Mrs. Fisher's Findings: Baking Bread Bowls & Soup

For my birthday, my mom bought me a Best of Taste of Home Magazine, that had a recipe in it for bread bowls. And if you know me, whenever I go to Panera, I always get their bread bowls with soup in them. YUM! So I decided to be adventurous and try my luck at making them from scratch.

First I whipped out my in-laws bread machine. And had the dough made in there.

This took about 1 1/2 hours. Which was great because it also rose in the machine as well. My husband loved the aroma it gave off as well.

I punched that dough down and made them into round balls:

Here's what they looked like after rising for 30-40 min.:

------------- Taste of Home Photo and Recipe ------------------

Ingredients

1/2 cup water (70° to 80°)
1 cup warm milk (70° to 80°)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 egg white, lightly beaten
VEGETABLE CHOWDER:
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
6 tablespoons butter
3-1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4-1/2 cups milk
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into six portions; shape into balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with egg white. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).
For chowder, in a large saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add mixed vegetables. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in milk until combined. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in bacon, bouillon, seasoned salt and pepper until bouillon is dissolved. Serve in bread bowls. Yield: 6 servings.