Bread bowls for soup?

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

All those soups sound delicious, but I’m still failing to see the benefit of serving such hearty and warming soups in a bowl made of bread, rather than in an earthen crock, perhaps accompanied by a variety of breads and spreads.

Nobody has to wash the dishes!

 

[RPCookin]

Nobody has to wash the dishes!

You serve the bread bowl on a plate instead of serving the soup in a bowl... I don't see the reduction in dishes to wash.

 

[Mad Cook]

The recipe for this contains 2 tbsp of semolina flour. I’ll have to search for that, or order it online. Is there a suitable substitute, in the meantime?

Semolina flour is used for making pasta so any flour marketted as pasta flour should do the trick. But read the label with the ingredients.

I could be wrong as I'm not at home so can't look but I' sure I have a bag of pasta flour at home which has OO on the label. (I'm sure someone can confirm this or set me right.)

Someone might be able to confirm this or otherwise but if the semolina is only a small part of the total flour content would strong bread flour do as a substitute?

 

[GotGarlic]

Regarding the semolina flour, according to Serious Eats:

Of all the crazy and random additions I've made to bread doughs, semolina flour is the one that has become a regular component in my breads. It makes the bread a very pale yellow color and gives it a richer flavor. The first time I used it, it reminded me of a bread my mother used to buy from a local bakery when I was a kid, and that I hadn't tasted since.

Semolina is a course-ground flour made from durum wheat. I've also tried durum flour, which is ground finer, but honestly I didn't notice enough of a difference to prefer one over the other. Right now, semolina is easy to find, but I can only get durum by mail order. If both are available in your area, try both and see which you prefer, or just buy the one that's least expensive.

Bread Baking: Semolina Braid Recipe | Serious Eats

It seems to me that it's not necessary to have this in order to make the recipe; it will just be a little different. To give it a golden color, add a pinch of turmeric.

 

[letscook]

I'm weird - when getting soup serve in a bread bowl, I feel I have to hurry up and eat it before the bread gets soggy and starts leaking all over. It has never happen to me but Its just the feeling I get with it.

 

[dragnlaw]

I like them and they certainly are not a regular dish here but, might be if my brother was still here.

I have three recipes for them. There is not much difference in the ingredients other than quantities. One makes 3 loaves, another 6 and the last 8. The 6 & 8 freeze beautifully.

 

[JustJoel]

I’m not downing soup bread bowls!

I think soup bowls made of bread are a charming idea, if a little faddish. I’m just surprised that there are actually recipes labeled “soup bowl bread,” when the recipes are all for bread that’s just, well, bread! Seems to me you could just make a nice sourdough, rye, or French bread, shape it into a bowl shape, then hollow out the bread and ladle your soup in.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

When I worked in the bakery, we shaped whatever bread the customer wanted into boules. Made nice 7-grain with sunflower seeds boules for a customer who wanted to serve pumpkin soup. They were beautiful.