Bread Bowls

These Soft bread bowls from Jamie Cooks it Up were a last minute addition to dinner.  I wasn't really thrilled with the idea of eating boring old leftover soup.  Fresh bread can jazz up any meal, and I was all about giving this ordinary soup some oomph.

I searched my "to make" list for breads.  Most of them had long rise times.  I didn't decide to make bread until about 4:00 after I got Blockette and M off the bus.  No way I was going to push dinner off until 7pm or later.  That never works well, especially on a school night.

The bread bowls only take about an hour to make.  They rise in a low oven, and then you crank the heat up and they continue to rise as the oven preheats.  It worked perfectly.

Look how yummy those little bread bowls are!  Tan and shiny, just like they've been sunning themselves on the beach.  I got a little giddy when I took them out of the oven.  I did that little hopping up and down happy dance because they actually turned out.  I'm always surprised when I make bread and it looks and tastes like something you might buy at a bakery.

And here's our little vessel filled to the brim with soup. Oh, it's far from boring and ordinary now! I gobbled up my portion with gusto.

Blockette thought they were awesome too. She got to eat her bowl, something that she thought was hilarious. Eating your bowl, I mean that is pretty cool whether you're 6 or 36.

One word of warning:  let the bread bowls cool before you attempt to hollow them out.  I was impatient and did it right away.  The center of the bread is quite soft and almost gummy right out of the oven.  It can be done, but it is much easier to scoop out the center when the bowls have cooled.

Soft Bread Bowls from Jamie cooks it up
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t salt
4 C flour
1/2 C warm water
1 C milk
2 T butter
1 T yeast
1 egg, beaten

1. Place 2 C flour into bottom of stand mixer. Add sugar and salt. Stir it around a bit to combine.
2. Pour milk and water into one measuring cup. Heat it in the microwave for 1 min, til bubbly and hot.
3. Carefully put the butter into the hot liquid and let it melt just a bit.
4. Pour buttery milk into \mixer. Turn \mixer on to low and let it mix for just 30 sec or so.
5. Add yeast and remaining 2 c flour.
6. Mix dough for 5 min.
7. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set dough out on to it.
8. Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 6 equal parts.
9. Let dough rest 5 min, then shape each piece into a ball. Whisk egg up in a small bowl and spread egg over tops of each dough ball.
10. Place pan in a 170F oven and let dough rise until doubled in size. This should take 15-25 min.
11. Turn oven up to 350F (leave pan in oven while temp increases) Bake little bowls for 15 min (depending on how long your oven takes to heat up) or until golden brown.
12. Let bowls cool 10 min, then slice top of each bowl, scoop out middle, and pour some soup right on in!