This fall themed cranberry brie pull apart bread is baked with rich triple cream brie, topped with a savory cranberry sauce, and fresh thyme, and served sizzling hot, right out of the oven (pizza or conventional)! This cheesy baked appetizer is sure to be a crowd pleaser over the holidays!
Featured in: Thanksgiving Menu Ideas, and Christmas Day Dinner Ideas.
This fall-themed appetizer is sponsored by Ooni Pizza Ovens. Find more information in our Affiliate Disclosure. All opinions are our own.
Table of Contents
Did you know you can make more than just pizza in a pizza oven?! Fueled with either charcoal, wood, gas, or wood pellets, Ooni pizza ovens make cooking with fire fun, fast, and easy! The perfect outdoor cooking appliance for any family get-together or gathering!
With a variety of unique recipes ranging from roasted vegetables and meats to bread, dips, and even seafood, the Ooni pizza ovens are an extremely versatile outdoor cooking appliance, allowing you to cook almost anything with fire, with ease!
As we received our Ooni pizza oven to review, we wanted to test out how versatile the Ooni ovens can be by making more than just pizza, (though we will be making that as well)!
We thought what better way to jump right in than with a fall-themed appetizer perfect for sharing! We opted to create and test this fast-cooking pull apart bread perfect for the fall and winter holiday season.
Ingredients
To make this cheesy, pull-apart appetizer you'll need:
For the dough:
- 1 cup warm water
- 3.5 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 whole egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
For the toppings:
- 1 cup warm cranberry sauce - can be homemade or a gourmet brand!
- 1 wheel triple cream brie - about 300 grams
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stems removed
- ¼ cup melted butter - tip: infuse the butter with some fresh thyme and garlic for extra flavor!
Special Equipment
- An Ooni Pizza Oven - The fastest way to cook this pull apart bread is in an Ooni pizza oven, (we recommend the Ooni Karu for its versatile fuel options,) but it can also be baked in a conventional oven at 400F.
- A 9" cast iron skillet or round pan - A cast iron skillet is ideal for this recipe as it is heatproof, usually has a handle, and is naturally somewhat non-stick. Any round pan will technically work though.
- Heat resistant oven gloves - make sure to keep your hands safe when working with the high heat of the Ooni Pizza ovens!
Instructions
Making The Dough
Start by making the dough. To get the softest results the bread dough will have to rise and proof (basically double in size), so it's best to get the dough started first, and then prepare all the toppings as the dough sits.
1. Measure out all the dry dough ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Mix the active dry yeast, sugar, melted butter, and warm water in a large bowl or measuring cup. The water should be about 105F degrees to activate the yeast.
2. Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and use a spoon to stir it all together until it forms a shaggy ball.
3. Dump the ball onto a clean countertop and knead with your hands for about 10 minutes until it is soft, smooth, and stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel until it roughly doubles in size, about 30 - 40 minutes (depending on ambient room temp).
Preparing The Toppings & Pizza Oven
As the bread dough proofs, we'll prepare the remaining toppings.
1. Melt the ¼ cup butter, and keep warm in a small dish. Warm up the cranberry sauce in a small saucepan and keep warm. Cut the brie into three even sections, and then into thin slices.
2. Once the dough has doubled in size, cut and weigh out 30 gram balls of dough. Gently shape them into round balls and place them on a lightly floured plate to prevent them from sticking together.
Once the dough balls are all formed, and the toppings are prepared we can assemble the pull apart bread.
Assemble & Cook the bread
1. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of the cast iron skillet. Working quickly, place the balls of dough and slices of brie alternatingly in the pan, working in a spiral fashion until the skillet is full.
2. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 15-20 minutes.
Light your Ooni pizza oven and heat it to about 425-450°F. Don't worry too much about the exact temperature at this point as it will drop slightly, but this will get the oven nice and hot and ready to bake the pull apart bread.
Note: You want to aim at baking the pull apart bread around 400°F so going a little higher in temp and allowing it to drop slowly as you do the remaining prep is preferred to having to rush to heat the oven back up once you're ready to go.
Once the balls of dough have doubled in size and puffed up, brush the melted butter onto the bread.
3. Place the cast iron pan into the Ooni oven at 400°F with no flame, (you'll notice in the images my oven was a little hot!) and bake for about 5 minutes at the front of the oven. Keep an eye on the pan to prevent burning on top! Turn the pan and bake for another 5 minutes, then turn one last time, and bake for another 5 minutes for a total of 15 minutes of baking.
Tip: If you find the top browning too quickly, cover the cast iron skillet with a piece of tin foil to slow down how quickly the top browns.
