Cakes & Bakes: Camembert bread wreath

Home-made Camembert bread wreath | H is for Home

What a great find this Camembert bread wreath recipe is! A few simple ingredients, straightforward process, delicious results! It comes courtesy of Jamie Oliver and it’s immediately gone into our “favourite breads” file.

Ball of bread dough | H is for Home Ball of bread dough, doubled in size | H is for Home

Preparation time is about 3 hours from start to finish, however the majority of this is proving time, so you can get on with other things while the dough proves.

Camembert round pierced with sliced garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary | H is for Home

It’s a very flexible dish – perfect to serve at a drinks party, barbecue or sit-down dinner party. Served on its own or on the side of salads or pasta dishes. It looks fabulous when presented – and fills the room with hunger-inducing aromas.

12 small dough balls with round of Camembert at the centre | H is for Home 12 small dough balls - doubled in size - with round of Camembert at the centre | H is for Home

Easy, warm, tear & share bread dipped in the garlic & herb-infused melted cheese… stupendous! We wish we had ‘smell & taste-vision’ to offer you. This will become an oft repeated bread for us – we hope you can give it a go too!

A bite of bread with melted rosemary & garlic-infused Camembert | H is for Home

Home-made Camembert bread wreath | H is for Home

Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest

Camembert bread wreath
Serves 4
Prep Time
2 hr 45 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
3 hr 15 min
Prep Time
2 hr 45 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
3 hr 15 min
Ingredients
  1. 400g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  2. 3.5g of dried yeast
  3. ½tsp salt
  4. 500ml tepid water
  5. 1 Camembert cheese round
  6. A couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
  7. 1 clove of garlic
  8. A few glugs of olive oil
  9. ½tsp coarse ground or flaked saltHome-made Camembert bread wreath ingredients
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Put the flour, yeast and teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a food processor / stand mixer fitted with the dough hook
  2. Gradually pour in the water and combine for a few minutes until it comes together into a ball
  3. Leave the lid on/cover with a plastic bag and prove in a warm place for 1½ hours, or until the dough has doubled in size
  4. Line a large, circular baking tray/casserole dish with greaseproof paper and dust lightly with flour Remove the box base from the Camembert round and place it in the centre of the tray/dish
  5. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces
  6. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the tray, building around the Camembert box to create your wreath shape
  7. Cover with a damp tea towel and allow it to prove for another hour
  8. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4
  9. Unwrap the Camembert round from its paper cover and cut the rind off the top leaving a 1cm rim (reserve the box for baking)
  10. Pick the tips off one of the rosemary sprigs and poke them into the top of the cheese
  11. Peel & finely slice the clove of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and poke these in too
  12. Sprinkle the cheese with a pinch of salt and black pepper, then pop it back into its box in the centre of the wreath
  13. Pick the tips off the other rosemary sprig and dot them between the dough balls
  14. Sprinkle with the coarse/flaked salt and drizzle with olive oil
  15. Place the bread wreath in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the Camembert is gooey and the bread is risen and golden
  16. Remove from the oven and brush with a little olive oil before serving
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Adapted from Jamie's Quick & Easy Christmas
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Tear and share garlic bread

Home-made tear and share garlic bread | H is for Home

We both love pasta and very often the simplest dishes are the best. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, which we cooked today, is one such example. Fresh basil leaves, cracked black pepper and a few shavings of Parmesan are all that’s required to finish to perfection!

Activate yeast | H is for Home

We love some form of crusty bread served on the side of our pasta dishes.

Chopped garlic | H is for Home

Justin spotted a delicious looking tear and share garlic bread on one of his recent Pinterest browsing tea breaks.

Dough balls dipped in garlic butter | H is for Home

The method was quick and easy – and the results delicious.

Garlic dough balls in loaf tins | H is for Home Cooked tear and share garlic bread | H is for Home

It’s a very flexible recipe in terms of potential ingredients. Ours was flavoured predominantly with garlic & oregano, but many other herbs such as parsley, rosemary or chives could also be used. Olives, sun-dried tomatoes or small cubes of cheese would also be perfect additions.

Plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce with tear and share garlic bread | H is for Home

The perfect bread to wipe that plate clean! Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest.

