Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (2024)

35 minutes minutes

5 from 1 vote

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These Homemade Bread Bowls are the perfect vessel to serve your favorite soups and salads.

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (1)

Regardless of the weather or season, a bread bowl is a welcome addition to any meal. Fill it with hearty soups and stews during the colder months. Come spring and summer, bread bowls can be filled with vibrant greens, cool pasta salads, and creamy dips. If you’re super adventurous, you can even put an ice cream sundae in a bread bowl!

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (2)

I have always found bread baking quite relaxing. It’s a time consuming yet rewarding process. The dough for this bread bowl is very simple to make. It only requires a handful of ingredients: yeast, water, flour, sugar and salt. To save time, you can make the dough the night before and keep it chilled in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.

This is a very lean dough, meaning it is not enriched with fats like eggs and butter. Lean doughs result in crispier, crustier breads. However, the interior of the bread bowls remain soft and fluffy.

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (3)

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (4)

After baking, you have to allow the breads to cool slightly before slicing into them. The interior of the bread needs time to cool down and regain it’s structure. If you slice the bread while it’s still warm, the insides will be gummy. But don’t worry, your patience will definitely be rewarded. Once the bread bowl has had time to chill, it’ll serve as the perfect vessel for your favorite soup! I filled mine with loaded baked potato soup and enjoyed every single spoonful of it!

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (5)

Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (6)

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5 from 1 vote

These are a perfect and fun for serving soups, stews, chili and salads.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes mins

Rising Time: 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread bowl, soup

Servings: 4 bowls

Calories: 1165kcal

Author: RecipeGirl.com

Ingredients

  • teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
  • 2 cups warm water, 110º F.
  • 5⅓ cups (680 grams) bread flour
  • teaspoons fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Stir to combine and allow to sit for 5 to 7 minutes to activate. The mixture will smell like beer once it's done.

  2. Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Add bread flour and salt to mixing bowl. Start the mixer on low speed until the dough begins to come together, about 2 minutes.

  3. Increase speed to medium and knead dough for 3 minutes until the dough has formed into a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and allow dough to rest for 1 hour until dough has doubled in volume.

  4. Punch dough down and place on a lightly floured work surface. Weight dough and divide into four equal parts. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

  5. Deflate each portion. Working with one portion at a time, shape into a tight round ball. Use your fingers to pinch the seams together at the bottom of the ball. Place rounds seam-side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the rounds as far apart as possible. Cover dough and let rest for 40minutesto allow rounds to proof.

  6. Preheat oven to 450º F. Place an oven safe pan (high-rimmed baking sheet, lasagna pan, or cast iron pan) on the bottom rack of oven. While the bread is resting, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. This water will be used to steam the bread, giving it that nice crunchy crust.

  7. Uncover dough and place in oven's center rack. Gently and carefully pour hot water into the pan on the bottom rack. Close oven door and do not open until steaming is finished. Bake bread bowls for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on the outside and internal temperature of bread registers at least 190º F. For even crispier bread, turn off oven and allow bread to remain in oven for another 5 to 7 minutes. Allow bread to cool on wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing into.

Notes

  • If mixing by hand, use a large bowl and a sturdy spatula to combine ingredients. Stir until dough starts to form. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until dough is smooth.
  • The steaming at the start of baking allows a nice, crispy crust to form on the bread bowls. If you choose to omit this step, the bread bowls will have a softer exterior.
  • Do not substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour. Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein which helps to create the bread bowl's structure.
  • Dough can be mixed the night before baking. After mixing dough together, transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and place in the fridge to rest overnight. When ready to roll bread, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 40 minutes before deflating and dividing into portions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 1165kcal, Carbohydrates: 233g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1318mg, Potassium: 380mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 6IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 3mg

Here are a few more bread recipes you might enjoy:

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Homemade Bread Bowls - Recipe Girl (2024)

FAQs

How do bread bowls not get soggy? ›

An issue that a home cook may encounter is bread bowls becoming too soggy too quickly. To avoid this sad fate, toasting your bread bowl is an easy preventative measure. Above all, a bread bowl's main job is to hold its soupy contents.

