Pesto Tear and Share Christmas Tree Bread
Pesto Tear and Share Christmas Tree Bread is a festive savoury loaf made with strong bread flour, milk, butter and Parmesan, shaped into an edible Christmas tree. The TM7 warms the milk and butter, kneads the silky dough and blends the vibrant pesto filling, giving you a golden, fluffy centrepiece that guests pull apart warm from the table.
About this recipe
Pesto Tear and Share Christmas Tree Bread Thermomix TM7 is the festive recipe your December table has been waiting for. This savoury showstopper starts with a butter-and-milk enriched dough made from strong bread flour, then gets layered with vibrant green pesto and grated Parmesan before being snipped into a charming tree shape that everyone tears apart warm. As a recipe built around an all-in-one kitchen machine, it removes every fiddly step: the TM7 warms the milk and butter to exactly the right temperature for the instant yeast, kneads the dough until beautifully elastic without you lifting a finger, and blends the pesto into a silky filling while the dough proves. Serve it at a Christmas drinks party, a festive buffet or as a fun weekend snack with children helping to decorate the tree. The result is a golden, fluffy centrepiece with herby, cheesy ribbons running through every pull-apart branch — impressive to look at, yet genuinely simple to bake.
Preparation tips
- Let the dough prove in the greased bowl until roughly doubled in size; a warm, draught-free spot gives the lightest crumb for your Christmas tree bread before rolling.
- When cutting the tree branches, use sharp scissors and snip almost to the centre line, then twist each strip so the green pesto and Parmesan stay visible after baking.
- For a richer golden finish, brush the whole tree with the reserved beaten egg just before baking, and add a final grating of Parmesan for extra savoury crunch on the branches.
Recipe variations
- Lactose-free version: replace the milk with a lactose-free alternative and use a plant-based butter; keep the Parmesan-style hard cheese or swap for a lactose-free mature cheese so the pesto filling stays savoury.
- Festive red and green version: blend sun-dried tomatoes into half the pesto and alternate red and green filled branches, finishing with halved cherry tomatoes as baubles on the finished Christmas tree.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- Heating the milk and butter gently in the mixing bowl creates the ideal warmth for instant yeast, guaranteeing a lively dough rise every time. [Time Savings]
- Kneading the strong bread flour hands-free delivers an elastic, smooth dough for the tree bread without any manual effort or sticky fingers. [Hands-Free]
- Grating the Parmesan finely in seconds gives the pesto filling even, cheesy distribution through every tear-and-share branch after baking. [Multi-Function]
- Mixing the basil pesto into a silky, uniform spread takes mere moments and coats the dough evenly for consistent green ribbons. [Multi-Function]
- Weighing the flour, sugar and salt directly in the bowl ensures precise dough hydration, so the crumb of the tree bakes pillowy and light. [Precision Control]
Ingredients
- milk
- unsalted butter
- strong white bread flour
- dried instant yeast
- medium egg
- caster sugar
- salt
- Parmesan cheese
- garlic cloves
- fresh baby spinach