Sourdough bread bowls are a popular choice for serving soups, stews, or dips. They are made from sourdough bread, which is known for its tangy flavor and chewy texture. Creating sourdough bread bowls involves making a sourdough bread dough and shaping it into bowl-like structures before baking.

Sourdough bread bowls with soup.

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Tools you might need:

Ingredients:

Water: Water is a crucial component in any bread recipe. It hydrates the flour and activates the gluten-forming proteins. In sourdough bread, the water is also essential for maintaining the hydration of the sourdough starter. Filtered water works best.
Salt: Salt serves multiple purposes in bread baking. It enhances the flavor of the bread, regulates yeast activity, and strengthens the gluten structure. It also helps control the fermentation process, preventing the dough from rising too quickly. I use Mediterranean Sea Salt.
Sourdough Starter: The sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that has undergone fermentation, capturing wild yeast and lactobacilli bacteria. This natural leavening agent gives sourdough its distinctive tangy flavor and helps the dough rise. The starter is essentially a living culture of microorganisms. If you need help creating a starter read my Simple 3 Tbsp Method to Make Sourdough Starter, or read Sourdough Starter Maintenance on how to maintain and feed your sourdough starter. Make sure your starter is active and bubbly, passing the float test for this recipe.
Bread Flour: Bread flour is a high-protein flour that is ideal for making bread. The protein content, primarily gluten-forming proteins like glutenin and gliadin, gives the dough its structure and elasticity. Bread flour contributes to a chewy texture in the final product. King Arthur Bread Flour is the perfect selection for this recipe.

How to make sourdough bread bowls:

Feed your starter:

Make sure you have fed your sourdough starter at least 4-6 hours before using it.
Mix 1 cup bread flour, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 cup (50 g) starter. Stir vigorously, making sure all of the flour has been hydrated.
Leave the starter on top of your fridge until it has doubled (4-6 hours). This depends on how warm your house is. The warmer your house, the faster it will rise and double.

Make the dough:

Using your kitchen scale measure out the water, salt, sourdough starter, and bread flour.
Mix well with a wooden spoon. It will be a rough shaggy ball of dough.
Let the dough rest for 15 mins.

Strengthen the dough:

After 15 mins do your first set stretch and fold. With slightly wet hands pull the dough up from one side and over. Then twist the bowl and the another stretch. (4 times picking up the dough and folding it over itself)
Repeat the stretch and folds 4 times, 15 mins apart.

Bulk Ferment:

Cover the bowl with plastic and leave it out on the counter or on top of your fridge overnight.

Shape:

In the morning, place the fermented dough on the counter and divide into 6 small balls or 4 larger balls (depending on how big you want your bowls).
Roll each ball and place on a parchment paper seam side down. Coat each ball with rice flour so they wont stick to the parchment paper.

Second rise:

Let the balls of dough rise for about 2-4 hours, until you can visibly see that they doubled (depending on how warm your house is, it can be faster or slower).

Bake the bread bowls:

Preheat your oven to 450 F with ice in a separate bowl on the bottom rack.
Slash an X shape on top of each bread with a bread lame.
Brush the top of your bread bowls with olive oil using a pastry brush.
When you’re placing the baking sheets into the oven, add a little more ice into the ceramic bowl to create steam.
Bake the bread bowls for 30-40 mins. Until they are golden brown to your liking.
After baked rub butter on top of the buns for that added color and appearance. It makes the bread not dry but moist.

Serve:

Let the bread bowls cool for about an hour or so.
Using a small, sharp, serrated knife cut into the top of the bread to create a bowl shape.
Serve for dinner with soup.

Crumb shot:

Sourdough bread bowls.

What kind of soup to serve:

Sample Bakers Schedule Option 1:

8 AM: Feed your sourdough starter.

8 PM : Mix your dough. strengthen your dough, and cover to rise overnight.

7-8 AM: Divide and shape the dough.

8:30 AM: Cover for second rise.

10 AM: Bake.

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Sourdough Bread Bowls pin.

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Sourdough Bread Bowls

Sourdough bread bowls are a popular choice for serving soups, stews, or dips.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Ferment 8

Total Time 10 30

Course Bread

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Kitchen Scale
Wooden spoon
Parchment Paper
Baking sheet
Sharp knife
Lame

Ingredients

385 g water
12 g salt
100 g sourdough starter
520 g bread flour
olive oil for brushing on before baking
butter rub on once baked
rice flour to coat each ball of dough