The Best Sourdough Bread Bowls – The Perfect Serving Vessel

These are the BEST Sourdough Bread Bowls! And, they make the PERFECT serving vessel! I filled these amazing bowls with a Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup that paired perfectly, especially on a cold and rainy day like today. If you are interested in that soup recipe HERE it is.

Is Sourdough Easy?

Now, I’m not going to lie, sourdough can be intimidating! And, the people who have perfected the art of sourdough can often times forget where they started from. Also, disclaimer, I know my sourdough is not up to 100% perfection, however, my family loves it, and I am always working to tweak the recipe to make it just right for us!

So, if you find yourself in a group that is very critical for learning sourdough, well you are now in the right place! No criticism from me, I remember how I began. I had all the problems, and sometime still do, but that is what helps us learn and develop our skills. And, we want to learn these skills so, that eventually we can get to a point where we don’t need a recipe, we just know the dough! We know how it is supposed to feel and look, we know the way it stretches and moves. It becomes an artform. And, once you bake your first delicious loaf, it will be hard to turn away from baking more of it.

My Sourdough Starter’s name is “Bubbles”

I sometimes have a love hate relationship with my sourdough starter. What I mean by that is, that I get my sourdough starter, “Bubbles,” out of the refrigerator, I will feed him so strong, and I will make all the things sourdough! Sometimes, I even prefer to use my sourdough starter just for the discard recipes. Because, if you haven’t had sourdough pancakes, waffles, or cupcakes. Then, I am sorry to say, you are missing out! So, if you make a sourdough starter for the sole purpose of discard recipes, that is OK! But, after awhile, I get tired of feeding “Bubbles” daily (sometimes twice a day when he is hungry, lol.) And, I will resort to feeding him, then putting him back in the fridge. I call this his Vacation time, lol. I will feed him once a week, and slowly drift away form sourdough recipes. But then, something in me ALWAYS yearns to go back. I get drawn back in by “Bubbles,” like he calls to me. Hey, Kara… It’s been awhile, I’m hungry, let’s bake something. So, to be clear, I never actually Hate “Bubbles,” we just need time apart sometimes.

The Inspiration For Sourdough Bread Bowls

So, this week, I felt that calling again. I really wanted to work on a sourdough loaf, but I wanted something a bit different. So, I decided to make bread bowls. I don’t know why I was so afraid to make them. They were actually easier than my regular sourdough loaf, and it basically uses the same recipe. They turned out better than I could have every imagined. And, the good news is, that I wrote it all down, so I could share my recipe and process with you!

How Transition Your Regular Flour Sourdough Over To Fresh Milled Whole Wheat Flour?

Transitioning your Sourdough Starter over to Fresh Milled Whole Wheat Flour is actually a simpler process than it may seem. It just takes a bit of time. I have a post that goes over how to transition your regular white flour over to fresh milled flour. HERE is that post.

How Do You Start Milling Your Own Flour?

There is so much information out there about switching to fresh milled flour at home that it can d=be daunting and overwhelming. I made this post to help ease the information, and you can find that post HERE. I also have a video coming soon with all the info. Checkout my YouTube Channel HERE to watch out for that.

Do You Need A Scale To Make Sourdough Bread?

It is highly suggested to use a kitchen scale for more accurate results. You can grab one fairly inexpensively, and it will save you many of loaves of bread tossed in the trash. Because, measuring flour by volume, especially for sourdough, is less accurate it can mess up the science behind how sourdough works. So, is it REQUIRED, no I suppose not. But, to get nice results it is highly recommended to have a scale that weighs in grams. HERE is the scale I use, and it works great!

Ingredients For Sourdough Bread Bowls

• 1 TBSP Sourdough Starter (Active, healthy, and bubbly)
• 550 g of Fresh Milled Hard White Wheat Flour – Divided (I mill by weight, but it should be about 3 cups of wheat berries milled into about 4&2/3 cups of total milled flour)
• 10 g sea salt (1&3/4tsp)
• 475 g room temperature filtered water – Divided (about 2 cups)
• Dusting of rice flour

Instructions For Making These Sourdough Bread Bowls

I will try to explain this process in the best way possible. It may sound intimidating, but the process is not really as difficult as it may sound. I will put the volume and weight, but I HIGHLY suggest you use a scale and make this by weight! This recipe makes 4 Bread Bowls.

Make the Leaven the Night Before

1. To make the leaven the night before, you use 1 TBSP of a hungry starter and mix it with 50g water(1/4cup) and 50g fresh milled hard white wheat flour (1/2cup). Mix to combine, and let sit covered at room temperature overnight.

The Next Morning

1. Firstly, pour 400g of room temperature filtered water into a medium bowl.
2. Then, add the leaven you made the night before. (the leaven should appear to lightly float if it is ready) Stir.
3. Next, add 500 g of fresh milled hard white wheat flour, mix until no dry flour is left. Cover and let sit for 30- 45 minutes. This is called the Autolyse.
4. In a separate small bowl, add 25g room temperature filtered water(1/8cup) and 10g of sea salt(1&3/4 tsp), stir to start dissolving the salt.
5. Then, after it had a chance to absorb the water, now add the salt & water mixture. and mix it in with your hands. You should see that the dough already is softer and not so shaggy. Cover, and let sit for 30-60 minutes. This is the beginning of the Bulk Ferment.
6. Pull & fold dough in the bowl, turning the bowl a few times, Then cover.
7. Repeat this Pull & Fold technique every 30-60 minutes until the dough rises about 20-30%. It should get bubbly, and stretchy over time. This phase should take about 4-6 hours.

Shaping The Loafs

1. Then, take it to a clean flat work surface, cut the dough into 4 equal size pieces.
2. Pull and fold each dough piece, and start to shape the loafs. Use the cup & turn technique to form a round shape. Let the dough balls rest for 10-20 minutes. This is called the Bench Rest.
3. Repeat shaping 1-2 more times, until each ball forms good surface tension. You should notice the dough ball “remembers” better each time you shape it.
4. During this time, preheat oven to 480*F with a small oven safe bowl of water. So it will make a steam oven
5. Coat each dough ball with a little rice flour and score the loaf with a little plus sign.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place each loaf on the lined baking sheet.
7. Bake bread bowls for 15 minutes at the 480*F
8. Then, decrease oven to 425*F and continue baking 20-25 more minutes. Check the temperature of the loaves, and bake until the internal temperature of each loaf reaches. 210*F
9. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing into them.
10. Once cooled, carve a circle on the top of each loaf to form a vessel for your soup or whatever you want to fill them with.
11. I have a great soup recipe that pairs perfectly with these bread bowls.

Checkout Some Of My Other Recipes

Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Kamut Pasta Noodle

The Greatest Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Sourdough Cupcakes

Sourdough Discard Recipes

Pumpkin Einkorn Dog Treats

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