I have one small wheel of camembert and some pie dough. I want to pack the camembert in the dough and bake it. I plan to have the bottom and sides in crust, but to leave the upper surface free. But I don't have a pan the exact diameter. When I arrange them concentrically, there is ca. 2.5 cm (1 inch) between the camembert and the pan wall. I don't have enough dough to make a crust this thick, and I wouldn't want to if I had it.
So, what should I do?
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Pack the camembert in the crust, put it in the pan, bake as it is? Will the crust melt away from the camembert then?
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Pack the camembert in the crust, put it in the pan, fill the gap to the wall with something (the beans I use for blind baking)?
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Roll the crust into a disc the size of the pan, put the camembert on it, so that its walls stay free. Bake it that way.
Which version is most likely to result in a tasty camembert where I don't have either overbrowned, dry dough or sticky underbaked dough or dough half-melted in a funny shape? The cheese has no visible cracks, so I think it will stand up to baking without leaking even if it is not tightly enclosed in the dough.
Best Answer
I recommend option 1, baking in the free standing crust. The crust should not melt away; it will set fairly early in the baking. The air circulation on the outside of the crust should actually contribute to nice browning.
If you are concerned that it doesn't have sufficient strength to support itself itself and contain the cheese, use an appropriately sized tart ring if you have one to help support it, or form one out of a strip of aluminum foil. This will help it keep its shape in the early part of the baking.