Baked Camembert Dough Ball Wreath
A tear & share tangzhong dough ball wreath with a rosemary baked camembert in the middle for dipping! This one's easy to make & perfect for sharing.
Servings: 8 People
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Food Probe
- Large Baking Tray
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 30 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
- 60 g Whole Milk
- 60 g Water
Dough Balls
- 130 g Whole Milk
- 90 g Water
- 8 g Dried Active Yeast
- 550 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
- 30 g Caster Sugar
- 11 g Fine Sea Salt
- 1½ tsp Skimmed Milk Powder
- 1 Large Egg
- 60 g Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)
To Assemble
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tsp Cold Water
- 250 g Camembert
- 8 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
- Olive Oil
Garlic Butter
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 2 Garlic Cloves (Grated)
- 2 tsp Finely Chopped Parsley
- 1 tsp Finely Chopped Rosemary
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Place the flour, milk & water into a small saucepan & whisk to combine. Cook over a low heat until you have a thick paste, stirring constantly with a spatula. Transfer to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature.
Dough Balls
- Add the milk & water into a jug then warm in a microwave to 38°c/100°f. Whisk in the yeast then leave for 5-10 minutes, to go frothy.
- In the meantime, add the flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, egg & tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Next, give the activated yeast another whisk then add into the flour.
- Using the dough hook, knead the dough on a medium speed until it's smooth & starting to come away from the sides of the bowl. This will take around 5 minutes.
- With the mixer still going, add in the butter a small amount at a time, incorporating each piece fully before adding more. Once all the butter has been incorporated, keep mixing until the dough passes the window pane test. This will take another 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm or a tea towel & leave to double in size at room temperature. This will take 45 minutes – 1 hour.
Assembly
- Take the camembert out of its' packaging then place the bottom half of the wooden box into the middle of a large baking tray that's lined with baking parchment. Pop the cheese back in the fridge.If your camembert doesn't have an ovenproof box, use a heatproof dish instead.
- Knock the dough back, transfer to a lightly floured work surface then divide into 26 pieces, each weighing around 40 grams.
- To shape, take a piece of dough & bring the edges into the middle. Flip the dough over & use a cupped hand to shape into a tight ball.Dragging the seam on the work surface helps increase surface tension.
- Next, place 10 of the dough balls around the wooden box then the remaining 16 around the outside. Make sure to leave a small amount of space between each piece.
- Cover the dough with lightly oiled clingfilm (or an upside down tin) then leave to prove at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, until risen by roughly 50%.The dough balls will be touching once risen.
Baking
- Whilst your dough is proving, preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Add the egg & cold water into a small bowl then whisk together. Brush the dough balls with the egg wash.
- Next, take the camembert out of the fridge then use a sharp knife to score the top in a criss cross pattern. Poke the sprigs of rosemary into the cuts then place the camembert into the box in the middle of the wreath.
- Drizzle the camembert with olive oil then bake the wreath for 25-30 minutes, until the bread is golden brown & the cheese is melty.
Garlic Butter
- Make your garlic butter whilst your wreath is baking. To do this, add the butter & garlic into a saucepan, melt over a medium heat then stir in the herbs & a pinch of salt. Set this aside until needed.
To Finish
- Once baked, brush the dough balls with a generous amount of the garlic butter then serve! The remaining garlic butter can be served on the side.
Notes
1. To Cook In An Aga – Use the simmering plate to make the tangzhong. Bake the dough balls in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Flour – You’ll need a strong white bread flour for these dinner rolls. Make sure to use one with a protein content of 13-15%. I use a Canadian bread flour from Shipton Mill.
3. Yeast - This recipe uses dried active yeast that needs to be activated in warm milk/water before being used. Fast action/instant yeast will work as well but won't need to be activated (it can be added straight into the flour). Instant yeast will make your dough rise slightly quicker.
4. Milk Powder - A small amount of milk powder in the dough gives our dough ball a deeper colour once baked. Adding this is optional!
5. Camembert - You'll need a 250 gram wheel of camembert for this wreath. We're going to be cooking the cheese in the wooden box that it comes in. If your cheese doesn't have an oven proof box, use a round baking dish instead.
6. Baking Tray - Make sure to use a large baking tray for this wreath, to give the dough balls plenty of room to rise.
7. Windowpane Test - The windowpane test is used to test gluten development in dough. Here, you take a small piece of dough & stretch it between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough so that you are able to see through it, enough gluten has been developed. If it tears, more kneading is required.