Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe
Treat yourself to a San Francisco-style staycation by whipping up my crusty, chewy, tangy Sourdough Bread Bowl recipe, then filling the edible vessels with clam chowder or your favorite soup. Trust me — Panera bread bowls have nothing on this homemade, from-scratch recipe!
Servings: 4 Bread Bowls
Calories: 264kcal
Equipment
- Small Bowls
- Cheese Cloth
Ingredients
Levain
- 20 g Sourdough Starter 100% hydration, float test before using
- 80 g Water
- 80 g Bread Flour
Sourdough Bread Bowl
- 100 g Levain
- 360 g Water 70 degrees F ideally
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- Olive oil - for greasing bowl
- 3 Tablespoons Rice flour For dusting small bowls/cheesecloth
- Soup of choice & parsley for garnish
Instructions
Levain
- Make sure to do a float test - It’s the best way to tell if your starter is fresh. Simply pinch off about 1 tablespoon of your starter and place it in a glass of water. If it floats, you're in business!
- Mix starter (20g) and water (80g) together before adding bread flour (80g) and mix until homogenous approximately 12 hours before you start the process of making your Sourdough bowls. Place in a covered container at room temperature.20 g Sourdough Starter, 80 g Water, 80 g Bread Flour
Sourdough Bread
- Mix your levain and water together until combined. Then mix in the bread flour until little to no clumps remain with a spatula or your hands and cover for 45 minutes. This is called the autolyse - hydrating your flour prior to moving on to the next step.100 g Levain, 360 g Water, 500 g Bread Flour
- *When making sourdough it’s helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby - dipping your hands in water prior to working with the wet, sticky dough will help immensely!
- Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to your dough and mix with a spatula or your hands until the salt granules have dissolved completely into the dough. Place in a bowl greased with one tablespoon of olive oil, cover, and set aside to rest for another 45 minutes.2 Teaspoons Salt, Olive oil - for greasing bowl
- Time to start folding the dough - every 30 minutes for the next two hours fold your dough as shown in the video below. Gently stretch the dough in an upwards motion before placing back onto itself - do this four times every 30 minutes rotating around the dough as you do so.
- Once you’ve folded the dough 4 separate times, allow it to rest for 45 minutes before continuing.
- Pre-shape - Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, about 240-250g each.Shape each divided dough into a boule or circle by turning it out onto a wooden cutting board greased with a touch of olive oil. Gently stretch 6 sides of the dough into the center to create a circular shape. Then, flip the ball of dough upside down and drag the dough gently while creating friction towards yourself about ten times. This process is show in detail within the video below. The dough might feel quite hydrated/sticky here! Feel free to flour your hands repetitively until you’re able to handle the dough and build tension. Allow the dough to rest, covered by a towel for 30 minutes before continuing.
- Final Shape - Once again, follow the instructions above before placing the dough seam side up into 4 small bowls lined with cheese cloth dusted with rice flour, cover and place in the fridge overnight.3 Tablespoons Rice flour
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and remove your sourdough boules from the fridge. Grab a piece of parchment paper and line a baking tray. Once your oven has preheated, flip the boules of sourdough onto the parchment paper and gently take off the cheesecloth from the top of the loaves.
- Whisk together your egg wash and brush on top of your sourdough boules. Using a lame or a razor blade, score the bread in a singular line or a cross hatch pattern. See the video below for an example! Place the mini loaves into your preheated oven and reduce the oven temperature to 425F.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your small loaves.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the loaves to cool for about an hour at least before continuing. It will be very challenging to wait before cutting into the mini loaves, but I promise you it’s worth it! Cutting into your sourdough bread bowls when they’re too hot could ruin it’s structure - I usually wait an hour at the very least.
- Using a serrated knife, cut a hole into the top of the bread bowls, then use a spoon to scoop out the inner bread of the loaf, allowing the interior to look bowl-like. NOTE: Don’t waste that precious sourdough! Make croutons with the interior of the bread you scooped out! Fill the bread bowls with hot soup, garnish and enjoy!Soup of choice
Video
Notes
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips/Expert baking tips
Here are some expert tips to ensure your success at making homemade bread bowls:
- Master your starter: A strong and active sourdough starter is key to achieving the desired flavor and texture in your bread bowls. Take the time to nurture and feed your starter regularly, allowing it to develop its unique character and fermentation power. Make sure you're using starter at the peak of its rise for a strong crumb structure.
- Prioritize hydration: Sourdough bread dough benefits from a higher hydration level, typically around 70-75%. This hydration promotes a more open crumb structure and enhances the overall texture of the bread bowls. Be prepared to work with a stickier dough than you might be used to and use techniques like the "stretch and fold" method to develop gluten.
- Embrace slow fermentation: Patience is a virtue in sourdough baking. Allowing your dough to ferment at a slower pace enhances the flavor complexity and promotes better digestibility. It's during this time that the wild yeast and bacteria work their magic, developing that tangy, distinctive taste. The best piece of advice I ever received about bread-making is, "watch the dough, not the clock." When the dough is puffy and slowly springs back after you poke it, it's ready!
- Pay attention to shaping: To achieve those impressive, visually appealing bread bowls, you'll need to shape them into dainty rounds. Gently handle the dough during shaping to preserve the gas bubbles formed during fermentation. Use a light touch to maintain an even distribution of air pockets within the dough, ensuring an airy and well-risen final product.
- Don't rush the cooling process: Allow your bread bowls to cool completely before cutting into them. This critical step allows the moisture inside the bread to redistribute and the crumb structure to set. Cutting into warm bread will lead to a gummy texture and uneven slicing.
Nutrition
Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 586mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
