. Mix thoroughly.

Add another cup of flour and eggs until smooth. Switch to the dough hook attachment if you are using a stand mixer.

Add another 1 ½ cups flour and then remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Knead the remaining flour into dough, continuing to knead for around 10 minutes (or however long your hands will last).

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise 3-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C degrees.

After the challah is done rising, roll out dough into a large rectangle about 1 ½ inch [2 cm] thick on a lightly floured surface. The challah dough may need an extra dusting of flour to work with at this point.

Spread a thin, very even layer of pesto all over the dough. You may have extra pesto leftover.

Sprinkle cheese in an even layer on top of pesto, leaving a ½ inch [1 ½ cm] border all around.

Working quickly, start rolling up the dough towards you. Try and keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Pinch the end and tuck under when you finish.

Create a pinwheel-shaped challah by snaking the dough around and around in a circle around itself. When finished, tuck the end under the challah neatly and pinch lightly. This doesn’t have to be perfect.

? Alternatively, you can split challah into three even sections and then roll into snakes. Flatten each piece slightly, and fill with pesto and cheese. Pinch ends back up tightly and roll out slightly. Braid as usual. Makes two challot if you use this method ? 1️⃣2️⃣ Allow the challah to rise another 30-60 minutes, or until you can see the size has grown. 1️⃣3️⃣ Beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tsp water. Brush liberally over challah. If desired, combine 2 tsp thick sea salt with 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp dried basil and 1 tsp dried parsley and sprinkle on top of egg wash. 1️⃣4️⃣ Bake for 26-27 minutes, or until the middle looks like it has just set, and the color is golden.