Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: A perfect accompaniment to any soup! So much better than crackers.
Texture: Crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy inside. When you add a creamy soup inside, it’s the ultimate cozy comfort meal.
Ease: Surprisingly easy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Restaurant-quality food at home, for the best soup experience of your life!
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There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of piping hot soup, especially when it’s inside a Homemade Bread Bowl!
Your family will think your dinner was catered by some fancy café. They don’t have to know these are actually quite simple to make!
There’s nothing more comforting than filling one of these freshly-made Bread Bowls with a serving of my favorite Pot Pie Soup. So cozy and wonderful!
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What will you fill your Bread Bowl with?
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Bread Bowls
What is a Bread Bowl?
You may have seen Bread Bowls at your local Panera Bread or Dominos. They are basically a large bread roll, hollowed out and filled with soup – and then you get to eat the bowl! Simply cut out the center of your Bread Bowl, fill with a delicious creamy soup, and enjoy. Tear off pieces of the bread bowl as you finish your soup, and finish by enjoying the whole bowl itself.
Are Homemade Bread Bowls Hard to Make?
This recipe is actually super easy to make. I know yeast can seem intimidating if you’re not experienced with it, but this recipe is straightforward, and I’ll walk you through every step. I think this is a terrific beginner bread recipe – and the best part is, if they’re not super pretty to look at, it doesn’t matter since you’ll be carving out the middle to fill with soup anyway 😉
The Flour
We’re using a mix of bread flour and all-purpose flour here. Bread flour contains a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, so we’ll gain the structure that our bread bowls need by using this – plus it makes the bread nice and chewy. All-purpose flour will keep the interior of the bread soft, which is what we’re looking for here!
Be sure to measure your flour correctly, to avoid dry, bland bread.
The Yeast
Both instant yeast and active dry yeast will work just fine here – just note that active dry yeast will take a little longer to rise. Read about the differences between Active Dry Yeast vs. Instant Yeast here.
Cornmeal
Yellow cornmeal can be used as a base for your bread bowls to rise and bake on, and it will give a wonderful, rustic texture and flavor to your Bread Bowls. It’s a totally optional addition, and if you prefer to skip it, simply line the baking sheets with parchment paper instead.
How to Knead Dough
If you have a larger capacity stand mixer, such as a 6qt size, that’ll be ideal for this recipe. Make sure your mixer is fitted with the dough hook. It’s quite a lot of sturdy dough so older mixers on their last legs will likely struggle to knead.
If you need to knead by hand, check out the FAQs below.
What to do with That Middle Piece of Bread After Cutting it Out
Serve that piece of bread with the Bread Bowl and dunk into the soup, or repurpose that chunk of bread into croutons for future salads.
How to Store & Freeze Bread Bowls
These Bread Bowls will keep for 3 days in an airtight container, stored at room temperature. Don’t refrigerate as it will dry them out faster. Refresh in a 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until warm, before filling with soup and serving.
We haven’t tried freezing this dough, but you can definitely freeze the fully baked Bread Bowls. Once cooled, place in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw, leave at room temperature for a few hours or overnight, and reheat in a 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until warm, before filling and serving.
Best Soup and Dip Recipes to Fill Your Bread Bowls:
More Homemade Bread Recipes:
Homemade Bread Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (152 grams) cornmeal, optional, for baking sheets
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets or 14 grams) instant yeast
- 2 1/2 cups (590 ml) warm water* (110°F)
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 cups (508 grams) bread flour
- 3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 egg, for egg wash
- 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
- 1 cup (236 ml) hot water, for oven
Instructions
- Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Or, for added texture (and to prevent sticking), take 1 cup of cornmeal and divide between the two baking sheets in place of parchment. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, stir together the yeast, water, olive oil, and sugar. Let the mixture bloom for 10 minutes.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together both flours, garlic powder, and salt. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and gradually add the dry ingredients to the yeast mixture on low speed. The dough will come together and start to look a bit shaggy. Turn speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic but still sticky, about 5 minutes. You can also slightly moisten your hands with oil and knead by hand for about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Gently deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured bench scraper, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, each weighing around 250 grams. Stretch each portion into a tight ball, pinching the bottom with your fingers and rolling around on the counter to seal and shape. If the ball is shaped too loosely it may deflate while baking, so be sure to make a nice tight shape.
