Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe

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This Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe is like comfort food to the max. Made with pantry ingredients and baked until golden brown. Serve immediately with your favorite soup or freeze for later.

I’m so excited to be sharing this Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe with you today! A simple and comforting recipe that makes soups and stews that much more delicious. Whether you’re making Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup or White Chicken Chili, it will be that much more special served in a bread bowl. What’s better than a bread bowl? A homemade, warm bread bowl.

Hello, Fall! Hello, Bread Bowls!

With the cooler temperatures slowly settling in for good, we know the soups, apple recipes and all things pumpkin are going to be here to stay! While I love soup as much as the next person, soup becomes that much more delicious when there is a bread bowl recipe involved! Yes, it takes a little time (as any bread recipe will) but the pay off is so worth it!

Main Ingredients Needed

My Bread Bowl Recipe is based off of this super simple Basic White Bread Recipe. No surprises here.

• Warm Water – you want this to be the 110- 115 degrees F. Think a little warmer than baby bath water. Always err on the side of colder than warmer so you don’t kill the yeast.
• Active Dry Yeast- I big puffy heart love Le Saf active dry yeast. I get the 1 pound pack from Costco and store extras in a clean, dry glass jar in the fridge.
• Sugar or Honey- the yeast needs something to eat in order to create all that carbon dioxide and sugar or honey is just the ticket.
• All Purpose Flour– this is the most common flour, so the one I suggest using. If you have bread flour, definitely use that!
• Salt – please please please don’t forget to add the salt! This is the only flavor you’re adding to this bread bowl recipe, so without it, you’ll have big bland messes.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted butter is just fine. If you’re nervous about using yeast, use unsalted butter.
• Egg or Milk – used to help the bread bowls brown in the oven. Its an optional step but one I recommend for the best result.

How to Make Bread Bowls

This Bread Bowl recipe is not that hard to make at all, you just need a little time! For full recipe details, see the recipe card below.

1. Proof the yeast. Stir warm water together with yeast and sugar. Dissolve and set aside to bloom.
2. Stir 4 1/2 cups flour and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in melted butter and stir to cool (if hot from being melted.)
3. With mixer on, slowly stream in yeast and water mixture. After flour is incorporated, dough will still be very sticky.
4. Sprinkle in flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (When you touch the dough, it will be tacky but not tacky enough to leave residue on your hands.)
5. Knead for 6 minutes on low.
6. Grease bowl and dough well. Cover with clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
7. Punch down dough and divide into eight equal portions. Form into balls and place on baking sheets. Cover and rise another 30 minutes.
8. Brush tops with beaten egg or milk and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.
9. Cut a circle out the top to create a bowl. Scoop out the insides to create a deeper well. Fill with stew, soup, or chili.

Make-Ahead

Make your bread bowls ahead of time by making the recipe as written in entirety. After they are have been baked and cooled, store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.

What to Serve in a Bread Bowl

• • 25-minute Baked Potato Soup
  • White Chicken Chili
  • Cream of Cauliflower Soup
  • Broccoli Cheese Soup
  • The Best Chili Recipe
  • Beef Stew (Crockpot Recipe)
  • Summer Vegetable Stew Recipe
  • Creamy Crock Pot Stew

I hope you love this recipe as much as we did! Be sure to print/pin/save/bookmark this recipe and use it all season long! Have a great day, friends!

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5 from 4 votes

Homemade Bread Bowls

This Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe is like comfort food to the max. Made with pantry ingredients and baked until golden brown. Serve immediately with your favorite soup or freeze for later.

servings 8 bread bowls

Prep Time 2 hrs

Cook Time 17 mins

Total Time 2 hrs 17 mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups warm water
• ▢ 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 5-6 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1/4 cup butter melted
• ▢ 1 egg (or milk) optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Stir yeast and granulated sugar into the water. Set aside to proof.
  
• In a large bowl, measure out 4 1/2 cups of flour with the salt. Stir. Add in the melted butter and stir to cool {if the butter was still warm from being melted.}
  
• Pour in the yeasty water mixture and stir with the dough hook to combine. You may have to scrape as you go to incorporate all of the flour. Once the dough comes together, keep sprinkling in flour until dough cleans the sides of the bowl and it is sticky to the touch but won't stick to your hands. {I added in 5 3/4 cups total.}
  
• Knead 6 minutes. Grease ball of dough and bowl generously, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm spot to rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  
• Punch down dough, divide into eight equal portions, form into balls, and place on the baking sheet to rise another 30 minutes to an hour.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush bread bowls with beaten egg {optional step} and bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes.
  
• Cut a circle out the top to create a bowl. Scoop out the insides to create a deeper well. Fill with stew, soup, or chili! Serve.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 644mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 3.7mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread bowl, bread bowl recipe, how to make a bread bowl