Name: Baked cheese with quick walnut bread & pears
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 English camembert or brie-type cheese in a box; drizzle of walnut oil; 3 pears cored and thinly sliced; 300g plain flour; 200g wholemeal flour plus a little extra for dusting; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 100g walnuts roughly chopped; 284ml carton buttermilk; 50ml olive oil; 150ml milk

Baked cheese with quick walnut bread & pears

1 English camembert
or brie-type cheese in a box
drizzle of walnut oil
3 pears
cored and thinly sliced

For the bread

300g plain flour
200g wholemeal flour
plus a little extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g walnuts
roughly chopped
284ml carton buttermilk
50ml olive oil
150ml milk

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. To make the bread, mix the flours, salt, bicarbonate and the walnuts in a mixing bowl. Then stir in the buttermilk and oil, followed by enough milk to make a very soft, sticky dough.
step 2
Dust a baking tray with wholemeal flour and shape the dough into a round, flat-ish loaf on it. Dust with a little more flour, slash the top a few times and bake for 30-35 mins until risen, crusty and cooked through – it should sound hollow when you tap the bottom of it.
step 3
Cool bread to just warm (or leave to cool completely if preparing ahead), then get the cheese ready. Unwrap the cheese and put back into the box. Tie string around the box in case the glue melts in the oven. Drizzle the cheese with walnut oil, season, then put in the oven for 10 mins. Serve with slices of the warm walnut bread and pears.