ISO: bread suggestion for bread bowls

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htc

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Hi, I would like to make bread bowls to serve for a dinner party. Planning to fill it with chili. I'm not sure what kind of bread to make for this? Can I just use ciabatta bread? I have several bread recipe books. A lot of recipes I see on the web say to go buy round bread from the store. Figure if I buy it and many end up not eating the bowl, or only eat a little of the bowl,it'll end up wasting $$. Any ideas?
 
Personally I'd buy the round bread from the store. It's nice and crusty on the outside, and you can scoop out the inside and use it for fondue or croutons, etc.
 
Go to a bakery and buy small rounds of bread--called boules, often. They are about 6" in diameter.
As Amber says, it needs to be very hard and crusty on the outside--and it needs to be taller than most ciabatta is. If you have never made the artisanal style bread this requires, it may not be satisfactory.
Yes, people will not eat it all--or maybe any of it. It is a cute way to serve, but not my favorite. They don't hold a lot so be prepared to refill.
 
If you do bake the bread, use a mold because you will want to be sure the bread comes out tall enough to actually use as a bowl.

I commend your thinking behind the project, but consider this: you plan to serve it to company, yes? Rather than risk the bread not coming out the way you planned, in the long run, wouldn't it be easire to simply make the purchase of the boules? This way, if they don't come out as you like, you haven't added the extra expese and time and effort of baking the bread in addition to purchasing the boules. Artesan bread does tend to be slightly more expensive than your average loaf of rye, but it will be worth it.

Once you know where to buy the bread, I'd give them a head's up a day before you need them. That way you know they'll have as many as you need.
 
I used a bread bowl recently with an Italian vegetable filling. It was very popular. I brushed the inside with good oilve oil and toasted it to help prevent it sogging too quickly.

Refilling probably will be necessary, so keep your chilli on a low hotplate so you can scoop some into the bowls quickly. I think largish individual breads are the best best. There are a millioan uses for the bread crumbs from inside, and as chili is not a costly dish to make, even with the expense of good bread I think it will be a really lovely way to entertain!
 
I'm wanting to bake my own bread for the practice. It's a very small get together (family), so if it doesn't turn out perfect, they'll forgive me. :) I've made artisan bread before, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I know how to shape the boule (kind of). Most of the time it turns out pretty good. :ermm: I have the bread bakers apprentice book, so I'll just find something in there.
 
My experience has been that the bread for a bread bowl needs to be denser than Ciabatta. My best successes have been with a rye bread.

A couple of suggestions to ensure that you don't end up with soup all over the table, are to serve those bread bowls IN bowls, or at the very least, in a plate with a high collar; to brush the inside of the bowl with olive oil before filling; to make sure you chili is not watery.
 
I think the bread dough needs to be pretty stiff because it needs to stand higher than usual--shouldn't spread out on the baking surface. I guess ChefJune said something similar by saying "dense". The suggestion to use a mold was good--small souffle dishes would work nicely. But if the bread will rise nicely and have a hard crust, it will be fine--even ciabatta. It would help to spritz the bread with water to encourage a harder crust.
I would not care for a rye bread bowl unless it was a reuben soup maybe. ;o)
 
lulu said:
I used a bread bowl recently with an Italian vegetable filling. It was very popular. I brushed the inside with good oilve oil and toasted it to help prevent it sogging too quickly.

Refilling probably will be necessary, so keep your chilli on a low hotplate so you can scoop some into the bowls quickly. I think largish individual breads are the best best. There are a millioan uses for the bread crumbs from inside, and as chili is not a costly dish to make, even with the expense of good bread I think it will be a really lovely way to entertain!

Sounds like you'll do fine lulu - using a mold sounds like a good idea!
 
I don't think I'd like rye bread with chili, but it is very good with split pea soup or most bean soups, as well as potato soups. :)
 
Here's the bread bowl recipe I use in my bread machine......

1 c. water
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. bread machine or quick rise yeast

1 egg yolk
1 T. water

Place all ingredients (except egg yolk and 1 T. water) in bread machine in the usual order. Select Dough cycle and press start. Grease the outsides of six 10 oz. custard cups and place upside down on ungreased cookie sheet. When dough is ready, remove from bread machine and let rest on a floured board for ten minutes.

Divide dough into six parts. Roll each into a 7" circle on a lightly floured surface then shape bowls over greased cups. Let rise 20 - 30 minutes until slightly puffy. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix egg yolk and water, brush gently over outside of bread bowls. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes until golden brown. Carefully remove custard cups and let bread bowls cool right side up on a wire rack. Freezes well.
 
Make your bread recipe dough and use the alum pot pie shells to bake it in. I am assuming that you are serving 6oz servings here. You can remove the bread from the shells. If you want, you can always let some of the bread dough hang over the sides of the shells and give it some design. You can also sprinkle the bread with cheese or seeds to make it unique from your kitchen.

You can also make puff pastry shells for serving and you can make them any size that you want.

To pretty it up, I would serve the bread bowl on a plate line with green lettuce leaves. You can ring the plate with crackers, mini bread sticks, fresh veggies like carrot sticks, cauiflower, and peppers.

Do I smell an apple strudel for desert?
 
San Francisco style sourdough bread rounds make excellent bread bowls for chili or clam chowder.

Of course, making sourdough rounds takes planning because it is very labor intensive and takes several days to complete, but it is totally worth it. I make my starter using the yeast from the skins of orgaincally grown grapes.
 
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