Everyone loves bread bowls. They really are the perfect vessel for soups and dips. Not to mention it can really cut down on your dinner dishes. I have had several of you guys out there ask about the bread bowls so here you go.
By the way, I love requests, so keep ’em coming!
I have used bread bowls a couple times here on this blog for White Chicken Chili and Shrimp Bisque. They really are delicious even if they aren’t exactly low calorie.
You can typically find bread bowls at the grocery store for a $1 a piece, but if you have about 3 hours you can make some really delicious ones for about $.05 each.
This is a standard baguette recipe that works perfectly for bread bowls. You can use any bread recipe, but make sure that it is a crispy loaf. You don’t want your soup to start leaking out. If you have some sourdough starter, making a sourdough loaf works really well too.
When digging out the middle for your soup or dip, make sure not to puncture the bottom or sides, otherwise you will be forced to lick the plate.
Baguette Bread Bowls
a Good Housekeeping recipe
2 cups of warm water ( 105 – 115 degrees)
1 package of active dry yeast ( or 2 1/2 teaspoons if you have the stuff in the jar like me)
1 T sugar
1 T salt
5 cups Bread flour
1 large egg white for brushing
In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast and let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
Meanwhile, stir together salt and 3 cups of flour in a seperate bowl.
Add flour into mixing bowl and mix until nice and smooth ( I am using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. If you don’t have a mixer, use a wooden spoon)
Gradually add in an additional 1 1/2 cups of flour to make a soft dough.
If you have a stand mixer: Continue to knead with the dough hook for 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Adding in remaining 1/2 cup flour to prevent sticking.
If you are kneading by hand: Knead on a floured surface for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour in as needed to prevent sticking.
Shape dough into a ball and roll around in a greased bowl in order to cover all sides with grease. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in the bowl until doubled in volume.
You can place the bowl over a pan of boiling water
and let the steam speed up the rising process.
Grease a cookie sheet. Punch down the dough and divide into four equal pieces.
Shape each piece into a ball and place on cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled ( you can use the steam method again)
Preheat oven to 400. Lightly score the top of each loaf with an “X” to help with expansion.
Beat the egg white well and brush the top of each loaf with the egg white ( alternatively you can use butter.).
Bake until well browned, about 35 minutes.
Yeah! Thanks Jodie..;o) I see bread bowls in my very near future, along with some spicy shrimp bisque.
Heather
Oh awesome! I haven't been able to find bread bowls in any of my area grocery stores and now I have an excellent recipe! ? Thank you for sharing!
can't wait to try them!
right on! I've been wanting to make my own…thanks for the recipe!
Quick question: At what step can I freeze the bowls? Should I do it before they are baked or is it okay to freeze them after they are baked? Thank you ?
The best way would be to go ahead and bake them ,but not all the way, and then freeze them. Then you could pull them from the freezer and put them directly in the oven to brown.
I think you could probably freeze them after you shape them into balls, but you would have to let them thaw and rise again before you bake them. This seems silly though since the thawing would probably take as long making the whole thing fresh. Hope that answers your question. Thanks for the great question!