And then I ate the bowl!

In my mind, winter is the direct equivalent to soup, even here in the South where you can wake up one morning and bizarrely walk out the door to 65 degree weather. I LOVE soup, all kinds of soup, and I make it a frightful lot! Brian is an awfully good sport about it. :)

This is something I like to make every now and then when I want to make soup feel a little fancier. It's easy and delicious. Ladies and gents: crusty bread bowls!

These are the size of a very large roll (waste not, want not!). I allot approximately 1 cup of flour per person, but if you want really large bowls you could increase the recipe amounts by 1/2 or even double.

Ingredients for two bowls:
-2 cups flour (bread flour is preferable)
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon yeast
-1 scant cup water

Here's how ya do it:

Grab yourself a tupperware:

Throw in two cups of flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and mix 'er all up. I like to use a butter knife.




Now microwave a scant cup of water for about 40 seconds or until warm.

Mix in the water until the dough is sticky and no flour remains unmixed. Add tiny bits of water gradually if the dough is too scraggly. When it's done, it should be all lumpy and sticky like this: see?

See?

SEE?

Sorry. I don't mean to yell at you. Anyway, throw a lid on it and let it rise for a few hours.

Now it's perfect!

Look at that!

Would you just LOOK at that?

JUST LOOK AT IT! (Hahaha. Semi-related funny video here.)

Hehe. I get passionate about my bread bowls. Pardon me. Anyway, grab a large board and something to bake on, like a cookie sheet. Here, I'm using a pizza stone.

Flour the board generously and dump the dough out. Roll it around to coat with flour.


Chop it in half. I like to make Brian's bowl a little bigger than mine, so I just eyeball it.

Form into rolls by pinching the dough at the bottom until the ball is taut. See how small they look? Of course, they'll rise and get a little bigger, but I don't like to make them huge because - who wants to eat a loaf of bread in one sitting?

Sprinkle your baking apparatus with cornmeal or spray with cooking spray, throw on the bread dough, and cover with a clean dishtowel or rag.



Let rise for 30 minutes. See - they've gotten a little bigger.

Cut an X into each loaf with a sharp knife. This isn't crucial, but I like to do it.

Bake at 450F for 25 minutes. If you make larger bowls, increase the cooking time. If the top starts burning, decrease the temperature to 400F.

Aww, how pretty.

Let them cool before cutting. And let me tell you, you are going to love how crusty and chewy this bread is! See how great it looks?

See?

SEE?

Haha! In truth, I just figured out how to work the 'macro' setting on my point & shoot. I like using it now. :)

Now, you'll know how to do the rest. Slice the top off , and cut up the 'insides' and the 'hat' to dip in your soup. Although the bread is crusty enough to stand up to brothy soups, I prefer to make thick soups for these, like chili or stew! Tonight is creamy chicken stew with potatoes and vegetables. Yay for cheap and delicious meals!

Now go forth and bread it up, baby!