Learn how to make homemade bread bowls that are crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfect for serving soup or chili. This easy recipe uses just five ingredients and minimal hands-on time!
Why serve bread on the side when you can serve your soup in a homemade Bread Bowl? This chewy bread is easy to make, and better than Panera too!
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
Taste & Texture: Crusty bread with a chewy texture.
Prep Tip: No kneading for this bread. Use my stretch and fold technique.
Serving Suggestions: Just like Panera, serve these bread bowls with broccoli cheese soup and a copycat Olive Garden Salad.
PRO TIP: Allow the bread to cool completely before hollowing it out, this keeps the inside tender and not gummy.
Budget Tip: These can be made with all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. They will be a little less chewy, and you may need to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour after the first rise.
Just 5 Ingredients
The full ingredient list is in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here are some highlights.
- Bread flour – Bread flour has more protein in it than all-purpose flour, which will give your bread bowls a chewier texture.
- Granulated sugar – This helps the yeast do its thing.
- Kosher salt – Absolutely essential! If you’ve ever forgotten to add salt to homemade bread, you know.
- Active instant yeast – You’ll need one packet; if you don’t bake often and you have some in your pantry, be sure to look at the date to check that it’s not expired.
- Warm water – It’s best to use a thermometer and make sure it’s about 115ºF. If you don’t have a thermometer, it should feel a touch warmer than lukewarm. It’s better to err on the side of colder than hotter; hot water will kill the yeast, but cold will just mean it takes a little bit longer for your dough to rise.
How to Make Bread Bowls
Make the Dough: Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then stir in the warm water. Keep stirring (or use your hands to mix) until the flour is incorporated and there are no dry spots.
Let the Dough Rise: Cover the bowl with plastic and place it somewhere warm, away from drafts. (If your kitchen is drafty, the microwave is a good place to keep it.) Let it rise for 2 1/2 hours.
Stretch and Fold: Grab the dough ball and stretch it as far as you can without it tearing. Fold the ends together, then repeat by turning the dough 90 degrees and do a total of 4 stretches. You’ll feel a little more resistance in the dough with each stretch—that’s exactly what you want!
Do a Second Rise: Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Place them on parchment paper and cover with plastic. Let them rise for 30 minutes.
Bake the Bread Bowls:
- Place a large baking sheet in your oven and preheat it to 450ºF.
- Set the parchment paper with the dough balls onto the baking sheet. Score each by making an X on top with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Bake for 25 minutes and then cool completely.
Serve: Cut a circle on the top of each bread bowl. Pull this out and hollow out the bowl a bit so you have room for the soup.
Tips and Tricks
- The best way to know when your bread bowls are finished baking is to use a digital thermometer. Insert the probe and when it reaches 200ºF, pull the bowls out of the oven.
- Bread continues to bake from the residual heat even after you take it out of the oven, which means it’s important not to serve these bread bowls right away. Let them cool completely or the insides will have a gummy, dense texture.
- You can store bread bowls in plastic wrap and keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
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Bread Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active instant yeast, one packet
- 1 ½ cups warm water, 115 Degrees F
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Slowly pour in the warm water and still until combined. The dough will be sticky, you can use your hands if needed to get all the dry flour incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dry area to rise for 2 1/2 hours.
- The bread dough should have nearly doubled in size at this point. Use your hands to scrape the dough out of the bowl. Stretch and fold the dough several times, see my notes below on how to do this step if you're new here).
- Cut the dough into 3 even sized pieces (I do this by forming a ball and cutting Y into the dough). Place the dough balls on a piece of parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- While the dough is doing the final rise, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a large cookie sheet in the oven while it preheats.
- Using hot pads, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Lift the piece of parchment paper with the 3 dough balls onto the cookie sheet. Make an X on top of each dough ball using a sharp knife.
- Bake bread for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool.
- Once the bread has cooled, use a sharp knife to carve out the bread bowl, by cutting a circle on top of the bread (like you would a pumpkin). Lift the lid and remove some of the bread out of the inside to make room for your soup (save the carved out bread for eating and dunking!
Notes
- Stretch and Fold- the process is exactly as it sounds. Grab the dough ball and steth. Fold the ends together, then repeat by turning the dough 90 degrees and do a total of 4 stretches. This allows you to shape the dough without kneading it.
- Use a digital thermometer to test the inside of the baked bread. You know it is done baking when it reaches 200 degrees F.
- For best results, wait until the bread has fully cooled before serving. This allows the texture to be tender and not gummy.
- Storage: Wrap cooled bread in plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Or wrap in plastic then slide into a freezer safe ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Nutrition
My Favorite Ways to Use Bread Bowls
The options are endless! I especially love a thick, creamy soup for serving in bread bowls. If you’re looking for something quick and easy, try my Instant Pot Potato Soup or Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup.
You can’t go wrong with this Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe either. Or take another tip from Panera and serve mac and cheese in a bread bowl. This Gouda Bacon Macaroni and Cheese would be amazing!
More Bread Recipes
- These easy Dinner Rolls are a favorite around here too. They’re so tender and fluffy!
- If you want to try your hand at making your own sandwich bread, this Homemade White Bread Recipe is my go-to.
- Feeling like something a little sweeter? This Cinnamon Rolls Recipe is fantastic!
- If you love baking with yeast, you’ll also love these No Knead Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls. They’re amazing with my Lasagna Soup Recipe!
