***Bread Bowl*** ?

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me if you can really bake bread in a bowl shape like domino's does, or is it only that they have a special process ? I know I could just bake the bread and cut it out, I just want to know i you can actually bake a bowl ?

My WFO has been a great buiding learning experience ! Now I can cook too, Kinda


Mark

[texassourdough]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Hi Mark!

I have only made bread bowls a couple of times. What you want is a rather small, tight, boule. I have seen bread recipes but I think you can do fine with the following logic.

I think bread flour is a better choice for most soups for it won't gum up as badly as AP. The baker's percentage should be on the low side - probably 62 or so to tighten up the crumb so it won't have big holes that let the soup out. Also, a more thorough handling at the forming stage will remove the big holes and let the boule start out more uniform.

If the boule were for a salad or something thicker like chili, AP might be preferable depending on your "chew" preferences. For AP I would think a BP of 59-60 would be about right.

Good Luck!
Jay

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

hi Jay
Im thinkin chili bowls, for our annual block party.. So, you would actually just shape the bowls as best you could and place them in the oven ? Still learnin here so please go slow..

Thanks Mark

[Gromit]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Mark, a boule is a round loaf. There is a video on how to shape it on this page: Hearth Bread Instruction Video | Bread Techniques

From there, I would imagine you would slice the top off and dig the bread out. I've seen the bowls served with the top set back in place so it looks just like the original loaf of bread.

[texassourdough]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Hi Mark!

Bread, like pizza, is cooked on the hearth. Higher hydration doughs tend to spread and not make great bread bowls which is one of the reasons for reducing the hydration. You, no doubt, are not into sourdough yet and that is good for timing sourdough for an event is not a good early bread exercise. Go with a yeasted dough (all you want is flour, water, and salt). A Pane Pugliese recipe would be good for chile bowls. Virtually any straight white bread will do but I would avoid eggs, milk, etc. - just straight dough. BP 59-60. (Could even be a bit lower, depending on your flour) It should be underproofed a bit because you want a lot of oven spring - (gives taller loaves for more bowl-like results).

You should probably practice this on a 4 pound batch in the indoor oven before you try outside.

Outside oven temp can be a bit on the hot side for the boules will be smaller than conventional loaves - probably no more than a pound. An issue in all this is having enough bowls/proofing baskets the right size to proof the boules in. If you make the dough stiff enough you can proof them on parchment but they will spread some.

Thinking about this latter reconfirms my thought that you need to practice this a few times on a smaller scale before going into the WFO.

Good Luck!
Jay

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

hey all,
thanks for the help, I was worried what I would do when my oven was finished, But learning about bread alone can be pretty time consuming (in a good way) I have made a few loaves so far and not bad,,, some the birds and squirells enjoyed more than i did...
The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool enough to eat it and the exercise required to keep from buying larger pants

[Gromit]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Mark, I know what you mean. While I was working on my oven every day, I was feeling fit and trim and dropped a few pounds. Let's just say I reversed that trend since I completed the oven...

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Maybe we should make a work out video "The 5 Minute WFO Exercise Video" Concept could be 5 minutes of exercise for each slice, Some of the exercises could be Kneading dough, Mixing cement, Stacking bricks,, We could get richard Simmons to host

[splatgirl]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Mark, were you asking about how to make them bowl-shaped right from the get go? Because I would like to know about that as well, but it sounds like the replies so far are mostly referring to baking a round (boule) loaf and then punching out the middle to get the bowl, which is not my preferred bread bowl. I want them like Perkins bread bowl salad bowls, (only not stale and gross.)
So to re-ask the question: does anyone have advice for forming and baking a bowl shaped bowl?
I tried once in the indoor oven once using some trader joes dough stretched over the outside of an oiled mixing bowl. It was a complete failure and I had to chisel/tear the dough off the bowl. I guess I would try greasing the bowl with shortening next time, but I think part of the problem was the consistency of the dough, too. Turns out it tastes terrible anyway.

[texassourdough]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

Hi Splatgirl!

The only bread bowls I have seen have been boules that were hollowed out so...that was what I tried to suggest.

Your mentioning Perkins sent me on a search and I found the following site which seems to address what you want.

Italian Bread Bowl (Perkins Knock-Off)

Good Luck!
Jay

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

hey splat,,
yes thats where i was going..... have to check out the link now and see what it says

Jay thanks for the link

Mark

[jmhepworth]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

I just looked at the Perkins knock off and it looks a whole lot less appealing to me than a sourdough bowl. We particularly like the chowder in a bread bowl by Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland.

[splatgirl]

Re: ***Bread Bowl*** ?

OK, yes, the link is the way I tried to make them. I did it pretty much exactly that same way, but no worky. Guess I have to try again with some of my homemade dough. I've been baking double batches of sourdough just about every weekend lately so I'll give it a go with some next time.