Brie and Brioche

General Notes

You have to start this recipe the night before (though total prep time is really not much for the end result). I usually start the dough late the night before, then it rests in the refrigerator until the next afternoon/evening. This is a delicious and really impressive dish to bring to a party; not something to count calories by either!

I did this using my 7 cup Cuisinart food processor, and almost burnt out the motor (well, I may have totally burned out the motor, I haven’t checked yet). The dough rose up and overflowed into the turning mechanism and gooped it up. If you have a larger size food processor, you could try that. Or, it seems safe to try it in a stand mixer with a dough hook. The consistency of the dough is what is important. You will know the dough has been mixed enough when it is elastic and smooth (it will still be a little sticky since there are lots of eggs and butter in the recipe).

You can find Brie in the Publix fine cheese case (or, Fresh Market). Note: I have used both the 13 oz. and the 7 oz. size; if you could find 9 oz. it would be perfect.

When you open the Brie, cut off the white stuff on the outside (the mold cover?) using a serrated knife.

This recipe is from the book 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood (thanks, Darcy! I love this book!).

Brioche Dough

2 1/2 cups white bread flour

scant 1/4 cup superfine sugar

1/2 oz package yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

3 medium eggs

generous 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

Put the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk, and the 3 eggs in a food processor and process, using the blade, for about 5 minutes to a smooth dough. If mixing by hand, this will take 8 minutes.

Add the butter to the dough and mix for an additional 5 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand. Put the dough into a bowl, then cover and let stand in the refrigerator overnight.

Brie and Brioche Packages

1 quantity Brioche dough (see recipe above)

flour for dusting

9 oz Brie cheese

1 egg beaten, for eggwash

From September

Roll out the brioche dough on a lightly floured counter to about 1/4 inch thick. Place the cheese in the middle of the dough and fold the sides of the dough neatly onto the middle.

Turn the package over and brush the top with some of the eggwash, then place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet (with a Silpat or parchment paper). Brush the package with eggwash again, then, using the back of a knife, score a criss-cross pattern over the package. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.