Cranberry Filled Brioche with Baked Camembert
Time & Yield
Yield: 8 Servings
Time: 2 Hours (plus overnight proofing)
Ingredients
For the Brioche
5 Eggs
20ml Milk
350g Bread Flour
7g Dried Active Yeast
30g Granulated Sugar
5g Salt
200g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
1 Tsp Poppy Seeds
250g Camembert Cheese in a Wooden, Stapled Carton
2-3 Sprigs Thyme
For the Filling
1 Whole Head of Garlic
2 Tbsp Quince Paste
2 Tbsp Dried Cranberries (chopped)
2 Tbsp Cranberry Sauce
For Garnish
10 fresh cranberries
3-4 Rosemary springs
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
Day before: Put the flour (350g), yeast (7g), sugar (30g), and salt (5g) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 4 eggs and the 20ml of milk.
On a medium setting, slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, continuing to stir until incorporated into a very soft, wet dough. Add the butter (200g) and increase the speed, kneading for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be ready when it clings around the dough hook. At this stage it will look more like a thick cake batter than bread dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
Prepare the Garlic
Day before: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil. Remove any loose outer skins from the garlic bulbs.
With a sharp knife, cut off the stem and uppermost part of the cloves. Place on the foil, drizzle over a little olive oil and season.
Bring up the edges of the foil and seal to form a fairly tight parcel.
Bake in the top of the oven for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the parcel sealed until the garlic is cool enough to handle.
Remove the cloves by either squeezing the bulb upwards from the base or by teasing them out with a toothpick. Mash the garlic with a fork. Wrap well (to avoid the garlic smell transferring to other foods) and refrigerate.
Baking
On the day: line a baking tray with baking parchment. Remove the cheese from its wooden carton and put the cheese back in the fridge until later. Put the carton in the centre of the lined tray.
Tip the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 5 large equal-sized pieces.
Take one piece and divide into 5 again. One at a time, roll each of these 5 pieces gently into a ball, flour your index finger and make a small, deep indent in the middle.
Fill the dough ball with half a teaspoon of the quince paste pinching the dough over the top to seal and placing the sealed side down onto the floured surface. Cup your hand over the bun and rotate a little to get an even shape. Repeat until you have filled all 5.
Repeat step 6 using the remaining the various fillings (Cranberry Sauce, Quince Paste, Dried Cranberries, and Roasted Garlic).
Arrange the buns around the wooden carton, you’ll need 10 for the inner ring and 15 for the outer ring. Leave around 0.5cm between each bun, giving them room to rise. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove any plastic wrapping or stickers from the cheese. With a small knife remove the top layer of rind. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and place in the carton, cut side up.
Beat the remaining egg and brush the buns and scatter with poppy seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Slide onto a serving platter. Decorate with the herbs and fresh cranberries. Serve the extra cheese alongside if using.
Source: BBC