Apollonia Poilâne’s Breadcrumbs & Sourdough Wheat Pesto

Apollonia Poilâne is a Franco-American baker, gallerist, and owner of the world-renowned Poilâne Bakery in Paris, France. Apollonia carries on the traditions of her father and grandfather, using the same recipes and the same eighty-plus-year-old sourdough starter to produce Poilâne’s artisan breads. Putting her stamp on the family business, she has brought the heritage bread bakery into the twenty-first century. She developed the bakery’s first gluten-free offering, published a cookbook showcasing bread’s potential as an ingredient in other recipes, and ushered Poilâne into the social media age.

Poilâne loaves are shipped worldwide, with loyal customers from New York to California placing orders for bread direct from Paris. Apollonia now oversees 160 employees at five locations across Paris and London.

Breadcrumb pesto is a dairy-free variation on the classic basil pesto sauce, which swaps grated Parmesan cheese for the crispy crumbs of a days-old loaf of bread. With the exception of swapping the Parmigiano-Reggiano for breadcrumbs, the rest of the ingredients in this pesto—fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and salt—typically remain the same as in the traditional sauce. However, acclaimed baker Apollonia Poilâne’s recipe swaps the fresh basil for parsley, lending the sauce an herbier, earthier taste than other pesto recipes.

Typical pesto calls for fresh basil and grated Parmigiano cheese, but you won’t miss the two in Poilâne’s fresh, parsley-based breadcrumb pesto. Follow these tips to make the best version of this sauce.

1. 1. Use high-quality ingredients. The simplicity of an Italian pesto sauce requires the freshest high-quality ingredients. Use fresh parsley leaves instead of frozen, and prioritize extra-virgin olive oil over the generic type. Mince up fresh garlic cloves instead of using canned, pre-minced options.
2. 2. Experiment with the ingredients. Alter the flavor profile of this bready pesto with some simple add-ins. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice into the purée for some brightness. Muddle a few fresh basil leaves or mint leaves with the parsley for extra freshness. Instead of using wheat loaf to make your breadcrumbs, switch up the bread. Brioche makes for an airy, crispy breadcrumb; sourdough is coarse and dense. If you have a few different kinds of leftover bread at home, try mixing them together to make your own intriguing, unique blend.
3. 3. Dry the bread out in the oven. It’s best to use stale bread to make the breadcrumbs for this pesto. If you only have fresh bread on hand, dry it out in the oven by slicing it and baking it at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes.
   
4. 4. Make the breadcrumbs ahead of time. You can prepare your breadcrumbs up to one month in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Simply pulse the bread chunks in the food processor until the breadcrumbs reach your desired consistency, about two minutes. At this point, you can mix in some warming spices (like allspice and black pepper) to alter the flavor profile.
5. 5. Store in an airtight container. Store fresh breadcrumb pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, freeze pesto in its airtight container for up to 6 months.