Everybody loves freshly baked bread, and what could be better than soft and fluffy bread served alongside warm, oozy baked Camembert for a fun take on cheese fondue?
Christmas Tree Camembert
Serves 4
45 min
What do I need?
- 800 g bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- Salt
- 1 x 7 g sachet of dried yeast
- 500 mL lukewarm water
- 2 x 250 g rounds of Camembert cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 50 g unsalted butter
- ½ bunch fresh rosemary
- Olive oil
How do I make it?
In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and dried yeast. Pulse to mix.
Gradually add the lukewarm water to the processor while pulsing until a ball of dough forms.
Leave the dough in the processor with the lid on, and let it prove in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, line a large baking tray with baking paper and dust it with flour. Lightly draw the outline of a Christmas tree in the flour with your finger. Place one Camembert in the centre of the tray.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces, then further divide each piece into 12, giving you 24 pieces in total. Roll each piece into a ball and arrange them on the tray, building out from the Camembert to create a Christmas tree shape. Remove the Camembert and cover the dough balls with a damp tea towel. Leave to prove for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Score the tops of both Camembert wheels. Create a small nest for one cheese using baking paper and place it back in the centre of the dough balls. Place the other Camembert on a separate baking tray lined with baking paper.
In a small bowl, melt the butter and mix it with the crushed garlic. Brush this mixture over the dough balls and both cheese wheels.
Pick the rosemary leaves from the stalks and scatter them around the dough balls and into the slits of the cheese.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the bread balls and drizzle with olive oil.
Place the bread tree in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the Camembert is gooey and the bread is risen and golden. Place the second Camembert on a lower oven shelf; this will be used once the first one is eaten. Leave the second cheese in the turned-off oven to keep warm.
