For the bread dough:
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup aquafaba
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon organic sugar
3 cups organic all purpose flour
For the pesto:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup drained (oil packed) sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Garnish: flaked sea salt, roughly chopped fresh sage (or your favorite green herb)
Make the dough: Combine hot water and aquafaba in a bowl. Add instant yeast, salt, sugar and stir to combine. Add flour and stir in until dough is shaggy. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Use oiled hands to turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Sprinkle with more flour and roll dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the pesto: Add the olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato sauce, minced garlic, slivered almonds, nutritional yeast and sea salt to a food processor. Pulse until almonds resemble Parmesan cheese crumbles.
Spread the pesto onto the rolled out dough, leaving a 1/2 inch space at the edges with no pesto.
With the 18 inch end of the rectangle, turn 1/3 of the dough over on top of itself towards the center, repeat with the other side, you should have 3 layers of dough. Seal the edges. (Method roughly borrowed from Seitan is my Motor)
Cut dough lengthwise into 6 fat long strips. Twist each strip until wound top to bottom, then begin wrapping it around your hand and pull the end bit through the center for a whimsical knot.
Place knots on a lightly oiled baking sheet, sprinkle with a wee bit of flaked salt.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the knots are golden and crispy.
Remove from oven, let cool slightly before sprinkling with fresh sage.
Devour.
Oh my gosh, these look amazing!!! 🙂
Another solid score right there Ms Somer. Cheers for the share.
Beautiful.
Made a version of these tonight, and they are delicious! I didn’t have the ingredients to make my own pesto, so I used some leftover pizza sauce. They were a little messy to knot up, but worked out well. After they came out of the oven I brushed them with some olive oil and sprinkled them with salt, garlic granules, and fresh sage. Yum!
Excellent! Thanks for letting me know!
These were so good!! Thumbs up from husband and four kids to!
I’m thinking of making this for my November food swap, but because I’ll be out of town for the weekend (the swap happens on a Monday night), I’ll need to prep these well in advance. Do these freeze well? Or can I refrigerate the dough or pre-baked knots for 72 hours, bring to room temperature, and pop in the oven? How well does the aquafaba hold up to freezing in baked goods?
I wish I knew, I haven’t tested freezing them because we always eat them immediately.