Having baked enough cakes and cookies this festive season, I thought to bake something savoury. And it was time to bake this beautiful festive looking cheese & herb wreath bread. I saw this bread recipe in Delicious magazine a very long time back. And ever since I saw this, I just wanted to bake this bread. This is what could be a perfect centre piece at any table on a Christmas dinner. It just got me smitten. And I was all waiting for the festive season to arrive, so that I could bake this bread soon. And luckily this time I had enough Parmesan cheese left over from the Parmesan Croutons which I made along with mushroom soup. So this bread happened the very next weekend. I adapted this recipe to make it little more fibrous by replacing some plain flour with whole wheat flour and kneaded the dough a night before to let it proof in fridge overnight, so that I could bake the bread early in the morning. The slow proofing added to the texture and the taste of the bread. It came out wonderfully soft and cheesy. The mixed herbs and the cheese makes it a perfect accompaniment for any soup or salad. This bread is just so perfect to be shared with your loved ones, as an appetiser too. Just dunk it in some homemade Italian tomato sauce or even drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top and enjoy warm. And if you have some really good red wine too, trust me you wouldn’t need anything else. So festive yet so delicious!
- 300 gm plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 150 gm whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp dried fast-action yeast
- 550 ml lukewarm water
- 100 gm block mozzarella
- 75 gm parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1½ tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1½ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus extra sprigs to decorate
- 75 gm butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tbsp semolina
- Sea salt flakes to decorate
- 8-10 kalamata olives, to decorate (optional)
- Sift the flours, sugar, salt and yeast into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the centre and add the lukewarm water. Gradually mix together to form a slightly sticky dough, then turn out onto a lightly dusted work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let proof in fridge overnight.
- Next morning, take out the bowl and bring back to room temperature and let it rise, until doubled.
- Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into 1.5cm cubes. Mix the parmesan with the Italian seasoning and chopped rosemary in a shallow dish. Pour the melted butter into another shallow dish.
- Grease a large baking sheet with a little butter and sprinkle with the semolina. Knock back the dough and knead once more until smooth and elastic, then divide into 28 to 30 even-size pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, knead it a little, then press a piece of mozzarella cheese into the centre and seal the opening by pinching the dough together with your fingers. Roll into a ball.
- Put an upturned 10 cm round heatproof dish or ramekin into the centre of the baking sheet. Roll the dough balls briefly in the melted butter, then in the parmesan cheese mixture. Place the balls around the dish, leaving a 5-6 mm gap between each ball and also the edge of the dish. Make a second ring around the outside of the first, again leaving a little space around each one to allow them to rise. Cover loosely with a sheet of lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise somewhere warm for 40-60 minutes until doubled in size.
- Just before baking, heat the oven to 190°C. Bake the wreath for 40-50 minutes until lightly golden brown, covering it loosely with foil if the cheese on the outside starts to go too brown. Remove the wreath from the oven and leave to cool slightly for a few minutes. Decorate with fresh rosemary sprigs, some sea salt flakes and the kalamata olives, and serve warm.