Description
This delightful Baked Cheese Bread Flower features soft pizza dough shaped into a beautiful floral pattern filled with buttery rosemary and tangy cranberry sauce petals, encircling a creamy camembert cheese centerpiece. Perfect as an impressive appetizer or party bread, it combines savory and sweet flavors with an aromatic rosemary touch and a golden, crisp crust.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough and Butter Mixture
- 880g ready-made pizza dough, defrosted if necessary (We used The Northern Dough Co) or homemade
- 100g butter, softened
- Small bunch rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped, plus extra sprigs to decorate
- Flour, for dusting
- Oil, for drizzling and greasing cling film
Fillings and Cheese
- 150g cranberry sauce
- 250g box camembert or chaource (or vegetarian alternative)
Instructions
- Prepare Rosemary Butter: Mash the softened butter with chopped rosemary leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste in a bowl until well combined and aromatic.
- Roll Dough and Cut Circles: On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into four sections if not pre-portioned. Roll out each piece of dough to about 4mm thickness, keeping unused pieces covered to prevent drying. Use a 7cm round cutter to stamp out approximately 30-36 circles in total.
- Fill and Shape Petals: Spread the rosemary butter evenly over half the dough circles. Spread cranberry sauce over the remaining circles. Fold each circle in half, then pinch the two pointed ends together like a fortune cookie to form the flower petals.
- Arrange Petals Around Cheese: Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Place the camembert cheese, in its box with the lid removed, in the center of the tray. Arrange a ring of dough petals around the cheese, alternating between rosemary butter and cranberry sauce fillings, tucking the pointed ends under the cheese box.
- Build Flower Layers: Arrange a second ring of petals around the first ring, with pointed ends tucked under the preceding row to create overlapping flower layers. Repeat with remaining petals, creating a neat flower pattern around the cheese.
- Proof the Dough: Loosely cover the tray with oiled cling film and leave it in a warm place to prove for 30 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/Gas mark 4. Remove the cling film. Slash the top of the cheese a few times to allow steam to escape, insert rosemary sprigs into the cheese, and drizzle oil over the dough petals and cheese.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and cooked through.
- Cool and Serve: Allow the baked flower bread to cool for about 5 minutes before serving to let the cheese thicken slightly and the flavors meld.
Notes
- To make ahead, shape the dough and remove the cheese (leaving its box in place). Wrap the dough in oiled cling film and freeze for up to two months. Defrost at room temperature or overnight in the fridge, let it prove, then replace the cheese before baking.
- If you prefer, use vegetarian camembert or chaource alternatives to keep this recipe vegetarian.
- Adjust the quantity of rosemary butter and cranberry sauce fillings according to taste preference.
- Ensure the dough circles are evenly sized for a uniform flower appearance.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: European
Keywords: baked cheese bread, rosemary butter, cranberry sauce, camembert, bread flower, appetizer, party bread, vegetarian
