Ingredients

• 1 round Brie or Camembert cheese approx 9.5 ounces/270g

Sourdough Version

• 460g bread flour (3 1/2 cups)
• 275g water (1 cup and 2.5 Tbsp)
• 80g sourdough starter 100% hydration (~1/3 cup)
• 32g olive oil (3 Tbsp)
• 5g sugar (1 tsp)
• 5g salt (1 tsp)

Yeast Dough Version

• 500g bread flour (~3 3/4 cups)
• 300g water (1 cup and 4 Tbsp)
• 7g yeast (2 1/4 tsp) active dry or instant dry
• 32g olive oil (3 Tbsp)
• 5g sugar (1 tsp)
• 5g salt (1 tsp)

Wash

• milk or egg

Cheese Decoration (optional)

• sprig of rosemary

Sugar and Nut Glaze (optional)

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nut)
• 1 Tbsp brandy

Instructions

• Mix all dough ingredients in a large bowl until incorporated.
• Knead the dough on a floured counter for approximately 10 minutes. Lightly oil your bowl, place the dough inside and cover. See the dough kneading video below these instructions to get a sense of dough hydration.
• The yeast version moves fast, and the first rise is done in 1-2 hours depending on room temperature.
• The sourdough version requires a much longer fermentation, ranging from 7-12 hours depending on room temperature and starter strength. Because of the longer bulk fermentation, you may skip the kneading, and after a rest of about 20 minutes, do a series of 4 stretch and folds every 20-30 minutes.
• At the end of the bulk fermentation, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and roll it into a long tube.
• Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the round of Brie/Camembert in the center. If Brie, slice the top of the rind off. If Camembert, make shallow cuts into the soft rind as if you were going to slice it into wedges (see photo gallery below for example).
• Determine how many rolls you want. Either eyeball the places along to tube you will cut (making trial indents with your bench scraper is helpful), or tare your scale with a small plate on it, and cut and weigh your roll pieces. Nine rolls is the easiest to arrange and quickest to prepare. Make sure to cover your unshaped dough with plastic so it doesn’t get dry, particularly if you are doing many rolls.
• The total dough weight is approximately 850-860g. That makes 16 rolls of 53g, 12 rolls of 71g, 9 rolls of 95g. See the photos in the blog post for additional possibilities.
• Roll the dough pieces into balls (or oblong flower petals) and place them around the cheese with space for expansion during the final proof. See the shaping video below these instructions for one of many possible techniques for making rolls.
• Brush your rolls with milk or egg (shiny), and decorate them with sesame and/or poppy seeds if you want. Read the Tips below for special instructions for the wash in the sourdough version.
• Cover with plastic (oil the plastic if your rolls seem sticky) and proof for 30-90 minutes for the yeast version and 1.5-3 hours for the sourdough version.
• About 15 minutes before the end of the proof, preheat your oven to 425F.
• If you are not using the nut glaze, consider decorating the cheese with a sprig of rosemary. Bake the rolls and cheese for 15-20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
• If you are doing the nut glaze, combine the brown sugar, nuts and brandy in a bowl. At the 12 minute mark of the baking, remove the rolls from the oven, cover the cheese with the nut-glaze mixture, and return the cookie sheet to the oven to bake an additional 4-8 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.