Celebrate the Christmassy season with Jamie Oliver’s Christmas tree camembert recipe. “Push the boat out with this easy tear and share bread with oozy Camembert for dunking,” the chef said.
Only requiring five ingredients, this is one of the best sharing starters that can easily be made in the comfort of your own home.
Do note, however, that the yeast dough will need time to rise and rest before baking – known as “proving” – so this isn’t a recipe to leave till the last minute.
In fact, the dough (in total) will require two hours and 30 minutes to rise and rest before baking, which is why the bread can be prepared first thing in the morning.
Once the bread is ready, however, the starter will be ready to be enjoyed after spending just half hour in the oven.
Christmas tree camembert
Makes: 36
Ingredients
- 800g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7g sachet of dried yeast
- Three x 250g round Camembert cheeses
- Half a bunch of fresh rosemary (15g)
- Three cloves of garlic
Method
Making the bread
Put the flour, yeast and one teaspoon of sea salt into the bowl of a food processor. Gradually pour in 500ml of tepid water and pulse for a few minutes until you have a ball of dough.
Leave the lid on and leave in a warm place for one hour 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Making the Christmas tree
Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and dust with flour. Lightly draw the outline of a Christmas tree in the flour with your finger. Remove the box base from one Camembert and place it in the centre of the tray.
Divide the enlarged dough into three pieces, then each of those into 12. One-by-one, roll each piece into a ball and place on the tray to build the Christmas tree around the Camembert.
Cover with a damp tea towel and leave for another hour (this allows the yeast dough to rise and rest before baking).
Baking
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/gas four). Cut the rind off the top of each Camembert leaving a 1cm rim (reserving the boxes for baking).
Pick the tips off three rosemary sprigs and poke into the soft cheeses, then peel and finely slice the garlic, drizzle with olive oil and poke those in too.
Sprinkle each cheese with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then pop one in its box in the centre of the tree, and another on a separate tray. Reserve the third cheese for later.
Strip the remaining rosemary leaves and dot between the dough balls. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and drizzle with olive oil.
Place the bread tree in the oven with the second cheese on the shelf below and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the Camemberts are gooey and the bread is risen and golden.
As soon as you serve the first two cheeses, bake the third one in its box for about 20 minutes, then swap with the eaten ones. Delicious.
