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  • 500g pack white bread
    mix
  • 100g walnut pieces
  • 140g dried apricots
    sliced
  • 25g poppy seeds
    toasted
  • 400ml milk
  • a little oil
    for greasing
  • 1 egg
    beaten
  • 1-2 soft cheeses in boxes, like brie
    or camembert
  • splash of white wine

Nutrition: per serving (10)

  • kcal409
  • fat24g
  • saturates10g
  • carbs32g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre2g
  • protein20g
  • salt1.3g
    low
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Method

  • step 1

    Tip the bread mix into a food processor, add the walnuts and whizz until fully incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the apricots and most of the poppy seeds. Warm the milk to hand temperature, then stir into the flour mix with a wooden spoon. Knead in the bowl until smooth. Cover with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm-ish to rise for 1 hr.

  • step 2

    Find a heatproof dish the same size or a bit bigger than your cheese box. Sit it in the middle of a big baking tray.

  • step 3

    Shape the risen dough into a long, thin log that will wrap around the dish on the sheet, like a wreath. Press the ends together, loosely cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 20-30 mins.

  • step 4

    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the egg all over the loaf, then sprinkle with the remaining poppy seeds. Using kitchen scissors, randomly snip into the dough, to give a spiky finish. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and crusty, and the bottom sounds hollow when you tap it. Remove the dish from the middle.

  • step 5

    To serve, unwrap the cheese and put it back into the box. Stab a few times, add the wine and tie kitchen string around the box to secure it in case the glue comes undone. Sit the cheese in the middle of the bread, without its lid, and bake for 10-15 mins until molten. Serve straight away and, if you like, pop another cheese in the oven so you can finish off the bread when the first cheese box is wiped clean.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2012

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Comments, questions and tips (7)

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings

Lydiilou94

question

Can I just use bread flour and add salt, yeast and sugar rather than a packet mix?

ludovika

question

What is the white wine for? Does it go in with the milk or into the melted cheese maybe…?

ludovika

Sorry, just realised where it says to put the wine on the cheese!

traceycampbell

question

Sorry I am a bread novice. Do you cook the bread for 35-40 mins in total or for a further 10-15 with the cheese or is the bread made ahead of time then reheated with the cheese? Thanks

goodfoodteam avatar
goodfoodteam

Hi traceycampbell. Thanks for your question. In this recipe the bread wreath is baked for 35-40mins then the cheese is placed in the centre when returned to the oven for a further 10-15 mins. The bread should be cooked after 35-40mins (you can check this by tapping it, the bread should sound…

kathryndonna avatar

kathryndonna

Fabulous recipe. I made the bread without the poppy seeds as I didn't have any and it was delicious. Rather than making a whole loaf which I thought would be rather clumsy to serve I made the dough into 16 small balls which I arranged fairly close together around the cheese in a double ring to give…

sallymin

This is a lovely recipe, went down very well as part of a boxing day lunch last year, so am just making a double batch for a Christmas party this year. I didn't use bread mix, just 500g white bread flour, 1 teaspoon each of dried yeast and salt.

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