• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Breads / Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe

    Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe

    March 5, 2020 By Sam 41 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Today I’ll be showing you how to make my homemade bread bowl recipe completely from scratch. This sturdy recipe is perfect for serving with your favorite soup or dip! I’ll walk you through all of the steps in my how-to video!

    soup in a homemade bread bowl

    Because why eat soup out of a regular bowl when you can eat it out of a bowl made of bread?

    On Monday, when I shared my broccoli cheddar soup recipe, I promised that I’d soon be sharing a bread bowl recipe for you to put it in. Well here it is!

    This recipe is perfect for the beginner bread baker. It’s simple with only a handful of ingredients, can easily be cut in half if you’re not trying to serve 6, can be made with or without a stand mixer, and yields a sturdy bowl-shaped loaf of bread that’s great for filling with your favorite soup or dip. Let’s get to it.

    2 pictures: (left) risen bread dough: (Right) bread dough being punched down

    Ingredients

    There are only a few very basic ingredients you need for this bread bowl recipe:

    • Water. This needs to be warmed to 105-110F. Too cool and your yeast won’t activate. Too hot and you’ll kill your yeast. And what did that yeast ever do to you to deserve that?
    • Yeast. Active dry.
    • Sugar. Helps our yeast grow but also adds flavor to the bread bowls.
    • Butter. I went back and forth between using butter and olive oil for this recipe. Butter yielded a fluffier texture and better flavor.
    • Flour. I’ve tested this recipe using all-purpose and bread flour. Bread flour yields a higher/taller, rounder (more bowl-shaped) bread bowl with a chewier center and is what I recommend.
    • Salt. You will need 1 Tablespoon. That’s not a typo! Salt adds some much-needed flavor. Our bread bowls need to taste good and not just look good!
    • Cornmeal. Sprinkling a bit of cornmeal over your baking sheet or parchment paper helps to keep the bread bowls from sticking to the pan.

    A Few Notes on the Method

    The recipe itself is as straightforward as the ingredient list. I use my stand mixer to make the dough, but if you don’t have one you can do it by hand. You will have to use a little muscle to work the dough together until the proper consistency is reached and then knead by hand until the consistency indicated in the recipe is achieved.

    Scoring the dough (cutting an “X” into the top of each loaf) is done to encourage the rolls to expand upwards in the oven. Use a sharp knife.

    We brush the dough twice with egg wash, once before baking and then again halfway through. This encourages a deep golden brown crust, deeper than it would be if you were to only brush your bread bowls once.

    bread bowls before and after baking

    Tips

    • Brush your bread bowl dough with egg wash and score it before letting them rise. I did not do this in my video, and if you watch it you’ll see one of my bread bowls deflated pretty badly. As did my ego.
    • Let your bread bowl cool before slicing.
    • Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to slice the top off of your bowl without squishing it.
    • Bread bowls are best served warm and fresh (isn’t all bread) but will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

    What to Serve In Your Bread Bowl

    Time to fill it up! Basically any soup will work well in this bread bowl recipe, but here are a few of my favorites:

    • Lasagna Soup
    • Potato Soup
    • Corn Chowder
    • Chili (OK, not a soup, but still great)

    Dips are also great, reserve the bread you’ve torn out for dipping purposes! I love serving dill dip in a bread bowl.

    bread bowl with top sliced off

    Enjoy!

    More Bread Recipes You Might Like:

    • Dinner Rolls
    • Garlic Knots
    • Homemade Biscuits
    • Soft Pretzels

    Are you more of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube channel where I show you how I make this recipe step-by-step in my own kitchen.

    hollowed out bread bowl

    Bread Bowl Recipe

    Today I'll be showing you how to make homemade bread bowls completely from scratch. I recommend reading through the recipe and watching the video (below the recipe) before beginning.
    5 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Rising Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 bread bowls
    Calories: 670kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cup warm water heated to 105-110F (40-45C)
    • 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
    • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
    • 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
    • 7 cups bread flour plus additional as needed (870g) + additional as needed
    • 1 Tablespoon salt
    • Cornmeal for sprinkling baking pan

