Fat Friday #32 Camembert Brioche

Last week we looked at basic brioche dough to make a basic loaf. This week its something a little more complex in the form of Camembert Brioche. This is a great lunch dish or as a snack and its simply delicious. Its creamy, cheesy, sweet and savoury. Lunch perfection. You can make this with a whole brioche dough or do what I did and use half of the dough. Its great hot or cold with a side salad. Or just stuffed into your mouth.

 

Serves 8 (or 4 greedy people Recipe adapted from Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Linda Collister):

·1 quantity of brioche dough
·1 x 350g camembert cheese (13cm across approx)
·5 tablespoons of chutney (I used spiced apple and raisin)

To Finish:

·A little beaten egg to glaze

Equipment:

·Pastry brush
·Baking sheet lined with baking paper
·Knife
·Cling film
·Wire rack

Method:
1. Cut off ¼ of chilled brioche dough and cover and set aside for later use.
2. Roll out a larger portion of dough to a round 23cm circle. Make sure it isn’t sticking to the surface, dust with flour if needed.
3. Spread the top of the cheese with the chutney and put it upset down on top of the flat dough.
4. Using a knife, trim 1cm off the from the edge of the circle.
5. Add the trimming to the reserved dough. Then roll this dough out to about 14cm across.

6. Brush the exposed surfaces of the cheese and the outer 1cm exposed boarder with beaten egg.
7. Lift the dough boarder in small sections, and wrap over the cheese. The top should be exposed.
8. Use a little more beaten egg to stick the smaller dough circle on top. Pat gently to seal together.
9. Carefully, move the cheesy bread over to the baking sheet. Smooth out any lumps.
10. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes until doubled in size.  Towards the end of rising preheat the oven to 190c/375f/Gas Mark 5.
11. Brush the dough lightly with more beaten egg. Score the top of the bread with a knife. Bake for 30 minutes, glaze with more beaten egg and bake again for a further 10 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 45 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Have an excellent weekend!

Fat Friday #31 Basic Brioche

Welcome to Fat Friday number 31! Its been 31 weeks of Fat Friday, this week I'm looking at a sweet bread called Broiche. This is a sweet enriched bread which originated in France. Its consumed at breakfast and can be baked with a variety of fillings. This bread is easy to make but its very time consuming, so make sure you are around to complete the process.

 

brioche dough (recipe from Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Linda Collister):

·375g strong bread flour, plus lots of extra for dusting
·1 teaspoon seasalt flakes, crushed
·1 tablespoon caster sugar
·1x 7g fast action yeast
·4 tablespoons milk, chilled
·4 large eggs, chilled
·175g unsalted butter, diced

Equipment:

·Bowl
·(optional hand mixer with the dough hook attached)
·450g loaf tin lined with baking paper
·Large plastic bag
·Pastry brush
·Knife
·Wire rack
·Jug
·Fork
Method:

 

1.Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and dried yeast in a bowl. Combine with your hand.
2.    Add the milk and eggs to the flour and work in with your hand. Or use a mixer with a dough hook attachment to make a soft and sticky dough.
3.    Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes by hand (or an extra 6 minutes in a mixer). 
4.    Start to work in the butter, a few pieces at a time, to make a soft and still sticky dough.

5.    Scrape the dough into a mixing bowl and place in a large plastic bag. Place the dough into the fridge for 1-2 hours until about double in size.
6.    Flour your hands and punch the dough down, cover again and chill for another hour. After the hour the dough should be ready to shape.

 

Basic loaf
1.Turn out the chilled dough and, with floury fingers, flatten out to a rectangle shape.

2.Roll up from a short end and pinch the seal. Place the seal at the bottom of the loaf tin. Slip the tin into a large plastic bag and pop in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 and 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
3.Towards the end of rising, put the oven on 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
4.Uncover the brioche and lightly brush the top with beaten egg to glaze.
5.Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 180c/350f/ Gas Mark 4 and bake for a further 25-30 minutes until a deep golden brown.
6.Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Have an excellent weekend!