Homemade Bread Bowls
My goal with this recipe is to instill confidence in even the most amateur bread makers out there. Homemade bread is soo EASY and anyone can do it! I love that I usually always have the pantry ingredients I need to make it, and it tastes way better than anything you could buy at the store. Follow these simple steps and you’ll feel like a professional baker!
I adapted this recipe from the Food Nanny, as I knew I wanted a great base for an Italian bread that was crusty on the outside and soft inside, but had a sturdy enough crumb to hold its own when hot soup was added. The end result is absolutely perfect and will take your soup-for-dinner experience to a new level!
6 Pantry Ingredients:
- Active dry Yeast
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
8 Simple Steps for Homemade Bread Bowls:
- Proof the yeast – Combine the water, yeast, and ½ teaspoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Stir just until the yeast is dissolved. Cover with a towel and let stand until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the dough ingredients – In a large bowl, add the salt, remaining sugar, butter, yeast mixture, and 3 ½ cups of the flour, and mix.
- Knead the dough – Slowly keep adding more flour (about 1 cup at a time) until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead/mix the dough for about 5 minutes. Stop and touch the dough with a clean, dry finger. The dough shouldn’t be “sticky”, but may barely stick to your finger. Add a little more flour, as needed, until you reach that consistency. Knead for 2-3 more minutes.
- Allow dough to Rise – Lightly spray another large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer the dough to that bowl. (Flip the dough over once so both sides are coated with spray). Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
- Divide the dough. Punch down the risen rough, and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Pat them down well to remove any air bubbles and fold them into a tight ball. Make a very small “X” slit on the top of the dough rounds with a serrated knife.
- Brush with egg wash. Beat an egg with 1 tablespoon of milk to make an egg wash. Lightly Brush the tops of each dough ball with a very thin layer of egg wash.
- 2nd Rise – Cover the rolls really lightly with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 30-40 more minutes.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Do I need any Special Equipment?
NO! The bread bowls bake on a regular baking sheet and can be mixed by hand or in a stand mixer. Anyone can make this easy recipe!
The BEST soups to serve in a bread bowl:
I think bread bowls are especially delicious served with cream based or thicker soups. These soups have a slightly thicker consistency that won’t cause the bread to get soggy as quickly.
- Clam Chowder
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Classic Homemade Chili
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
Eat the Bread Bowl!
This bread bowl is more than just edible, it’s absolutely delicious! So don’t just scoop your soup out of it with a spoon; tear it, dip it and enjoy it!
Storing and Freezing Bread Bowls:
To freeze the dough, punch it down after the first rise and store in an airtight, freezer safe container or bag for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then continue with step 5, dividing the dough.
To freeze the baked bread bowls, store them in an airtight, freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw on the counter and then warm them in the oven before serving.
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Recipe
Homemade Bread Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast (2 packets)
- 2 Tablespoons +½ teaspoon granulated sugar , divided
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter , melted
- 7 to 9 cups all-purpose flour , divided
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Combine the water, yeast, and ½ teaspoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Stir just until the yeast is dissolved. Cover with a towel and let stand until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the salt, remaining sugar, butter, yeast mixture, and 3 ½ cups of the flour, and mix. Slowly keep adding more flour (about 1 cup at a time) until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the dough (with your stand mixer, or using your hands) for about 5 minutes. Stop and touch the dough with a clean, dry finger. The dough shouldn't be "sticky", but may barely stick to your finger. Add a little more flour, as needed, until you reach that consistency. Knead for 2-3 more minutes.
- Lightly spray another large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer the dough to that bowl. (Flip the dough over once so both sides are coated with spray). Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal pieces (for large or small bowls). I like to use a scale to make sure they're all the same size. Pick up one section of the dough and pat it down with your hands to remove any air. Use your hands to gently fold the dough into a tight ball. Place the dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a very small "X" slit on the top of the dough rounds with a serrated knife.
- Beat an egg with 1 tablespoon of milk to make an egg wash. Lightly Brush the tops of each dough ball with a very thin layer of egg wash.
- Cover the rolls really lightly with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 30-40 more minutes.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting for bread bowls.
Notes
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe December 2013, Updated August 2019.
Loved this recipe! First time making bread and this was easy to do. I only needed 3 so I froze the rest but when I tried to make the frozen rest after they defrosted they wouldn’t rise for the second time. I don’t know what I did wrong. Any suggestions?
These bowls were amazing! I used 1/3 fresh ground white wheat and I bleached all purpose flour. I omitted the egg wash and used the clam chowder base and the bread was beautiful and soft yet sturdy enough for bowls! Tasted like store bought French bread but better bc it was home!
I always wanted to make bread bowls since Panera Bread lol. I made this for my family and my little girl said this is her favorite meal and that she loves fancy foods. Haha! The bread turned out really really well!
First time making a bread bowl and this recipe was super easy and delicious! We had homemade broccoli cheese soup in it and will definitely make it again.
Excellent Recipe!!!
I want to make have the recipe because their are only two of us in the family
I would encourage you to make the whole recipe, and freeze the second loaf for later!
These came out nicely, even though I was uneasy using a recipe that called for flour by volume vs. weight (I didn’t see the metric option until afterwards, but that weight seems a little low anyway). I used a dough hook in my kitchenaid mixer for the amount of time indicated in the recipe, but they also worked the dough for awhile using the Bertinet method of slap and fold kneading and using a bench scraper to keep the dough neat. When forming the final balls, I found I got the best baked shape when I aggressively worked the dough by repeatedly taking the outside edge of the disk with two fingers and folding it to the center, pushing it down solidly to stick it, then rotating the disk a tiny bit and repeating enough to go around the circle several times over. This renewed the dough’s elasticity and tightened it up enough to get a beautifully domed orb after baking.
I have made bread bowls dozens of times and they NEVER rise into nice round bowls. They turn into 1 1/2″ thick bread blobs. Why is that?
Janet, I had the same problem until I watched videos on YouTube where they were demostrating the technique. It was easy after that.
We all loved it, perfect for Clam Chowder.