Bread Bun Wreath with Brie Cheese – Pare Parāoa Iti me te Tīhi Brie
How beautiful is a wreath at any time of the year. Even better, how good is an edible Brie Cheese Bread Wreath. This is the beautiful centrepiece for a simple meal. Serve it with a side salad and some cured meat or it can be enjoyed on its own with some butter.
These buns are filled with punchy flavours of rohimere (rosemary) and puna riki (spring onions). Both of these pair beautiful with melty brie cheese. I love to sprinkle the finished product with stunning kākano pamakaranete (pomegranate seeds) for a festive feel. I also added extras but the additions are optional.
If you are new to making bread and want a little more information, no worries. Check out this post for a bit of extra help with working with dough.
What cheese is best for the Brie Cheese Bread Wreath?
I learnt this lesson the hard way when I created this recipe. Make sure you use a high fat, brie cheese like a double cream version for extra goo. When I made this video I used camembert cheese and it did not melt the way I wanted it to. So, make sure you use a double brie or something you know melts well. Then you will achieve that super dreamy, dipping cheese moment.
Can I use a different herb than rosemary?
Āe mārika – yes indeed! Rosemary is my favourite herb for this recipe but fresh thyme would also work really well. If you don’t have any access to fresh herbs, not a problem. Replace it with 1 tablespoon of your favourite dried herbs to ensure the dough is flavoursome.
MORE TOHUTAO PARĀOA (BREAD RECIPES) FOR EACH OCCASION:
Making a brunch? Then you must try these Bacon and Egg Buns, they have a cheesy herb crust and are so delicious. Or do you need a flavoursome rohi parāoa (bread loaf)? This Cumin and Cottage Cheese Rustic Loaf is so soft and full of toasted cumin flavour.
Do you want to make a braided bread? Then try my Savoury Braided Brioche Bread loaf that also has gooey cheese in it. Or for the sweet version, try my Braided Chocolate Chip Bread.
You can find more bread recipes here.
Videography and photography by Sarah Henderson.
Bread Bun Wreath – Pare Parāoa Iti
Ingredients
The Dough Rosemary – Te Pokenga Rohimere
- ¾ C + 2 tbsp (220 ml) wai wera (hot water, from the tap)
- ½ C miraka (milk)
- 4 tsp (15 g) īhi (yeast, surebake/breadmakers) OR 2 tsp īhi tere (instant yeast)
- 4 C (600 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
- 1 ½ tsp tote (salt, fine)
- 2 tōhua hēki (egg yolks, from two small eggs)
- 1 tsp paura kāriki (garlic powder)
- 1 tsp (5 ml) winika (vinegar, optional)
- ¼ C (60 ml) noni ōriwa (olive oil or any oil you have)
- He kapuranga riki amiami, puna riki rānei (a handful of chives or spring onions)
- 1 tākupu rohimere nui (large rosemary sprig)
- 200 g tīhi brie (brie cheese, a super creamy version)
- 15 g pata kua rewaina (melted butter)
Condiments – Ngā Kīnaki (All optional)
- 40 g nati paina (pine nuts)
- 1/2 pamakaranete māota (fresh pomegranate)
- Kiri rēmana (lemon zest, of 1 lemon)
- 1 tbsp mīere hirikakā (chilli honey)
- 5 tākupu rohimere (rosemary sprigs)
Instructions
The Rosemary Dough – Te Pokenga Rohimere
- Pour the wai wera (hot water), miraka (milk) and huka hāura (brown sugar) in to a large bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Sprinkle the īhi on top and stir again. Cover and leave for 10 mins until the yeast is activated and has floated to the top.
- Add the puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour), tote (salt), tōhua hēki (egg yolks), paura kāriki (garlic powder), winika (vinegar) and noni ōriwa (olive oil).
- Chop the riki amiami, puna riki rānei (chives or spring onions) and rohimere (rosemary) in to fine pieces. Add them in. Stir everything together until a rough dough comes together.
- Mix all the ingredients together until a dough forms. Tip on to a lightly floured bench and knead for 12-14 mins by hand or 10 mins in a mixer. (You shouldn’t need any extra flour. If the dough feels super tight, add a tablespoon of water at a time to loosen it).
- Place the dough in to a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow it to rise for 1 ½ hours.
- Line a large flat tray 30cm x 35cm with baking paper. Place a 10 cm ramekin (or the container the cheese came in) in to the centre.
- Remove the risen dough from the bowl and roll it in to a log. Cut in to 28 equal pieces. You can also weigh the dough, divide the total weight by 28 and weigh each piece to create equal sizes. Mine came to 35g each.
- Roll each piece of dough in to small balls by tightening the corners of the dough and fold in to the centre to create tension on the other side. (Refer to video for reference). Try not to add extra flour here, the dough will be a little sticky but let it be.
- Place 10 dough balls around the centre ramekin in a circle. Add the remaining 18 pieces around the next circle, creating two rows of buns.
- Pre-heat oven to 170 °C.
- Cover the dough with a tea towel and leave it to rise for 30 – 40 mins. Once it has risen, replace the ramekin with the tīhi brie (brie cheese).
- Bake the risen buns for 20 -25 minutes until golden. The buns are ready when the buns in the centre spring back when pressed in the lower part of the bun.
- Brush the pata kua rewaina (melted butter) over the bread buns straight from the oven.
Condiments – Ngā Kīnaki (All optional)
- Lightly toast the nati paina (pine nuts) in a dry frying pan as the buns bake. Cool slightly.
- Once the bread has baked sprinkle the nuts over top. Break the tākupu rohimere (rosemary sprigs) in to smaller pieces and add in to the gaps of the parāoa (bread).
- Grate over the kiri rēmana (lemon zest) and drizzle over the mīere hirikakā (chilli honey).
- Remove the seeds from the pamakaranete māota (fresh pomegranate) and sprinkle them over the bread. The deliciousnesses is ready to serve and wow your manuhiri (guests).
Beautiful receipe! So delicious…fyi to thr writer, the brown sugar measurement is missing!
I used a tablespoon.
Otherwise so yum!
Oh kia ora, just wondering what brown sugar measurement you are referring to as they are there for sure! So glad you enjoyed the recipe though, that is wonderful to hear.
Looks beautiful!
Want to make this for Christmas, just wondering if I can make the dough a day ahead? Or have you tried baking it the night before leaving out the brie center?
Kia ora Natasha, thanks so much for you message. You can make the dough up to 15 hours before you need to bake it. Make the dough and allow it to rise in the bowl (covered) for 45 minutes on the bench. Then refrigerate for up to 15 hours. Then take the dough and shape them in to the balls (with the brie). However, the dough will take 1 1/2 – 2 hours to rise before baking as the yeast needs to come back to life. Make sure the buns have doubled in size before you bake them. They will be a touch smaller than the same day buns but will still be delicious!