Bread Bowls are a fun and fancy way to serve soup. These bowls are simple to make by hand, without a stand mixer, and only takes 2½ hours start to finish.
Bread Bowls
I was reminded how much I love bread bowls when we recently visited Monterrey and the northern San Francisco areas. We twice sampled the famous clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls. The chowder was delicious, but dipping the fresh homemade bread in the soup and then enjoying the bread bowl after the soup has soaked into it was divine!
Bread bowls are actually very simple to prepare and bake. It’s so simple you can do it by hand, without the use of a stand mixer! The bread mixture just has to come together enough to form a simple ball, then you knead it by hand for a couple of minutes to create the elastic texture. Two rising times are required, but they can happen while you are making the soup for the bread bowls. It really only takes 2½ hours from start to finish!
I found this Homemade Bread Bowls (https://bakerbettie.com/homemade-bread-bowls/) recipe on bakerbettie.com. She really knows bread and I just love this recipe. I knew you would want it too!
Ingredients for Bread Bowls:
- Granulated sugar: Just the ingredient the yeast really wants and needs to grow.
- Dry yeast: I use dry yeast and store it in my freezer, in a mason jar, so it stays fresh and ready to use whenever I need it.
- Lukewarm water: It’s not hot or cold, but just a little warm when tested by the skin on your wrist.
- Milk: I used 2% full-dairy milk, but I think milk alternatives would be very successful with this recipe.
- Vegetable Oil: You could also use any type of oil you prefer, but an oil that stays liquid at room temperature would be best.
- Kosher salt: Table salt is actually more salty than a larger crystal salt. My favorite is Redmonds salt.
- Eggs: Lightly beat these before you add them to the bread mixture.
- Bread flour: Bread flour has more protein in it than all-purpose flour and will create a better texture for a bread bowl, which needs to be sturdy enough to hold the soup.
- Egg white and water: These ingredients combine together to make a nice, shiny crust on the bread bowls. The crust really resembles the look of a baked pretzel.
How to Make Bread Bowls:
- Add lukewarm water to a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar. Stir slightly and let stand and proof for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in milk, oil, salt and eggs.
- Add 3 ½ cup (420g) flour to yeast mixture and stir to form a soft dough.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. (Dough will feel tacky.)
- Place dough ball into a large bowl, sprayed with non-stick spray—including cover for bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.
- Punch dough down. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Take each piece and pull sides down toward the bottom to create a smooth-top ball. Place the dough, seam side down, on a clean work surface. Place the palm of your hand over top and roll in a circular motion—keeping the seam side down.
- Transfer the rolls to a parchment lined baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes, or until double in size.
- Heat oven to 425° F (218° C). Whisk together egg white and water. Brush over top of rolls.
- Bake at 425° F (218° C) for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into the tops and scooping out bread to make room for soup.
Soup recipes are coming… so make your bread bowls today so you are ready to eat!
–Kim
Bread Bowls
Ingredients
- based on bakerbettie.com
- 2 Tablespoons 25g granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons 7g dry yeast
- ½ cup 114g lukewarm water
- ½ cup 113.5g milk
- ¼ cup 56g vegetable oil
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 4 cups 480g bread flour, divided
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Add lukewarm water to a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar. Stir slightly and let stand and proof for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in milk, oil, salt and eggs.
- Add 3 ½ cup (420g) flour to yeast mixture and stir to form a soft dough.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. (Dough will feel tacky.)
- Place dough ball into a large bowl, sprayed with non-stick spray—including cover for bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.
- Punch dough down. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Take each piece and pull sides down toward the bottom to create a smooth-top ball. Place the dough, seam side down, on a clean work surface. Place the palm of your hand over top and roll in a circular motion—keeping the seam side down.
- Transfer the rolls to a parchment lined baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes, or until double in size.
- Heat oven to 425° F (218° C). Whisk together egg white and water. Brush over top of rolls.
- Bake at 425° F (218° C) for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into the tops and scooping out bread to make room for soup.
Leave a Reply