Description

Bread is for celebrating and this Rosemary Einkorn Bread Wreath with Baked Brie, Pomegranate and Pistachios makes a showstopper centerpiece for any Holiday table.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Dough:

57 grams / 1/4 cup warm water *See Notes
Pinch of sugar
1 pkg / 2 1/4 tsp / 1/4 oz active dry yeast
350 grams / 1 1/2 cups organic milk (I use almond milk)
80 grams / 1/3 cup organic sugar **See Notes
2 1/4 tsp sea salt
5 Tbsp butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
560 grams (4 cups + 4-5 Tbsp) all-purpose Einkorn flour
130 grams (1 cup) whole grain Einkorn flour (I use home-milled flour)

Egg Wash:

1 large egg, whisked with a splash of water
2 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Brie:

1 (8-ounce) wheel of brie, chilled

Garnish:

1/4 cup pomegranate arils
2–3 Tbsp chopped pistachios
1/4 cup Rosemary sprigs

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Instructions

Pour the warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it, and add a pinch of sugar. Stir to dissolve the yeast; then set aside until the mixture is frothy, about 10 minutes.
In a medium pot, combine the milk, sugar, salt and butter. Heat the mixture to 115 degrees F. and stir until the butter is melted. Add the milk mixture to the yeast mixture. (If the milk mixture is too hot, let it cool a bit before incorporating it into the yeast.) Then stir in the lightly beaten egg.
In a large bowl, stir together 4 cups of all-purpose and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine using a Danish dough whisk or large wooden spoon. Mix, adding additional all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, until it forms a soft dough. Scrape down the bowl, form the dough into a rough ball and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a wet kitchen towel or bees wrap, and let it rest (autolyse) at warm room temperature for 30 minutes.
After the autolyse, stretch and fold the dough over itself in the bowl. It should begin to have more structure at this point. Recover the bowl, and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 2 – 2 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. You may stretch and fold the dough again after an hour, then leave it to rise for another 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Punch the dough down to release the air, and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 29 equal pieces (about the size of a golf ball). (My dough weighed 1241 grams total so each piece weighed ~43 grams.) Keep the dough pieces covered with a damp kitchen towel while shaping the wreath.
Line a round baking pan or pizza pan with parchment. Remove the plastic from the brie and place it in the center of the baking pan. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll each piece into a tight ball by rolling the dough with the palms of your hands on the work surface.
Start lining up the dough balls around the brie and form two rings. The first layer, closest to the brie, should have 11 rolls. The outside layer should have 28-29 rolls, depending on how snuggly you place them together. Cover the wreath loosely with a damp kitchen towel or bees wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size. Brush the rolls with the egg wash, and then sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and coarse sea salt.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the rolls 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. They should rise up higher than the wheel of brie.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Garnish the rolls with pomegranate arils and rosemary sprigs and the brie with rosemary sprigs, pomegranate arils and pistachios. You may sprinkle sea salt over the brie, if desired.
Serve warm and let the accolades begin.

Notes

*If you use regular all-purpose flour instead of einkorn, you’ll most likely need a bit more hydration. Increase the water used to activate the yeast to 1/2 cup instead of using 1/4 cup.

**I’ve tried these rolls using 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup of sugar. I thought 1/2 cup was too sweet, 1/4 cup was not quite sweet enough, but 1/3 cup hit the sweet spot – literally.

Category: Bread Roll Wreath