Crispy Bread Bowls

I have a confession, I have never been a huge fan of bread bowls. Do I love bread? Yes. Do I enjoy soggy bread? No.

My husband, however, would eat pretty much anything from the center of a loaf of bread. So, as a special treat for him, I decided to serve our bacon cheddar broccoli soup from, you guessed it, a bread bowl.

This recipe is insanely easy, and just as tasty.

Crispy Bread Bowls

1 1/2 C warm water 

2 Tbs vegetable oil

3 C all purpose flour

1 C bread flour

1 1/2 Tsp salt

2 1/2 Tsp active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine in the order listed, unless otherwise directed by the manufacturer of your machine. 

Select dough only setting

Let your machine work it's magic

*If you do not have a bread machine

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, mixing until well blended. 

Let rest for 15 minutes, covered, in warm dry place. 

Kneed for 10-15 minutes on lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 30 minutes in warm dry place. Punch dough down and kneed again until dough is smooth and elastic. 

Cover and let rest again for 30 minutes. 

Follow remaining instructions.

Once machine has completed its cycle, punch dough down and remove to lightly floured surface. 

Cut dough in half, working one half into a single loaf and the other half into two round loaves (or four round loaves, however many bowls you need. I only needed two).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Place loaves on pizza stone or on lightly greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until loaves are double in size, about 30 minutes.

Bake until loaves are golden and sound hollow when gently tapped (30-45 minutes)

Remove and let cool on wire rack.

Once completely cool, gently cut, using serrated knife angled towards center of loaf, around the top of your bowl. 

Remove top and hollow out loaf by gently pulling bread from the center. 

Once bowl has been created, place bowls back into oven for 5-10 minutes to crisp the inside.

Remove to plate, fill with soup, replace top (if desired).

Enjoy! 

*You can also season your bread by adding some Italian seasoning and/or Parmesan cheese (or any other dry ingredient) to dough before working into loaves.