You don’t have to go all the way to Panera to enjoy your soup in a bread bowl. With my recipe you can make your own french bread bowls at home!
I love eating soup from bread bowls, but I think the ones from the store are too big. At least they are for me and definitely are for my kids. One of the perks of making your own bread bowls is that you can make them the size you want. This recipe makes 4 large (store bought size), or 6 medium (small cantaloupe size) or 8 small (grapefruit size). My bread bowls are made from french bread, but don’t let that scare you. These are not difficult to make. The hardest thing you’ll have to do is decide what kind of soup you’re going to eat out of them! The soup in the bread bowl above is Broccoli Cheese Soup.
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What are bread bowls?
They are giant sized rolls made from french bread that you cut the top off and hollow out the inside a bit so you can serve soups, stews or chilis in like a bowl!
How do you make bread bowls:
- Follow the recipe below to make the french bread dough. Kneading every 10-15 minutes the first hour of rising is really important. That is how the crusty outside crust is formed. After the dough had finished rising and is ready to be shaped, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 pieces for 4 large, 6 pieces for 6 medium or 8 pieces for 8 small bread bowls. Shape the pieces into balls, pinching shut any seams and place them on a baking sheet (affiliate link) that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or has been lined with parchment paper.(affiliate link)
- Keep in mind that the bread bowls will double in size so make sure to leave enough space between them. You should be able to fit all the dough balls onto one baking sheet. Cover the dough balls and let them rise until nearly doubled while your oven preheats. Place an empty metal baking sheet on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Once you put the risen dough in the oven, throw a 1/2 cup of water onto the hot baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and quickly close the door. This will create the stream needed to set the outside of the bread. Bake according to the times listed in the recipe.
- When cooled or still just a little warm, cut the top off the bread bowl and remove the center. Fill with any soup, stew or chili! Enjoy!
Are you supposed to eat the bread bowl?
Yes you are! Trust me they are delicious!
Do bread bowls get soggy?
They can. You bread bowl is more prone to become soggy if you are serving a broth type soup like this Garden Vegetable Chicken Soup. If this is a concern for you then try something more like Beef Stew or this creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.
What kind of bread are bread bowls made of?
Usually french bread or white bread.
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French Bread Bowls Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-8 Bread Bowls 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You don’t have to go all the way to Panera to enjoy your soup in a bread bowl. With my recipe you can make your own french bread bowls at home!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Warm Water
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 Tbs Active Dry Yeast
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 3 tsp Salt
- 6 Cups All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. (You can make this bread by hand too, it will just take some muscle). Let stand about 5 minutes until foamy.
- Mix in the oil, salt, and flour using a dough hook. Once all the flour is mixed in, knead at a medium speed for 5 minutes (10 minutes by hand). Cover dough with a dish towel and set in a warm place.
- Over the next hour, knead the dough about 3 times approximately every 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be exactly every 10 minutes, just make sure to have kneaded the dough at least 4 times over the next hour.
- After that hour let the dough rise until doubled. This will take about 30 minutes.
- Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into pieces. 4 pieces for 4 large bread bowls, 6 pieces for 6 medium or 8 pieces for 8 small.
- Shape each piece into a ball, pinching shut any seams and place them on regular baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Cover the dough balls and set in a warm place to rise until nearly doubled. While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Place the bread in the preheated oven. Just before closing the oven door throw a 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of your oven and shut the door quickly.
- Bake the bread bowls for about 20 minutes for small ones, 25 minutes for medium ones and 30 minutes for large ones or until they are golden brown.
- Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Keywords: bread bowls, french bread, soup bowls
Some of the links in this post are Amazon Affiliate Links to products I love! For more info see my disclosure policy here.
ANY NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS ON THIS SITE IS BASED ON AN ESTIMATE, CALCULATED BY NURTIFOX PLUGIN (OR OTHER THIRD-PARTY SOURCE) FROM THE INDIVIDUAL INGREDIENTS IN EACH RECIPE. VARIATIONS MAY OCCUR FOR VARIOUS REASONS, INCLUDING PRODUCT AVAILABILITY AND FOOD PREPARATION. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION.
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