Pesto Christmas Tree Bread

1. Stage

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand until bubbly, 5-7 minutes. In large bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, yeast mixture, 2 cups flour, sugar and salt; mix until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

2. Stage

Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. Stage

Preheat oven to 375°. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 2 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 15x11-in. rectangle on parchment paper. Leaving parchment paper underneath it, transfer dough to a baking sheet. Spread with pesto and sprinkle with Parmesan. On a lightly floured surface, roll remaining dough into a 15x11-in. rectangle; carefully place over pesto-topped dough.

4. Stage

Arrange the pan so a short side is facing you. Mark the center of the top edge of the rectangle with a shallow indention as a reference point (this will be the top point of the tree shape). From top center point, cut diagonal lines to lower left and right corners of the rectangle (forming a long triangle that creates the tree shape).

5. Stage

Using a 2-1/2-in. star-shaped cutter, cut stars out of the 2 smaller triangles of dough that are outside the main tree shape; transfer stars to another parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. If desired, brush stars with beaten egg. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6. Stage

Meanwhile, remove and discard scraps from dough triangles where stars were cut, leaving only large tree shape on baking sheet. Mark a 1-in.-wide column down center of tree for trunk with a shallow indention as a reference. Starting at the bottom of the tree, cut 1-in.-wide strips on both sides of trunk, cutting perpendicular to marked center column and stopping about 3 in. from top point of tree.

7. Stage

Remove bottom 2 strips from left and right side of center column, creating base of trunk. Twist remaining strips (longer strips twice and shorter strips once), pressing ends gently onto the parchment. Cover and let and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

8. Stage

If desired, brush tree with remaining beaten egg. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. If desired, garnish with baked bread stars, tomatoes, sliced cheese stars and basil. Serve with warm marinara sauce or additional pesto.