4. Remove the skillet from the Ooni pizza oven and top with the warm cranberry sauce and herbs.
Serve immediately, while it is sizzling hot!
Tips for baking in the Ooni Pizza Oven
- For this recipe, the temperature of the pizza stone in the Ooni isn't all too important. The cast iron skillet will act as a buffer between the pizza stone and the dough, and the ambient air temperature in the oven is what will evenly cook the dough.
- To help maintain an even cooking temperature, avoid adding fresh fuel right before baking the cranberry brie pull apart bread, and only add small amounts of fuel at a time to prevent big bursts of heat.
- Low and slow is better for this recipe than hot and fast!
- Plan ahead. Have everything prepped and ready to go before guests arrive. The pull apart bread can be made and even assembled up to 30 minutes before guests start to arrive so the appetizer can be baked fresh with guests watching for ultimate effect.
Made the recipe? Comment & Rate it below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook. For more from scratch recipes, follow me on Facebook & Pinterest.
Recipe
Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup warm water
- 3.5 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 whole egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 cups all purpose flour
For the toppings:
- 1 cup warm cranberry sauce can be homemade or a gourmet brand!
- 300 gram Triple cream brie
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves stems removed
- ¼ cup melted butter infuse the butter with some fresh thyme and garlic for extra flavor!
Instructions
Making The Dough
- Measure out all the dry dough ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Mix the active dry yeast, sugar, melted butter and warm water in a large bowl or measuring cup. The water should be about 105°F degrees to activate the yeast.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and use a spoon to stir it all together until it forms a shaggy ball.
- Dump the ball onto a clean countertop and knead with your hands for about 10 minutes until it is soft, smooth, and stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel until it roughly doubles in size, about 30 - 40 minutes (depending on ambient room temp).
Preparing The Toppings & Pizza Oven
- Melt the ¼ cup butter, and keep warm in a small dish. Warm up the cranberry sauce in a small sauce pan and keep warm. Cut the brie into three even sections, and then into thin slices.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, cut and weigh out 30 gram balls of dough. Gently shape them into round balls and place them on a lightly floured plate to prevent them from sticking together.
Assemble & Cook the bread
- Liberally butter the bottom and sides of the cast iron skillet. Working quickly, place the balls of dough and slices of brie alternatingly in the pan, working in a spiral fashion until the skillet is full. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 15-20 minutes.
- Light your Ooni pizza oven and heat it up to about 425-450°F as the dough proofs. Don't worry too much about the exact temperature at this point as it will drop slightly, but this will get the oven nice and hot and ready to bake the pull apart bread.
- Place the cast iron pan into the Ooni oven (at around 400°F with no, or very minimal flame) and bake for about 5 minutes at the front of the oven. Keep an eye on the pan to prevent burning! Turn the pan and bake for another 5 minutes, then turn one last time, and bake for another 5 minutes for a total of 15 minutes of baking.
- Remove the skillet from the Ooni pizza oven and top with the warm cranberry sauce and herbs. Serve immediately, while it is sizzling hot!
Notes
- For this recipe the temperature of the pizza stone in the Ooni isn't all to important. The cast iron skillet will act as a buffer between the pizza stone and the dough, and the ambient air temperature in the oven is what will evenly cook the dough.
- To help maintain an even cooking temperature, avoid adding fresh fuel right before baking the cranberry brie pull apart bread, and only add small amounts of fuel at a time to prevent big bursts of heat.
- Low and slow is better for this recipe then hot and fast!
- Plan ahead. Have everything prepped and ready to go before guests arrive. The pull apart bread can be made and even assembled up to 30 minutes before guests start to arrive so the appetizer can be baked fresh with guests watching for ultimate effect.
- If you find the top browning to quickly, cover the cast iron skillet with a piece of tinfoil to slow down how quickly the top browns.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Terri
Markus - I'm sooo jealous! Another food blogger friend from Wpg got one of these ovens and was whipping up pizzas galore over the summer - I want! But that aside, your cranberry brie bread looks incredible - what a perfect combination of flavors!
Ann
What a great idea! The presentation is also very pretty! I plan to make this for Thanksgiving this year! Thanks for the recipe share.
Marie-Pierre
Yum!! Well,gonna have to get myself a Ooni too! This machine looks like tons of fun! And this cranberries brie bread sounds fantastic!Thanks for sharing!
Bernice
What a great idea! Cranberry and Brie go so well together...and I bet they taste even more amazing made in a pizza oven. I would love one of these to play with in my backyard.
Chef Markus Mueller
The Ooni ovens are a lot of fun! I have a pizza post coming up soon as well. IF you get the chance to purchase one, they are a great all purpose outdoor cooking appliance!