Babka with Spinach Pesto

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Pour in the starter, egg, yolk, and pieces of butter. Knead the dough until it is beautifully smooth and elastic (when you stretch it between your fingers, it should not tend to crack but should hold and stretch nicely. This takes about 10 - 12 minutes of kneading with a mixer on low speed (if you don't have a mixer, first mix with a spoon and once the ingredients combine, knead by hand).
• 2
  First, make the starter – crumble the yeast and mix it in a bowl with a teaspoon of sugar. This will form an almost liquid paste. Then stir in all the warm milk. Cover with a cloth and let the starter rise in a warm place (you can help it by placing the bowl in a bath of warm (not hot) water). The starter should rise in about 10 - 12 minutes. If it doesn't rise, it's better to make a new one.
• 3
  Let it rise in a warm place, in a bowl lightly greased with oil and covered with foil (again, a warm bath helps). It should roughly double (or even two and a half times) in volume.
• 4
  While the dough is rising, prepare the pesto. In a blender (chopper), blend fresh baby spinach, fresh basil leaves, nuts, salt, garlic, and olive oil to taste – add enough oil so that the pesto is nicely combined, it shouldn't be dry, but it shouldn't swim in oil either.
• 5
  Roll out the risen dough into a rectangle 40 x 35 cm (dough thickness about 1.5 cm), with the longer side directly in front of you, and the shorter side perpendicular to it. Spread the pesto over the entire surface. Roll it up like a roulade (tighten gradually) and press the seam with your fingers to hold it nicely. Cut the rolled roulade lengthwise in half, leaving one end uncut (this will make it easier to work with). Overlap one strand over the other until a spiral (a braid of two strands) is formed. Slightly press the end together and tuck it under the roulade.
• 6
  Place the braid into a baking dish lined with parchment paper for a loaf cake, loosely cover with foil, and let it rise again for about 45 minutes to an hour in a warmer place.
• 7
  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180° C (top and bottom heat). Brush the risen braid in the form with beaten egg and place the form in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes. Watch the color, if the babka starts to darken too much towards the end of baking, cover it with aluminum foil.