Pickled Walnut celebration bread wreath

Serves 10

Meal type: sharing, Christmas, special occasion, accompaniments 

Prep time 2 hours

Cooking time 45 minutes

Allergens: Gluten, yeast, dairy, walnuts

Cost per serving: 72p

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for rolling/kneading

• 1 tsp salt

• 1½ tsp fast action yeast

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 350ml lukewarm water

• 3 x Opies Pickled Walnuts, finely chopped

• 75g sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

• 60g parmesan cheese

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 tbsp butter, melted

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 round camembert, to bake

• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

• Fresh rosemary sprigs

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Measure out the lukewarm water, stir in the yeast and caster sugar, then leave the yeast to develop for 10 minutes until frothy. 

2. Pour the yeast water into the flour and mix until a dough is formed. Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes or by using a stand mixer. 

3. Cover the bowl with a clean tea-towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in size. 

4. Knock back the dough then knead in the pickled walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, all but 1 tbsp of the parmesan and finally the chopped rosemary. Divide the dough into 18 even sized pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, adding a little more flour if the dough feels too sticky. 

5. Place a large ramekin or bowl into the centre of a baking sheet (this has to be the size of the camembert or slightly bigger). Place the balls of dough around the ramekin leaving a 5mm gap between each ball. 

6. Make a second ring of the dough around the first, again leaving a 5mm cap to allow room for the dough to rise. Cover with the tea towel until the dough has doubled in size. 

7. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas 5.  Just before baking, brush the bread rolls all over with melted butter then scatter over the remaining parmesan cheese, sea salt and a little extra rosemary and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.

8. When you are ready to serve, stud the camembert with garlic and warm in the oven for 10-12 minutes until melty. Place the bread wreath onto a board and carefully position the camembert in the middle, still in its wooden box, then decorate with extra rosemary sprigs and serve. 

Hints and Tip: This wonderful bread recipe is perfect for Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day or any other special entertaining occasion. 

Where to Buy: 

Opies Pickled Walnuts 390g available from Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Booths, Ocado and Sainsbury’s from £3.00