- Place 3 balls onto each prepared baking sheet. Slash the top with a sharp knife to score in an X shape. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F and place an empty broiler tray on the top shelf.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush evenly over the shaped bread bowls.
- Place baking sheet on the center rack. If both baking sheets fit into your oven, place them both on the center rack; otherwise, bake one at a time.
- In a swift movement, pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan(s) halfway through the baking time. Bake until the tops are golden and when carefully tapped underneath, the bread bowls sound hollow. If baking another pan, refill the broiler tray with more water before baking. Note: Your kitchen may appear a bit smokey due to the steam produced in the oven.
- Let the bread bowls cool completely on the pan. Cut a large round from the top of each loaf and scoop out the center. Fill with hot creamy soup and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2022 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
What is the difference in bread flour and all purpose flour? I have always made bread with all purpose so I’m a bit confused.
I have made these several times. Always a hit and never had to adjust or had issues. Wife got me a stand mixer because I bake so often now. This recipe has been added to my personal recipe book. Hope to pass it on to my kids when they get older!
I made these today. Living in Japan my oven is significantly smaller (like everything else here), so I froze half the dough and made 4 smaller bowls of the other half of the dough. At the end of the day they turned out well.
My mixer was not happy with kneading these on the first speed setting which is what KitchenAid recommends for kneading dough, but it was ok on #2 speed, not sure what the deal is there.
Tessa, I was so excited to make these bread bowls. I believe my problem may have been not rolling tightly enough, although I have always been told to not overwork yeast breads. After the rising of the “balls” I brushed the egg white on the tops and that seemed to deflate them some. When they baked they spread out on the baking sheet. They aren’t very deep although the look nicely browned and smell wonderful. I would like to try again for the holidays when my family is here, but need some recommendations. Thank you so much!
This was a super easy recipe. This was the first time I have made bread bowls. I will make these again without hesitation. If any one finds a dog hair in their bread bowl, its their lucky day. They can do the dishes.
Anyway you could. Ale these ahead and freeze, maybe after cooking and before cutting? If so how long.
Hello! Can I freeze the bread and bake it at another time when I need it?
When I measured out my AP flour – 3 cups – it weighed a lot more, 15 oz, than your 13.5 oz. Do you sift first? Is it preferable to go by the weight of the flour or the cups? Thanks!
Hi Nancy, weight will always be more accurate! Here’s some more info: https://handletheheat.com/how-to-measure-flour/
Tessa, I have tried so many recipes for bread for 10 yrs. and was still looking. But now I don’t have to any more!!! YOUR recipe is the BEST EVER that I have tried!! Came out PERFECT the first try and I can’t THANK you enough for the recipe and video!! I used to get so nervous trying bread recipes and none of them ever came out, and I always had to start over and throw away time after time again. Love your website and recipes Thanks so much!
Yay!! Thanks so much for sharing this, Pam 🙂 🙂
Hi,
RE: Bread Bowl recipe.
I prefer to calculate ingredient amounts by weight but I’m a little confused because when I weight 4 cups of, say, bread flour, I come up with 480 grams. Your recipe shows 4 cups at 510 grams. As I am new to baking bread, I am just not sure which to use. My instinct tells me to use your gram calculation. Am I right? Thanks.
I just took these out of the oven.I did by hand as I don’t have a mixer.They look great,although they didn’t rise as high as I wanted but high enough to still be bowls..lol.I will be serving Chili in them.Thanks !!!
Hi, I have to commend you for this recipe. This iS by far the bEst bread bowl recipe I made roasted tomato soup in the bowl