It's been getting really cold here in Carbondale, in effect I expect all my meals to be savory, comforting, and very warm! So we made bread bowls! Inevitably that means we're going to have to make soup.... but for now, here's a simple recipe to make a huge bun that can be turned into a bowl for soups and chili alike!
It's very important that you allow the yeast to
Baking bread can be tedious, this recipe takes about 3 hours total, but fresh baked bread is so worth it. Honestly, the worst part is just waiting for the dough to rise. Stick it out, nothing's better than the smell of fresh baked bread in the oven.
What You'll Need:
-5.5 Cups Flour (You may need a little more to reach correct consistency)
-2 Cups Warm Water (no more than 110º F)
-2 1/4 tsp Yeast
-1 Tbsp Sugar
-1 tsp Salt
-Egg White for egg wash
1. Activate the yeast: add sugar and warm water into a large bowl, mix it together, and sprinkle the yeast in an even layer over the water. Leave to activate, about 10-15 minutes, in a warm spot.
2. Once the yeast has activated add about 2 cups of flour, and the salt. Mix everything together and continue to add the flour, a cup at a time. Once the mixture becomes too tough to stir with a spoon, feel free to use your hands. The dough should be smooth, and elastic.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes and then transfer it into a greased bowl. Set the bowl aside, covered, for an hour and a half, or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Press down the dough, and knead it on a floured surface once again. Separate the dough into four 10 Oz balls, if you don't have a kitchen scale, do your best to separate 4 equal sized balls. Set them aside for 45 minutes and cover with a towel until the double in size.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350º F. Mix together the egg white of one egg with a 1/4 tsp of water. Brush each one of the dough balls with the egg wash. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the bread becomes golden brown.
6. Set the massive buns aside on a cooling rack. Once they have cooled, cut a hole into the top of the bun. I used an ice cream scooper to remove the bread from the inside, just enough so that I could fit a good amount of soup into the bowls. At this point, fill with your favorite soup, and enjoy! :)
activate before you get to baking. The bread won't rise without it! If the water you've used has heated past 110º F, it will kill the yeast. If you don't see bubbling going on - your yeast probably isn't working.
Once everything is mixed together, set the dough aside to double. Like I said, this is the worst part about making bread - the agonizing wait!
Once the dough has doubled in size, pat it down,
and knead it on a floured surface for 5 to 10
minutes.
Separate the dough balls, let the balls also sit aside to double in size. This usually takes another 45 minutes (ugh)
Cut out the top, and scoop out some of the bread. Just enough so that you can fit a decent amount of soup in there. You don't want to accidentally scoop too far, and leak soup out of your bread bowl.
And there you have it, a homemade bread bowl! It's easy, fun, and smells amazing as you bake. If I can do it, the queen of impatience, so can you! I promise you, it'll be worth it.
Oh, and stay tuned for a soup recipe that goes great with a bread bowl!
