Nothing pairs better with a thick, creamy soup recipe than fresh bread bowls.
This is the time of year we all turn to our favorite soup recipes for hearty, warming winter meals. Longingly, we remember the taste of the fresh baked bread bowls often served with similar soups at restaurants, and think of how they would perfectly accompany our recipe. Unfortunately, we’re not up to the task of baking bread bowls from scratch with the mixing, rising, kneading, and more kneading. If only we all knew that we could make bread bowls at home with little effort using frozen bread dough!
Purchase any frozen bread dough at the grocery store that suits your taste and your soup recipe. Generally, white bread dough is the best flavor for bread bowls.
Grease a large cookie sheet and place enough loaves of frozen bread dough onto the sheet to thaw. One standard frozen bread dough will make three bread bowls. Grease a large sheet of plastic wrap or spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Cover the loaves of frozen bread dough with the wrap.
Let the frozen bread dough thaw for forty-five minutes to an hour. You do not want to let the bread dough thaw completely and start rising; thaw just long enough until you can cut trough the frozen bread loaf with a sharp knife (it’s okay if the center is still frozen). Cut the thawed bread dough into three equal portions. Smooth and round cut edges into the rough shape of a bread bowl.
If necessary, grease another cookie sheet for rising and baking the bread bowls. Stagger bread bowl bread portions on the greased cookie sheet. Leave plenty of room between bread dough sections; you do not want risen bread dough to touch. Touching bread bowl dough will leave a soft spot after baking, not a hard bread bowl shell. One large cookie sheet will fit four bread bowl dough sections adequately.
Cover the bread bowl doughs with greased plastic wrap and place the sheets in a warm place to rise for approximately two hours (time may vary depending on warmth and humidity). When the dough portions look to be the size of average bread bowls, remove the cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Bake the bread bowls until the bread is a little darker and harder than you would normally have for bread; this makes for sturdier bread bowls.
Remove bread bowls from the oven when done baking, and cool completely on wire racks. Let bread bowls sit out, uncovered or only lightly covered with a cloth towel, until ready to serve. Do not package uncut bread bowls in plastic.
Bread bowls can be made well ahead of time before you intend to serve them. In fact, bread bowl are best served after they have hardened, open to room air, for a while. If bread bowls are used too soon after baking, they will be soft and not hold the soup well. Baking bread bowls the day before and covering them loosely with towels is ideal.
When you are ready to enjoy your fresh, homemade bread bowls with your favorite soup recipe, slice horizontally across the top of each bread bowl (do not cut those you are not sure to use). Gently hollow out the bread bowl, pulling away the soft inner bread.
Place hollowed bread bowls on a plate, surrounded with the soft hollowed out bread for dipping into your favorite soup recipe. Fill bread bowls immediately before serving. Top with sliced bread bowl tops.
Enjoy! Your are ready to enjoy a hearty meal of your favorite prepared soup recipe served in fresh baked bread bowls. The combination is an unbeatable pair, ideal for winter meals during cold winter months.
Reference:
- www.allrecipes.com -scratch recipes for white bread
