How To Make Brie Cheese

Cut gently and dip the curds into perforated molds about 4" diameter and 8" high, resting on a small plate. A one gallon batch will fill two such molds.

Every few hours, put another plate on top and flip the moulds. In time, they will shrink down to less than 2" thick. By the next day, they should slide freely in the mold and retain their shape when the mold is lifted off.

Measure out 1/4 cup of salt onto a small plate and set a cheese in the salt. Turn the cheese over and put the clean side in the salt. Roll the edges in the salt and then wipe off excess salt and set the cheese on a draining matt and do the same to the other cheese. Handle the cheese gently at this point or it will fall apart and you have a mess. Continue this procedure until most of the salt has been rubbed into the two cheeses.

You now put the cheeses on a plastic or bamboo draining matt cut to fit into a plastic shoebox. Put the lid on the box and leave about a half inch opening and keep in a cool place. Ideally, around 55F and 85% humidity. The shoebox will maintain the humidity as described.

In a week or so they will start to grow the surface mold and after about 10 days will look like white furry hockey pucks. At this point you remove them from this environment and wrap them in foil and put in the fridge for about 20 more days. From here on, you can taste the cheese as it ripens to determine the best time schedule for your taste. By 60 days it will be a shell with white soupe inside so you have to sample it every week or so until you find what works best for you.