This indulgent centrepiece, buttery brioche baked around Tesco Finest French brie with truffle, will delight festive guests. Once baked, the creamy brie layered with on-trend white Italian truffle turns into a perfect gooey dip. Serve with Tesco Finest fig and balsamic chutney to finish it all off.
Prep 40 min, plus rising time
Cook 25 min
Serves 6
450g Tesco Finest very strong bread flour
3⁄4 tsp fine sea salt
30g caster sugar
7g sachet fast action yeast
100ml Tesco Finest Jersey whole milk
4 Tesco Finest free range Bluebell Araucana eggs, at room temperature
200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
2 Tesco Finest French brie with truffle
To serve
Handful thyme leaves
Tesco Finest fig and balsamic chutney
To make the buns, put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt on one side, and the sugar and yeast to the other. Mix briefly with your hands, then again using the dough hook. Tip the milk into a small pan and heat over a low heat until warm to the touch, but not hot. Slowly mix into the dry ingredients until combined. Lightly beat three of the eggs. With the motor on medium speed, slowly add the beaten eggs and mix for 10 minutes, then add the butter, one or two cubes at a time, until combined – this will take about 5-8 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough will be very soft.
Scrape the dough into a large, oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and leave to prove for 1 hour 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface, and divide into 16-18 balls of equal size. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and place the two cheeses in the centre, scoring a criss-cross on top of each, then arrange the dough balls around them, leaving a 2cm space between each for spreading. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove again for 30-35 minutes until almost doubled in size.
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Brush the buns with the last beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the buns are golden brown and the cheese is melted and gooey.
Finish with the thyme leaves. To eat, break off pieces of brioche to dunk in the cheese, adding a dollop of chutney on top.
Shop the ingredients for this recipe on Tesco.com