Tear and share garlic bread
Cook Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
For the dough
  1. 120ml/4¼ fl oz warm water
  2. 1tbsp caster sugar
  3. 1tsp active dry yeast
  4. 15g/4½oz butter, softened
  5. 120ml/4¼ fl oz milk
  6. 1tsp salt
  7. 400g/14oz bread flour
For the garlic butter
  1. 60g/2oz butter, melted
  2. 1tbsp fresh oregano or ½tsp dried oregano
  3. 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  4. 1tsp coarse saltHome-made tear and share garlic bread ingredients
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
For the dough
  1. In a small measuring jug, stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water until dissolved. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, quickly mix the salt and flour using your fingers
  3. Make a well in the centre and add the butter, milk and yeast mixture
  4. Using the dough hook, knead for 7-10 minutes. The dough should stick to the bottom of the bowl but clears sides. It will be soft and slightly sticky. Kneading can also be done by hand but will take around 10-12 minutes
For the garlic butter
  1. In a small bowl, combine the butter, oregano and minced garlic. Set aside
To bring it all together
  1. Cut the dough into equal pieces and roll into balls **I made twelve 57g balls**
  2. Dip the balls, one by one, into the garlic butter mixture (make sure you leave a little aside)
  3. Lay the buttery dough balls into a greased 20cm x 10cm (8" x 4") loaf tin **I used 2 smaller tins**
  4. Cover the loaf and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size - about an hour
  5. After around 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 175ºC/350°F/Gas mark 4
  6. Brush the tops lightly with more of the garlic butter (still making sure a little is left)
  7. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown
  8. Brush with the last of the garlic butter to glaze, sprinkle with the coarse salt and serve immediately
Notes
  1. Instead of oregano, you could use basil, parsley or rosemary
  2. You could also add a few halved olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes or small cubes of cheese to the dough
Print
Adapted from Gather for Bread
Adapted from Gather for Bread
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Tear & share smoked garlic bread

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Home made tear & share smoked garlic bread | H is for Home

We’ve got a delicious tear and share smoked garlic bread for this week’s Cakes & Bakes post.

oven pans wiped with smoked garlic butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs

The majority of the recipe comes courtesy of Jamie Oliver with a few additions, omissions and twists. I can almost hear him say that, so it’s very apt.

Dough balls being made into tear & share smoked garlic bread

Jamie’s recipe uses plain, fresh cloves of garlic. I used the smoked garlic bulb that we had in our veg rack. I omitted the chopped parsley when making the garlic butter – I can’t stand it – despite the fact that the breath freshening properties would come in handy! Finally, he adds a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper which I swapped for smoked paprika – double smoky loveliness!

smoked garlic butter made in a mini-food frocessor

It has lots of air, yet it’s substantial too. The breadcrumbs are a revelation, adding a great crispy crunch. The garlic butter is punchy & intense. We used the word delicious at the start, but we’ll also throw in flavoursome, comforting and generally stupendous!

Tear & share smoked garlic bread in a pan | H is for Home

It’s the perfect bread to have on the side of a saucy pasta dish or bowl of salad.

Click here to save the smoked garlic bread recipe to Pinterest for later!

Tear & share smoked garlic bread
For the bread
  1. 800g/28oz strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  2. 7g/¼oz dried yeast
  3. 1tsp salt
  4. 550ml/19 fl oz tepid water
  5. 100g/3½oz stale breadcrumbs
For the garlic butter
  1. ½ bulb smoked garlic
  2. 250g/9oz butter, softened
  3. 1tsp smoked paprika
  4. pinch of sea saltHome-made tear & share smoked garlic bread ingredients
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Put the flour, yeast and 1 teaspoon of sea salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle
  2. Gradually pour in the water, continuously stirring and bringing in the flour from the outside as you go to form a rough dough
  3. Transfer to a flour-dusted surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth and springy
  4. Place in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size
  5. Use this time to make the butter. Use a garlic crusher or mini-food processor to crush the garlic into the softened butter
  6. Add the smoked paprika and a pinch of salt, then mix it all together
  7. Remove half to use in this recipe, then spoon the rest onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, roll it up into a log and twist the ends like a Christmas cracker, then pop into the freezer for up to 6 months for future use
  8. Using a pastry brush, spread ⅓ of your soft butter portion all around the base and sides of a large metal tray (25cm x 35cm), then scatter in the breadcrumbs and shake around into an even layer so they stick to the butter
  9. Divide up the dough into 35 pieces, then, one-by-one, roll each one into a ball and place into the tray in rows – 5 balls across and 7 balls long is perfect
  10. Brush over another ⅓ of the soft butter, in and around the balls
  11. Leave to prove for another hour and a half or until doubled in size again
  12. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5
  13. Sprinkle the balls with a little sea salt before baking on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, or until lovely and golden
  14. Brush over that final ⅓ of butter spreading it around to give the bread a beautiful shine
  15. Serve straight away
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Adapted from Jamie's Comfort Food
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/