Custard Cup Bread Bowls

There’s nothing like a cold winter day with a hot bowl of soup, chili or stew. Add a bread bowl to the mix and you’ve got one hearty and wholesome meal. Traditionally a bread bowl is made by making small round loaves of bread, cutting the top off and scooping out the center. Years ago I came across a bread bowl recipe in a Betty Crocker book I purchased at a local store. Bread Bowls page 68 of Betty Crocker’s  “Best of Baking” copyright 1997 First Edition.
They are easy to make and don’t require a whole lot of time in the kitchen. Make them fresh the day you want to use them or make ahead and freeze (they freeze well). This recipe translates into quantity baking very well. I made around 300 a number years back for a conference at our church. We served chili for one of the meals. Served a large crowd and had no bread bowls left over. Many had second helpings, they went over so well.

Custard Cup Bread Bowls

 

Author:

Pamela @ Traditional Foods Natural Home

Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 6

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Custard Cup Bread Bowls: makes 6 / my version of the original

Ingredients

• 1 T. dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
• 2 T. organic granulated sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• 3 cups freshly ground hard spring white wheat flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
• ¾ tsp. sea salt
• About 1 cup buttermilk
• Six - 10 ounce oven proof custard cups
• Extra butter to grease the cups

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a stand mixer bowl cut in the butter with the flour, baking powder and salt until it resembles fine crumbles (or by hand in a bowl with a pastry blender). Set aside.
3. Dissolve yeast in the warm water with the sugar added. Let proof.
4. By mixer or by hand add the proofed yeast, stirring in and slowly add the buttermilk. Mix until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. In the mixer now slowly add extra flour as the dough kneads until it has a smooth texture, yet somewhat soft / not stiff. Or by hand turn the dough out onto the counter surface with flour and knead, adding more flour as needed.
5. Shape the dough into a ball, let sit in the bowl covered for 10 minutes.
6. Prepare 6 custard cups greasing the outside of each with butter. 6 custard cups will fit onto a large cookie sheet nicely upside down that has shallow sides. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet or you can omit it but do not grease the cookie sheet.
7. Take the dough and divide into 6 parts evenly. Roll each into a 7 - inch circle. Lay the circle over the outside of each custard cup shaping the dough to conform to the cup. Do not allow the dough to curl under edges of the cups.
8. Place each cup with dough unto the cookie sheet (see my photo).
9. Bake 18 - 22 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from oven. Carefully lift the bread bowls from custard cups (they will be very hot!). Cool bread bowls upright on cooling racks.

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