Whole Wheat Bread Bowls
A friend of mine posted a Facebook status about homemade potato soup that she put in Panera bread bowls, and I made the comment that they wouldn’t be hard to make. A few days later, she flagged me on the Hallee the Homemaker fanpage and asked if I’d made bread bowls yet. So, here they are.
I used the French Bread recipe, only I used fresh milled flour. Because I used fresh milled, I mixed 7 cups of flour with 2½ cups warm water and about 1 TBS of buttermilk the night before, then covered it and made the dough the next morning.
Once I let it rise the first time, I punched the dough down.
I use a pizza cutter, and cut the dough in half, putting half of it away for another meal in this week’s menu.
Half of the recipe made four small-ish bowls. I think in hindsight, three bowls would have been better, so we’ll say that one recipe of French Bread will make 6 good-sized bowls and 8 small-ish bowls.
I separated the dough into 4 equal parts, then formed them into balls.
I sprinkled my baking stone with cornmeal and set them out to rise.
After an hour, they were about double in size.
I put them in a 400º degree F oven for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, I pulled them out and brushed them with beaten egg white, then put them back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes, or until they were quite brown (browner than I would have let them get if they’d just been rolls.)
Then I cut the top off and scooped out some of the bread, and filled the bowl with 16-Bean Soup.
![]() |
~*~ | |
Very low in cholesterol Very low in sugar Low in saturated fat High in selenium High in thiamin |
![]() |
|
~*~ | ||
![]() |
How to knead dough by hand: Click here for a Youtube video with detailed instructions on how to knead dough the artisan way.
I would love to hear any feedback about this recipe. Did you make it? Did you enjoy it? Did you make any adjustments to it?
Hallee
I’m so grateful for your visit, today.
You would bless me if you added me to your feed reader or subscribed
via email.
You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow me on
Twitter. I would love to see more of you!
This post was linked to:

looks yummy! i thought about making them for tonight’s dinner…but made cheddar rolls instead!
YAY!! They look so yummy. :)
Hallee, I was JUST looking for a recipe like this, thank you! I’ll bet one of the more difficult things for Gregg being away is seeing all the good stuff you’re cooking here at home and not being able to have any.
Kelly
It has to be difficult because the food there is SO BAD. I’ve felt bad about it a lot, but he continues to encourage me to post recipes and talk about food. It’s worse when it’s Sunday and I know he’s fasting – and that’s the day I put up my menu for the week – lol. When he was home, he didn’t want to eat out at all. Even when we hid away for our long weekend, I cooked in the hotel for him.
Hallee, I’m getting ready to make these and noticed something… I see you started your recipe the night before, but did you know that if you just mixed in a little whey or yogurt with your flour & water that overnight it would break down the phytic acid?? (mineral blocker). I’m going to try these like that & I’ll let you know how it is. :)
I used about a TBS of buttermilk. Is that bad? Oh, I just realized I didn’t state that in the instructions. I’ll fix it now. Thanks!
Hi Hallee :)
I’ve been enjoying your site since seeing your post on Keeper Of The Home. I actually have a guest post scheduled with her as well. Haven’t heard when, but soon I suppose?! My husband is looking forward to me making these bread bowls..he LOVES Panera Bread. I’m going to experiment with finding a broccoli cheese soup for inside. Blessings to you while your husband is away. Thank Heavens our God is a God of GRACE!! Take care.
Thanks for your recipe, it was lovely. I made them into herb bread by adding 2 tsp each oregano, rosemary, and sage, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp salt/pepper, added to the dough when shaping before the second rise – delicious! Take care.