The Best Soft and Chewy Homemade Bread Bowls

By Rebecca St. Clair

These homemade bread bowls have a soft and fluffy inside with a golden chewy outside. Perfect for filling up with your favourite soups, stews, chilli, or even pasta!

These bread bowls are easy to make with only a handful of ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now! These bread bowls are the perfect way to bring some fun to soup season!

If you have any leftover, these also make the perfect little round loaves of bread to slice and enjoy with just about anything!

How to store homemade bread bowls

These homemade bread bowls are at their best served fresh, however, you can prolong their freshness if stored properly.

Room Temperature

To store your bread bowl at room temperature it is best to leave the bread loaves whole, hollow them out as needed into bowls.

• Store the bread wrapped in paper or plastic, on the counter for up to 3 days.
• Bread will start to dry out and becomes stale the longer it is left out.
• Fresh bread is at it’s best eaten the first day.
• After that, fresh bread is best warmed or toasted.

Fridge

The fridge is not the best place to store fresh bread. Bread loaves will dry out quickly and become stale faster when stored this way. If you want to prolong the life of your bread bowls store them in the freezer!

Freezer

Fresh bread stores extremely well in the freezer, when stored properly. Follow these easy steps to keep your bread bowl loaves for longer storage.

• Let the fresh bread come to room temperature.
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or a bread bag.
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• When you are ready to use, unwrap and let it come back to room temperature.
• To warm the loaves, wrap loosely in tin foil. Place in a preheated 325 °F (160 °C) oven for 15 minutes.
• Cut and hollow out into bowls

How to cut bread bowls

To cut and make the perfect bread bowl from these little homemade crusty bread loaves,

• Allow the loaves to cool until they can be easily handled.
• Cut a circle in the top of the bread loaf with a serrated knife, angling the blade of the knife towards the centre.
• Use your fingers to hollow out the loaf, leave about ½ inch (1.5 cm) thickness of bread along the sides and bottom of the bowl (we don’t want any leaks!)

This will allow you to get the most soup or stew into the bread bowl, while still making it easy to eat.

Don’t forget to save those bread crumbs! These have a variety of uses from croutons to bread crumbs!

What to serve with bread bowls

Bread bowls are a fun and whimsical way to replace ordinary bowl, and can be used for a variety of fillings. These are some of our favourite bread bowl uses,

• Thick soups and stews
• Chili
• Pasta
• Gumbo
• Dip (Save the inside bread chunks to serve with the dip!)
• Pull apart garlic bread
• Curry
• Cheese fondue
• Baked Brie

Can I use bread bowls for sliced bread?

Yes! Bread bowl are just small personal sized bread loaves! This bread is similar in taste and texture to French Bread.

Slice and serve to make mini sandwiches or the perfect sized base for handheld appetizers!

How to make homemade bread bowls

Ingredients

2 cups warm water 500 ml

2 ¼ teaspoons dry-active yeast or 1 packet

5 ½ – 6 cups all-purpose flour 825 g – 900 g

2 teaspoons salt 10 g

1 egg (optional)

Method

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if making the recipe by hand, add in the water and sprinkle in the yeast. Set it aside for a few minutes for the yeast to soften.
2. Add in the salt and flour. Mix and then knead until you have a smooth elastic dough ball. This should take 8 minutes if you are using a machine or 10 minutes if you are kneading the dough by hand.
3. Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot until doubled. About 1 hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and split the dough into 8 equal pieces.
5. Shape each into a circular loaf. I do this by flattening out the dough and then folding the sides over all around the circumference of the the dough a few times. Turn the ball over and smooth out the bottom by rolling and tightening it to the counter. (check out the video for more instructions)
6. Place the dough balls spread out onto a lined baking sheet and allow to rise for 30 minutes or until just about doubled again.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
8. Carefully slice an X on top of each loaf, with a razor or sharp knife.
9. Crack an egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Brush this egg wash all over the top of each loaf. (This step is optional, but it will give each loaf a glossy golden brown finish.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before hollowing out into bowls.

Looking for something to put inside those bread bowls? Try one of these!Free Printables

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