Baked Brie and Camembert with Warm Bread Bites

A fun and easy entertaining idea, this Baked Brie and Camembert with Warm Bread Bites can be made with store-bought roll dough!

I seem to spend a lot of time imagining ways I could combine cheese with bread. If that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right :) And since it’s the season of baked Brie and Camembert, it seemed only natural to combine them with warm little bread bites, too.

I started with two rounds of cheese – a Brie and a Camembert. I made my own roll dough, but you could just as easily start with a store-bought bread or roll dough instead. Simply lay your your cheese rounds, them make little dough balls and place them around the outside. Bake and enjoy!

The great thing about this dish is that it’s so adaptable. Use two Brie or two Camembert if you like. Use whatever cheese topping you like (or try the ones in the recipe below). Add some toppings to your rolls. Or not. Make your creation any shape you like.

However you make it, it will all be good and your friends and family will surely be impressed when you place this in front of them. They don’t need to know it was so easy :)

Make the bread bites with the homemade dough recipe below, or start with store-bought frozen and thawed bread or roll dough.

Cook’s Notes for Baked Brie and Camembert with Warm Bread Bites

While making the little bread rolls is easy, it is a tiny bit tedious, as you have to shape 30-32 of them :) This is a good time to recruit extra hands if they’re around :)

Be sure to keep your rolls small, as you don’t want them to dwarf your cheese. Once formed and before rising, they should come no higher than about 1/2-2/3 of the way up the side of the cheese. That will give you finished rolls just slightly higher than the cheese.

Feel free to use your favourite cheese topping ideas in place of the ones I’ve used here.

I topped some of the rolls with poppy seeds and sesame seeds. You can do them all with one or the other, or no toppings at all. I do suggest the egg wash whether you top the rolls or not, for a nice shiny, golden top.

Take a moment before you start to decide what board/platter you will be putting your creation on. Place your parchment sheet on top your of your board and set out cheese/bread dough balls right on it, so you know if will fit nicely. Then just slide it on the parchment paper onto your baking sheet. When it’s all cooked, you can slide it on the parchment onto your serving board. Trim the excess parchment paper around the outside and you’re good to go!

While this one is best warm from the oven, we did enjoy it re-heated here and it held its own pretty well. Best for enjoying leftovers however, and probably not best for making ahead and reheating to serve.

Baked Brie and Camembert with Warm Bread Bites

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Keyword: baked brie recipes, baked camembert recipes, cheese appetizer recipes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Energy: 249 kcal

Author: Jennifer Maloney

Easy, delicious and pretty, you can make this one with homemade rolls or start with frozen bread or roll dough!

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Ingredients

Bread Dough: (or use one loaf of frozen bread dough or 12 frozen roll dough, thawed)

• 2 3/4 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 cup milk warmed but not hot
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or melted butter

Cheese:

• 1 round Camembert
• 1 round Brie

Brown Sugar Pecan Cheese Topping (I used on Brie):

• 3 Tbsp chopped pecans
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp butter

Walnut, Thyme and Honey Cheese Topping (I used on Camembert):

• 2 Tbsp honey plus more to drizzle top after baking
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 Tbsp chopped walnuts
• Pinch Finishing salt such as Fleur de sel

Instructions

1. *Starting with frozen bread dough: Thaw dough then skip to "Cutting and Shaping Dough below.
2. For making bread dough: (If using pre-made dough, skip ahead to make the dip and then Cutting/shaping dough below)
3. Add two cups of the flour to a large bowl of the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook. Add salt and combine. Warm milk to lukewarm. Stir in yeast and let stand a few minutes. Add yeast mixture to bowl, along with the vegetable oil or melted butter. Mix and add additional flour in 1/4 cup increments until a smooth dough forms. Knead until smooth. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Cutting/shaping dough: Turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 32 equal pieces, about 1-inch diameter. (I cut in half, then each piece in half, then repeat cutting each piece into equal parts until I have 32 small pieces). If starting with thawed roll dough, cut each roll into 3 pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by pinching the edges together underneath.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper onto your serving board or platter. Place your two cheese rounds out, leaving several inches between. Begin arranging your dough balls around the outside of your cheese rounds, leaving a 1/4-inch between the dough balls. Once arranged, gently slide it all on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise until rolls have doubled, about 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F. and prepare the ingredients for the cheese topping.
7. For Brown Sugar Pecan Topping: combine pecans and brown sugar. Spoon on top of unbaked cheese. Dot top with butter.
8. For Walnut, Thyme and Honey Topping: combine walnuts and thyme leaves. Top with honey and a pinch of finishing salt, such as Fleur de sel.
9. Once dough has risen, place the toppings onto the cheese rounds. Brush rolls all over with egg wash and top with poppy and/or sesame seeds, if desired.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 23-25 minutes, or until rolls are golden and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before sliding off the baking sheet (still on the parchment) and onto your serving board. Cut or tear the excess parchment from around the outside of the rolls. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Be sure to read the "Cook's Notes" in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!