Brie to bake

December 10, 2007 5:56 PM

How do you bake a brie?

I just bought a brie from the local European grocery. I remember my friend used to buy bries and then just warm them in the oven and serve them to guests with crackers, but I do not know how to do it myself. When I tried looking for recipes online, they were all more complex than temperature, time, and type of baking dish needed. Please help, MeFi friends.

P.S. If it helps, it is a Martin-Colet Petit Brie (soft-ripened cheese double creme; 17 oz.)

posted by melangell to food & drink (25 comments total)

Preheat oven to 350 F, wrap in foil or au naturel in an oven-proof dish, and stick it in the oven for about 15 minutes and you're golden.

There a lots of different ways to do it...you can add garlic, almond, a bit salt, etc. inside the foil and it's all good.
posted by dhammond at 6:02 PM on December 10, 2007

Ok, so I have this party hit brie and guava paste. It's like love in your mouth! You might not have the guava paste but it's the same concept. Cut the brie in small pieces place in a a bowl you can place in the oven. 350-375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Stir once.
Wooo. Seriously try it with guava (same thing cut it in smal pieces, more stirring involved).
Oh buy french bread and cut it thin.
ok hope this helps :)
posted by octomato at 6:04 PM on December 10, 2007

Course you could buy some good puff pastry at the supermarket, wrap the brie in that and really change someone's life.
posted by shothotbot at 6:05 PM on December 10, 2007 [3 favorites]

I simply place the brie on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes at 350 F. Or, what dhammond said.
posted by gummi at 6:06 PM on December 10, 2007

You can also wrap it in pie dough and bake until it's crispy & golden brown on the outside, that's fun too.. i do that with pine nuts and pesto stuffed into the cheese (split it, fill with pesto/pine nut mixture, put back together, wrap, bake).
posted by luriete at 6:06 PM on December 10, 2007

We buy commercial "crescent roll in a tube" pastry (or puff pastry, if we're feeling fancy) and wrap the brie up, then bake as described above.

I served this with apple slices once and I think I did change someone's life.
posted by anastasiav at 6:17 PM on December 10, 2007

Yes, the thing with the puff pastry is awesome and easy.

My wife says wrap the brie in the puff pastry, then bake at about 350 for about 15-20 minutes, watching it closely after 15.
posted by Mid at 6:32 PM on December 10, 2007

Light coating of jam (apricot works really well), wrap in puff pasty, bake at 350 until golden brown and delicious.
posted by plinth at 6:33 PM on December 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

foil 350 + 15 minutes.

You can doooo it. (really you can't screw it up if you're worried do it on a cookie sheet and go until it feels like a beer belly when you poke it)
posted by bitdamaged at 6:55 PM on December 10, 2007

We eat brie all the time and have never thought to warm it. Thanks!
posted by robcorr at 7:00 PM on December 10, 2007

Alternately, puff pastry and a light coating of brown sugar.
posted by moonlet at 7:19 PM on December 10, 2007

I have done it as dhammond describes and also cut off the top rind and sprinkled the exposed circle of creamy goodness with crumbled pecans and a smidge of brown sugar . You can shove it under the broiler for a few as well.
posted by pointystick at 7:22 PM on December 10, 2007

That was my question -- do you or don't you cut off the rind. Sounds like pointystick does, but no one else mentioned it.
posted by onlyconnect at 7:24 PM on December 10, 2007

When you wrap it in puff pastry, do you cut off all the rind?
posted by sfkiddo at 7:26 PM on December 10, 2007

Negative. I do the apricot jam and pan-roasted almond slivers inside the puff pastry, and have never cut off the rind. I don't know that I've ever cut the rind off of brie.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 7:35 PM on December 10, 2007

Mmmm the puff pastry versions sound fantastic.

The best I ever had was in the South of France one night. The brie wheel has lots of deep fork holes poked in the rind top and Calvados brandy poured over it. It's then put back in its little wooden box with lid on and put in the oven for 15 mins to bake. Put it on the table as is and then everyone gets fresh crusty french bread to dip into it. Serve with a chilled Rosé wine. Sociable and ridiculously delicious.
posted by merocet at 7:43 PM on December 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

Eating brie straight, I can't stand the rind, but when I bake it in puff pastry I never notice it.

Also, I like putting fruit + nuts on the inside. Walnuts and almonds are good, with blueberries, cranberries, or apples. Add honey if you're doing apples. I just slice it right down the middle and fill it with goodness, wrap it, bake it. Yummm.
posted by olinerd at 7:44 PM on December 10, 2007

I like to brush the brie (with rind intact) with beaten egg yolk, then roll in cornmeal to coat all sides. Then place the brie in a med-hot cast iron frying pan with a little vegetable oil. Fry on all sides until just golden (you have to watch it constantly as it only takes a few minutes for the whole procedure). If it isn't already starting to ooze out of one corner by then, put it in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes while you cut wedges of fresh French bread for dipping. It's especially yummy paired with apple-and-raisin chutney.
posted by parkerama at 9:12 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

nthing puff pastry (or canned crescent rolls if that's all that's available... still tastes great). If you've got time for an extra step, roast some garlic, then mash it up with brown sugar or maple syrup until you've got a paste. Spread this on top of the brie and wrap it in the pastry. Then lightly brush the outside of the pastry with maple syrup, or sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 until the pastry looks done.
posted by jewishbuddha at 11:27 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Take a wheel (or wedge) of brie and place it on some foil. It's it's a wheel, make slight cuts on top. Cover the brie with a thin layer of brown sugar. Then cover the brown sugar with finely chopped garlic. Bake until cheese melts.

