Christmas tree tear & share cheesy garlic bread - Recipe!

One of the best things about Christmas is all the picky food that we eat. Picture this, a Christmas tree shaped masterpiece ready to steal the show at your festive gatherings or for cosy evenings in sat in front of the TV when you don't want a full on meal!

Ideal for pre-Christmas or Twixmas get togethers this Christmas tree tear & share cheesy garlic bread is made with less than 10 ingredients in 7 easy steps. It is equal parts delicious and decorative!

Prep time: 1 hour. Cook time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

500g of strong white bread flour.

1 tablespoon of sugar.

2 teaspoons of salt.

1 packet of fast active dry yeast (7g).

250g of unsalted butter, at room temperature.

250ml of warm water.

22 mozzarella cheese pearls or bits of mozzarella cheese.

1 teaspoon of garlic granules.

A handful of parsley, finely chopped.

Equipment

A large mixing bowl

A measuring jug/scales

A baking tray lined with parchment paper

A small mixing bowl

Method

Make your dough by combining the flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and yeast in the large mixing bowl, then add 100g of melted butter and 250ml warm water. Bring together to form a dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes before returning to the bowl, covering and leaving to prove for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has risen, drain the mozzarella pearls and dry lightly with some paper towels and preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).

Divide the dough into 22 equal portions then take each one and flatten out into disc, place a mozzarella pearl in centre and pull the edges over to seal the doughball.

Place one at the top of the baking tray, then continue with the rest of the dough until you have created a tree shape, increasing the dough balls by one as you go down. Your biggest row will be 6 balls and you will have one left to use as the base/stump of the Christmas tree.

Place in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden. 

Prepare your garlic butter whilst your tree is baking, by combining the remaining 150g butter with the other tsp of salt, the garlic granules and 2 generous pinches of chopped parsley.

When your tree is baked allow it to cool slightly before brushing with some of the garlic butter and sprinkling with the rest of the chopped parsley. 

Serve with the rest of the garlic butter on the side for dipping. 

This recipe is from the Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by UK Flour Millers, making baking simple. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes and information on the campaign over on the Fab Flour website.