Italian Bread Bowls Recipe

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Make your soup or chili extra special with this bread bowls recipe! This easy italian bread recipe makes 6 bread bowls that can be eaten immediately or saved and frozen for another night.

Fresh baked Italian bread bowls are the best way to enjoy a comforting bowl of soup or chili on a cool night. They make you feel like an amazing rockstar in the kitchen, but aren’t any harder to make than crusty french bread or 30 minute dinner rolls. Just make sure you time it right so they are ready for dinner time. 

An italian bread bowl on a cutting board with two more of the Italian bread bowls recipe in the background.
A picture showing the cover images for all three cookbooks written by Aileen Clark.

Italian Bread Bowls Recipe

I love making soup and make it at least weekly in the fall and winter months. It’s frugal, feeds a crowd, is easy to make, and is freezer friendly. All wins in my book! But, soup is not always enough to fill hungry tummies after a long day. That’s why I love serving them in one of these Italian bread bowls.

You may also like: Crock Pot Bread with Rosemary and Olive Oil

The completed Italian bread bowls recipe on a cutting board and ready to be served with soup or chili.

What to serve in this bread bowls recipe?

Serving soup or chili in a bread bowl makes dinner extra fancy. When you finish your soup? Eat the bowl! It’s a great way to make soup the main course.

We recommend serving this bread bowls recipe with instant pot white chicken chili, crockpot turkey chili, instant pot potato corn chowder, or slow cooker chicken tortilla soup. Or check out all of our instant pot soup recipes here.

If you want to serve dip in these Italian bread bowls, we reccomend spinach dip, buffalo chicken dip, or instant pot artichoke dip.

Fresh baked Italian bread bowls recipe with broccoli cheese soup inside.

Pictured Above: Broccoli Cheddar Soup (or try the Instant Pot version)

What kind of bread are bread bowls made of?

This bread bowls recipe is made with an italian bread recipe. Some bread bowls are also made out of sourdough bread.

How do you eat a bread bowl?

We love dipping the top portion of the bread bowl in the soup. Once the soup is all gone, just rip up the bread bowl, piece by piece, until it’s gone.

Do bread bowls get soggy?

Yes, bread bowls can get soggy,  although usually just on the inside. It’s best to add your soup, chili, or dip in the bread bowl right before serving.

Fresh baked italian bread bowls are the best way to enjoy a comforting bowl of soup or chili on a cool night.

Bread Bowls Recipe

Aileen Clark
Make this classic Italian bread bowls recipe and serve a hearty and delicious soup inside. Baked bread bowls are freezer friendly. 
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Bread Recipes
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6
Calories 715 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water
  • 2 .25 ounce packets active dry yeast 4 1/2 teaspoons
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 7 cups bread flour
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup corn meal
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar until the yeast is fully disolved. Let stand 10 minutes.
  • Mix in 4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.
  • Slowly mix in the remainder of the flour until a soft (not sticky) dough has formed.
  • Knead in a stand mixer for 4 minutes or by hand for 6 minutes.
  • Coat a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  • Put the dough in the bowl and turn to coat.
  • Cover the bowl with a clean, damp towel. Let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
  • Grease two cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal.
  • Once risen, gently punch down the dough and divide into 6 equal pieces.
  • Form each section of dough into a ball and place on the cookie sheets.
  • Cover each cookie sheet with a clean damp towel. Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled in size again, approximately 30 minutes.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  • Whisk together the egg white and tablespoon of water. Brush half of the egg wash onto the balls of dough.
  • Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, brush with the remaining egg wash. Switch rack positions and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the bread is golden brown on top.
  • Allow the bread to fully cool.
  • Slice off the center top of each bread loeaf and scoop out the center.
  • Pour desired soup or dip into the center and serve immediately.
  • Leftover bread bowls may be frozen up to 1 month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bread bowlCalories: 715kcalCarbohydrates: 129gProtein: 25gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 907mgFiber: 7gSugar: 1g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
PIN THIS
Three homemade bread bowls recipe on a cutting board.

Did you try this bread bowls recipe? Let us know what you thought with a rating or comment! You can also tag us on social media using @aileencooks.

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

One Comment