    EGG WASH

    • 1 large egg
    • 1 teaspoon water

    Recommended Equipment

    • Stand Mixer
    • Mixing bowls
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Combine warm water, yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook¹. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
    • Add melted butter and stir until combined,
    • In a separate bowl, stir together remaining 4 Tablespoons sugar, flour, and salt.
    • Turn mixer to low speed and gradually add flour mixture until combined. Dough should be soft and slightly tacky to the touch. If needed, add additional flour one Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Continue to knead dough with dough hook (or transfer to a clean surface and knead by hand) until dough is elastic and smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
    • Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl. Roll the surface of the dough through the oil, cover with a clean towel, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (about 1-2 hours).
    • Gently deflate the dough and divide into 6 even pieces and roll each into a ball.
    • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal.
    • Transfer dough balls to baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Use a sharp knife to make an “X” on the top center of each dough ball. Prepare your egg wash by whisking together egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush bread bowls generously with egg wash (don't discard this, you'll need it again a bit later on).
    • Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise while you preheat your oven to 425F (220C).
    • Once oven is preheated, bread bowls should have almost doubled in size.
    • Transfer risen bread bowls to 425F (220C) oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush once more with egg wash. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown and bread bowls sound hollow when tapped.
    • Allow to cool completely.
    • Once cooled, use a serrated knife to slice off the top of each bread bowl. Use a knife or just your fingers to hollow out the center of each bread bowl, then use as desired!

    Notes

    ¹You can make this in a large bowl by hand, but it will be an arm workout to get all of the ingredients combined and you will need to knead the dough on a clean surface until the indicated consistency is reached.
    You may make 8 smaller bread bowls, if desired. Keep in mind they will need to bake for less time.
    Bread bowls are best served warm and fresh, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bread bowl | Calories: 670kcal | Carbohydrates: 119g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 1188mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 273IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    bread bowl with top sliced off

    « Eclairs
    Cookies and Cream Cookies »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Grace

      March 04, 2023 at 2:30 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for my family last weekend, and it was so much of a hit that they asked for it again this weekend. Is there a difference in using towel to cover when rising versus covering the bow with cling wrap? Won’t the towel stick to the dough when it rises?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 06, 2023 at 10:14 pm

        Hi Grace! The dough shouldn’t rise enough to get to the towel. Cling wrap will work as well. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Barbra-Anne

      January 09, 2023 at 11:17 pm

      5 stars
      I made bread bowls! How freaking cool! This recipe made it so simple! I can’t wait to make them again – I used some to make toast, French toast and grilled cheese also!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        January 10, 2023 at 9:42 am

        Yay! 👏 Sounds like this one was a big success for you, Barbra-Anne!

        Reply
    3. Taryn

      September 09, 2022 at 2:00 am

      Hi Sam, is this recipe suitable for freezing?
      thanks, Taryn

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 09, 2022 at 10:03 pm

        Hi Taryn! I haven’t tried freezing it myself, but it should freeze as well as any other bread you would make at home. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Terri White

      January 24, 2022 at 6:34 pm

      5 stars
      This was my first ever attempt at using yeast. The instructions and video are so helpful. It was a huge success! There are only two of us at home but I still made 6 bowls because there’s no such thing as too much bread. I brushed 3 with egg and left 3 plain, just to see. The ones with egg wash were prettier and I won’t skip that step in the future. I knew my cookie sheets would be too small for 6 so I baked 3 at a time on two separate sheets. We used two for homemade New England clam chowder, gave 2 to my neighbor with some chowder and guess what? I sliced the last 2. I used the slices for grilled cheese, French toast and garlic bread. These bread bowls are really versatile! I will make them again.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        January 25, 2022 at 9:26 am

        We’re so happy they were a success for you, Terri! Baking with yeast can be daunting at first, but it sounds like your bread bowls turned out beautifully. Thanks so much for your review 🙂

        Reply
    5. Hoku

      December 28, 2021 at 5:33 pm

      Hi! I’m making this right now by hand. I’m noticing the dough is ripping while needing but it’s not quite at a super smooth (think pizza dough) consistency. Should I let it rest and then continue needing? Should I add more liquid? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Sam

        January 18, 2022 at 2:02 pm

        I’m so sorry this happened! It may have had a little bit too much flour in the dough. I wouldn’t try adding more ingredients at this point. 🙁 I hope they turned out for you!

        Reply
    6. Bev

      December 10, 2021 at 9:37 am

      5 stars
      I made these last weekend and they did not disappoint! So fresh and delicious! Highly recommend.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 10, 2021 at 11:36 am

        Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know how they turned out for you, Bev! 😊

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Cozy Soup Recipes

    bowl of chicken and rice soup with spoon scooping a bite

    Chicken and Rice Soup (One Pot Dinner Recipe!)

    mason jar of chicken broth made from a homemade chicken stock recipe

    Instant Pot Chicken Stock Recipe

    french onion soup in white bowl

    French Onion Soup

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Two bowls of turkey chowder

    Turkey Chowder

    white bowl of hearty homemade tomato soup garnished with parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and cracked black pepper

    Tomato Soup

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    Subscribe To My Newsletter!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    [widget id="simple-social-icons-3"]

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved