How about an easy to make homemade Soup-er Bowl Bread Bowl for soup and stew on Super Bowl Day? I made homemade soup AND a stew to serve in my bread bowls for the big day. The soup and stew were delicious in my homemade bread bowls. And, the bread bowls were so easy to make ahead.
These individual bread bowls make for a delicious soup presentation when serving soup and stews, especially on a special day like the Super Bowl.
This is an easy meal to make ahead and keep warm in a slow cooker. Make one soup, one stew and keep warm in separate slow cookers. Then let everyone scoop up their favorite into the bread bowls. The best part is the outer shell of the bowl after the soup has been consumed. Place garnishes out like a charcuterie board and let them dig in to accessorize their bread bowl. Remember, the entire bowl is edible. Yum!
Try some of the flavor options below the recipe to enhance your soup or stew when serving it in the bread bowls. The heat from the soup will enhance the herbs, spices and cheeses you knead into the bread bowl dough, creating a wonderful aroma.
This recipe makes 4-5 Bread Bowls, 5” in diameter.
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Prepare your baking pan:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then sprinkle a little oil on it. On top of that, sprinkle the cornmeal.
Prepare your rising dough bowl:
Lightly brush oil inside the bottom and sides of a large bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal on the sides and bottom, too, so they are all covered. Set it aside until your dough has been mixed and kneaded and is ready to let rise in a warm place.
Gather the baking pan and rising dough bowl Ingredients:
1 T Cornmeal
1 T Vegetable oil
Gather up the dough Ingredients:
1 Packet Dry Yeast, .25 oz
1 ¼ C Water, warm
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-3 ½ C Flour
¾ Salt
Gather up the dough brushing Ingredients:
1 Egg white
2 t Water
Mix, Knead and Bake:
-Mix the yeast and warm water together in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.
-In a large mixing bowl (I use my stand mixer bowl) stir together the salt and 2 cups of the flour.
-Add the yeast/water mixture and oil and stir together until well combined.
-With the bowl in the stand mixer and using the dough hook, slowly add ½ cup of flour and combine on low. Add another half cup and fully combine on low. If the dough is still sticky, slowly add more of the flour until it is not so sticky. (I ended up using only 3 ¼ cups of the flour.)
-Let the stand mixer knead the bread on low to medium for 5 minutes or so until the dough separates from the sides. It should be soft and elastic feeling. If you need to knead it more, do so until it’s soft and easily slides off the dough hook.
-Form it into a ball. Lay it in the dough rising bowl and roll it around so all sides are covered with the cornmeal.
-Place it in a warm spot and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise 45-60 minutes until it’s about double in size.
-Punch the dough down and form it into 4-5 balls. They should be about 4” in diameter.
-Let rise on the cornmeal covered pan, covered, for 40-45 minutes until doubled in size again.
-Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
-Place a small cake pan with hot water in it on the bottom rack of the oven.
-Whisk the egg white and water together so it’s mixed well.
-Brush some of the egg wash on each dough ball, after they have risen.
-Place the baking sheet with the loaves on it in the oven and bake at 400F degrees for 15 minutes.
-Take the pan of loaves out of the oven and brush again with the egg wash.
-Bake for another 15 minutes.
-The loaves should be golden brown.
-Cool completely on a rack.
Carve your bread bowls:
-When completely cooled, they are ready to have the tops sliced off.
-Then scoop out the soft inside dough, leaving a nice thick wall all around. You’ll want it fairly thick so that the soup does not seep out.
-Fill the bowls with your favorite soup or stew. Yum!
Be creative with the toppings:
-Fun toppings are shredded cheeses, melted by placing the bowl of soup under the broiler. Watch the cheese very closely until it’s bubbly and golden brown. (It can burn easily, so don’t leave it alone.)
-Bacon always makes food better, including soups and stews. Fry up a couple of slices of bacon until crisp. Break them up and top your meal with the bacon. MMM…mmm…mmm!!!
-Sour Cream helps calm down the hot and spicy soups. Place a dollop on top, with a few green onion slices on the very top for a visually appealing topping.
Try some different flavors in your bread bowl dough:
-If you’re trying an Italian Sausage soup, try making your bread bowl dough with Italian seasoning inside. Just add a teaspoon or so of a nice mix of Italian herbs along with one or two diced garlic cloves, to knead into the bread bowl dough.
-How about a hot and spicy bread bowl with Taco Soup? Add a teaspoon or so of taco spices in the bread bowl dough. -Or, add some diced jalapeno peppers to knead into the bread bowl dough. Top the soup in the bread bowl with a slice of pepperjack cheese jalapeno slices on top.
-Finely diced up cheeses can add a lot of flavor to bread bowl doughs. Jalapeno pepperjack, sharp cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese add a nice aroma to the baked bread bowl when you knead it into the dough.
-Have you ever made pizza soup? Bring out the pepperoni flavor when you dice them up along with some mozzarella cheese to knead into the bread bowl dough.
Don’t toss out the soft pieces extra bread:
-Use that leftover soft bread from the insides of the bread bowls for dipping or spreading.
-Mix up some sour cream, mayonnaise, diced onion and garlic powder along with other herbs and spices for a delicious dip. Spoon it into one of the bread bowls, surrounding serving it on a platter with the chunks of bread and your favorite crackers.
Garnishes are great:
-What you put out on your charcuterie board for garnishes will vary depending on what soup or stew you are serving. Add hot spicy items as well as fireproof garnishes like jalapeno pepper slices and sweet pepper slices.
This is a fun but yet easy recipe that anyone can make. Use your electric mixer or knead the dough by hand. Share it with friends and football fans during the Super Bowl, or any football game day…or any wintery day. They are delicious with your favorite soups and stews. Whatever you serve in your bread bowls, “Bake your own Memories!”