Melting cheese with poppy & apricot bread wreath

• pack white bread↗500g g

  mix

• walnut pieces↗100g g
• dried apricots↗140g g

  sliced

• poppy seeds↗25g g

  toasted

• milk↗400ml ml
• a little oil

  for greasing

• egg↗1

  beaten

• 1-2 soft cheeses in boxes, like brie

  or camembert

• white wine↗splash of

  splash of

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Tip the bread mix into a food processor, add the walnuts and whizz until fully incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the apricots and most of the poppy seeds. Warm the milk to hand temperature, then stir into the flour mix with a wooden spoon. Knead in the bowl until smooth. Cover with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm-ish to rise for 1 hr.

2. 2

   Find a heatproof dish the same size or a bit bigger than your cheese box. Sit it in the middle of a big baking tray.

3. 3

   Shape the risen dough into a long, thin log that will wrap around the dish on the sheet, like a wreath. Press the ends together, loosely cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 20-30 mins.

4. 4

   Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the egg all over the loaf, then sprinkle with the remaining poppy seeds. Using kitchen scissors, randomly snip into the dough, to give a spiky finish. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and crusty, and the bottom sounds hollow when you tap it. Remove the dish from the middle.

5. 5

   To serve, unwrap the cheese and put it back into the box. Stab a few times, add the wine and tie kitchen string around the box to secure it in case the glue comes undone. Sit the cheese in the middle of the bread, without its lid, and bake for 10-15 mins until molten. Serve straight away and, if you like, pop another cheese in the oven so you can finish off the bread when the first cheese box is wiped clean.