The sugar with caramelize and the garlic will get soft and flavorful. Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

I have won many people over with this one.

PS: Thank me later.
posted by special-k at 12:28 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

also worth trying a crumb coating (obviously, cut the brie up first) very tasty.
while we're on the topic, you can make some really nice meat dishes by taking some pork or chicken, cutting a gouge down the middle, hammering it flat, stuffing some brie and maybe some relish or fruit jelly etc, rolling it up and then crumbing the whole thing. yum!
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 3:17 AM on December 11, 2007

This is also very good with fig jelly under the puff pastry.
posted by Caviar at 6:21 AM on December 11, 2007

When I bake my brie in puff pastry I add maple syrup and spiked cranberry sauce on top of the brie before I wrap it the puff pastry. The red sauce against the creamy brie looks lovely (and tastes heavenly) and is nice especially during the holiday season. The rind softens a bit in the oven so you don't notice it when you are eating. Mmmm, now I have to run up to the shop get get some honeycrisp apples and garlic. Fortunately I always keep a wheel of brie around the house, for emergencies, you know.
posted by saucysault at 6:26 AM on December 11, 2007

I used to bake roughly 80-100 rounds of brie off per month (amongst other things) for an upscale restaurant. They were always very popular.

Buy puff pastry sheets. I recommend Pillsbury, funny enough. Alternately, make your own though it's a long delicate process that can turn into a mess very quickly. I made my own and then froze them for convenience.

Spread some flour onto a clean, flat surface. Place pastry on top. Sparingly sprinkle more flour on pastry. Gently roll a rolling pin over pastry several times. Do not break pastry sheet. I have rarely successfully mended a broken pastry sheet. It usually splits while baking, making an oozing sad little pie.

Depending on the size of the brie wheel, I cut the wheel length wise so I had two rounds. This is personal preference but I do not remove the rind. I usually take a knife and scrape it several times. On the exposed brie cheese (not the rind side), I spread the insides.

I prefer maple pecan brie but raspberry brie was always more popular with the guests.

If you want maple pecan, evenly spread apricot preserves (or make your own fresh, like I did) and coarsely chopped pecans on the brie. If you want raspberry, use raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries. I tried raspberry preserves with fresh raspberries and the taste seemed to overpower the brie flavor. The trick with any insides you might experiment with is not to make it sickly sweet. I know some bakers/chefs who would pour on the brown sugar or sweetener but to me that only masks the distinct taste of the brie. Find a delicate balance that showcases the pungent flavor of the brie.

Flip the brie onto the pastry sheet so it is exposed brie side down. Carefully fold pastry sheet around brie so that it seals the wheel. I use egg wash as a "glue" to hold it together. Flip brie onto sheet pan that has a generous amount of non-stick spray on it. I use a lot. There is nothing worse than trying to remove a perfectly golden brown brie pie off of a sheet pan and ruining it.

Take remaining egg wash and using a pastry brush, brush it on evenly.

In a convection oven, I bake the brie at 250 F for 15 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan (for even coloring/baking) and cook for another 12-15. It should be flakey, golden brown, and amazing. I was taught to "poke" the rising dough 15 minutes in so it wouldn't resemble a dome. However, I've learned that once it cools, the brie loses its dome shape naturally. If not, you can just carefully press on it with the palm of your hand.

For presentation, I would cool the brie for a while. Slide onto a circular platter and using a bread knife, cut the wheel into small square pieces while still leaving the brie intact. If it was the maple pecan, I would drizzle maple syrup over the top and sprinkle pecans for garnish. If it was the raspberry brie, I would drizzle raspberry coulis and/or creme anglaise over the top and garnish with mint leaves and raspberries (as rose buds). You could also play with shape and height by doing 3/4 of the brie in squares and then wedging the other 1/4. With the 4 or 5 wedges, you could layer them on the side. A really spectacular presentation.

Hard to believe, but you can also freeze pastry encrusted brie. I know, this sounds like sacrilege but it works. Make sure the brie wheel is cold to prevent steamed sogginess. Plastic wrap the round, making sure it's air tight, date it, and stick it in the freezer. To reheat it, stick it in the oven for 10 minutes on 350 F and you're done.
posted by fiasco at 11:48 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

wait wait wait!

before you bake in puff pastry place in freezer for 20 minutes... lets the pastry bake but keep the brie from busting out all over
posted by beccaj at 6:46 PM on December 11, 2007