Why are bread bowls a thing? ›

The bread bowl concept originated in 15th century Ireland, according to Foodicles. A British duke was served soup in a loaf by an Irish nobleman and was impressed, so the Brit invested in a bread bowl shop that was run by the Irishman in what is now Dublin.

How do you use a bread bowl? ›

Simply cut out the center of your bread bowl, fill with a delicious creamy soup, and enjoy. Tear off pieces of the bread bowl as you finish your soup, and finish by enjoying the whole bowl itself.

Why do bakers not like bread bowls? ›

Bakers don't really hate bread bowls, but it might be a little painful to see perfectly good bread thrown out. The joke of the video is that bakers get emotional seeing their works of art, their loaves of bread, get turned into a bowl.

What type of bread is a bread bowl made of? ›

When is comes to making bread bowls, we prefer a round crusty loaf of artisanal or sourdough bread. This shape is sometimes referred to as a boule, which comes from the French word for ball. We use boules to create bread bowls for French Onion Soup.

How do you cut the middle out of a bread bowl? ›

Make a straight cut across the dome of the round, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the top. 3. Remove the top, which can be used as a lid or cut into strips and enjoyed with the meal.

What kind of bread does Panera use for bread bowls? ›

Crafted from the same artisan Sourdough bread used in the classic Bread Bowl, the Double Bread Bowl features a crunchy crust and chewy center that pairs perfectly with all Panera soups, from sweet Creamy Tomato to the cheesy goodness of Broccoli Cheddar.

Are you supposed to eat the bread in a bread bowl? ›

There's no wrong way to eat a bread bowl, but you might be wondering how to approach it. Treat the bread bowl like a regular bowl of soup and use a spoon to eat the actual soup, chili, or chowder. Then, have fun cutting or tearing apart the bread bowl itself.

How were antique bread bowls used? ›

Traditionally, this type of bowl was used for bread making. The ingredients were mixed and kneaded into dough in the bowl, then covered with a cloth and left to rise.

Do you eat the outside of a bread bowl? ›

Can you eat the bread bowl itself? Absolutely! The bread bowl is meant to be eaten along with the filling. It's a delicious way to enjoy the dish and adds a different texture and flavor to the meal.

How do you keep bread bowls fresh? ›

I have noticed these things slow down or limit evaporation:
  1. Having a closed space like a bread box, drawer, bag, cardboard box with lid. ...
  2. Lower temperatures slow down evaporation. ...
  3. Humidity in the air can also prevent a loaf from drying out, If it is too high, a salty bread can actually absorb moisture from the air.
May 9, 2009

Who made bread bowls? ›

Bread Bowl (1427)

Result: The Duke so admired the innovation that he gave the inventor–an Irish nobleman–money to open a bread-bowl shop in what's now known as Dublin.

When did bread bowls become a thing? ›

A bread bowl is a round loaf of bread which has the top cut off and the middle emptied to create a bowl. They are usually used for chili, and clam chowder. In 1427 an Irish nobleman created a bread bowl filled with soup to impress a British Duke.

How do you keep homemade bread from getting soggy? ›

Store airtight with the two cut halves facing each other and pressed together. Wrapping bread to retain moisture keeps it soft, though it robs crusty artisan bread of its crispy crust. Wrapping in plastic (or foil) rather than cloth keeps bread soft longer.

How do you keep baked bread from getting soggy? ›

Cool completely before storing: Allow the bread to cool completely on a wire rack before storing it. This will help to reduce moisture inside the bread and prevent it from becoming soggy. Store in a bread box: Bread boxes are designed to keep bread fresh by providing a ventilated and dry environment.

How do you keep warm bread from getting soggy? ›

Wrap the Bread in Aluminum Foil or Towels

And because of this, it's only useful for short trips. A towel, on the other hand, will not cause sogginess since it allows the bread to breathe. In both cases, it's best to wrap the bread while it's fresh and hot out of the oven.

Why did my bread come out soggy? ›

Let your dough rise enough before baking it

If the dough doesn't fill out with gas, perhaps because it hasn't had time to rise properly, the inside of the loaf will remain soggy and dense as the dough won't bake properly. You should therefore leave plenty of time for your dough to rise.

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