Easy Sourdough Bread Bowls Recipe (Perfect for Soup!)
This easy recipe for sourdough bread bowls yields a ton of flavor, with a crispy exterior that is signature to soup bowls! Each one is perfectly golden and sturdy enough to hold your favorite creamy soups, chowders, or chili, while the inside stays soft and chewy with that irresistible sourdough tang.
SOUP SEASON JUST GOT EVEN BETTER.
It’s officially soup season. Hooray! I honestly find myself making some sort of soup or chili a couple times a week throughout the fall and winter months and pretty much never get sick of it (my family may say otherwise though, ha!)
What’s the best pairing for soup and chili? Bread of course. And if it’s not a crusty loaf of sourdough bread, it’s got to be these sourdough bread bowls.
So good, and honestly not much more effort than regular ol’ sourdough bread. They just need to be divided and shaped before placing on a baking sheet. Hollow out the middle, ladle in your favorite soup, and enjoy every last bite.
Quick Recipe Snapshot
TOTAL TIME: Including bulk fermentation & rise time, about 12 hours start to finish. Remember good things come to those who wait 🙂
YIELD: 8 bread bowls.
STORAGE: Leftover bowls store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months!
BEST SERVED WITH: Soup, of course! Add your favorite soup or this quick 30 minute chili for a cozy fall meal, or use these bowls as a festive and fun way to serve your favorite dips.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Tips for a Crusty Exterior
- Preheat the Baking Sheet: In all of my other sourdough bread recipes, I preheat a Dutch oven to ensure a crispy exterior. I highly recommend preheating the baking sheet before placing the bowls on top and baking.
- Use Steam: This is an essential step for bread bowls. Add a baking dish full of boiling water to the oven while it’s preheating and while the bread bowls are baking.
- Don’t Skip the Egg Wash: I have tried this recipe both with and without the egg wash, and I definitely prefer the egg washed version! Not only does it add beautiful color, but it helps create even more of a crisp exterior.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below!
Step by Step Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, salt, and honey, whisking together to combine. Slowly add in the flour, mixing together with your hands until just combined. Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. This process is known as autolyse, which helps the dough to fully absorb the liquid and become much more hydrated.
- Stretch and Folds: Once the dough has had a chance to rest, begin completing your first stretch and fold. To do this, grab one edge of the dough and pull up, gently stretching it out as you pull upwards. Place this dough back into the center, and then give the bowl a quarter turn. Then grab another edge of dough, and complete another stretch and fold. Repeat two more times. This is considered one set of stretch and folds. You will do two more rounds of stretch and folds, waiting about 20 minutes in between each set.
- Bulk fermentation: Once you have completed the stretch and fold process, add the dough to a bowl or banneton basket, cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and allow it to bulk ferment overnight, about 8-12 hours.
- Divide & Shape: The next morning, gently take the risen dough out of the bowl and divide into 8 equal sections (about 220 grams each). Shape each dough ball by folding the sides of the dough onto itself, and roll up. Shape into a tight smooth ball by gently spinning it toward you. This helps to create a nice oven spring, which is essential for bread bowls. You don’t want them to be flat!
- Place the individually shaped dough balls onto sheets of parchment paper (I do 4 bowls per sheet and bake one baking sheet at a time). Cover with plastic wrap and allow them to rise one final time for 1-2 hours.
- Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, place a baking dish with boiling water (about 4 cups) onto the bottom rack and a baking sheet onto the top rack. This will help create crusty exteriors for the bread bowls.
- Carefully remove the preheated baking sheet out of the oven and place the parchment paper with the bread bowls on top. Add the egg wash (optional but highly recommended!) right before popping into the oven.
- Baking the Bowls: Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn the oven down to 425 and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes, or until nicely golden brown and a food thermometer inserted into the center reads 200-205 degrees F.
- Allow the bowls to cool before cutting a circle into the top and scooping out the interior. Ladle in your favorite soup and enjoy!
Quick Tip: Don’t throw the extra tops and interior of the bowls away! I like to toast them up and make sourdough breadcrumbs.
Serving Ideas
- Soups & Chowders: I love these bread bowls paired with our family’s favorite potato soup. They were made for creamy favorites like broccoli cheddar or corn chowder!
- Hearty Chili: For the ultimate cozy meal on a chilly night, ladle in our family favorite chili recipe.
- Appetizer Dips & Party Snacks: Try serving warm spinach artichoke dip or buffalo chicken dip for game day — the bowl itself becomes part of the snack!
If you have any other fun serving ideas, be sure to share them in the comments below!
Recipe FAQs & Troubleshooting Tips
Before you dive in, here are some common questions and troubleshooting tips for making sourdough bread bowls at home. Whether it’s your first time baking with sourdough or you’re perfecting your technique, these quick answers will help you get that perfectly crusty, bakery-style result every time.
Let the bread cool completely before cutting! Use a small, serrated knife to gently carve out the center, leaving about an inch of bread around the sides and bottom for sturdiness.
They should be deeply golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. You can also use a thermometer — the internal temperature should be around 200–205°F.
Yes. Once completely cooled, wrap each bowl tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight, freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then reheat in the oven to crisp them back up.
Definitely! Bake them a day or two ahead and store in an airtight container at room temperature. To refresh, warm in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes to bring back that crusty texture.
Pin it For Later!
Easy Sourdough Bread Bowls
- Total Time: 12 hours
- Yield: 8 bowls 1x
Description
This easy recipe for sourdough bread bowls yields a ton of flavor, with a crispy exterior that is signature to soup bowls! Each one is perfectly golden and sturdy enough to hold your favorite creamy soups, chowders, or chili, while the inside stays soft and chewy with that irresistible sourdough tang.
Ingredients
- 200 grams active sourdough starter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 600 grams filtered water
- 3 tsp salt
- 1000 grams flour ((about 8 cups))
Egg Wash
- 1 egg + 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, salt, and honey, whisking together to combine. Slowly add in the flour, mixing together with your hands until just combined. Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. This process is known as autolyse, which helps the dough to fully absorb the liquid and become much more hydrated.
- Stretch and Folds: Once the dough has had a chance to rest, begin completing your first stretch and fold. To do this, grab one edge of the dough and pull up, gently stretching it out as you pull upwards. Place this dough back into the center, and then give the bowl a quarter turn. Then grab another edge of dough, and complete another stretch and fold. Repeat two more times. This is considered one set of stretch and folds. You will do two more rounds of stretch and folds, waiting about 20 minutes in between each set.
- Bulk fermentation: Once you have completed the stretch and fold process, add the dough to a lightly greased bowl or banneton basket. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and allow it to bulk ferment overnight, about 8-12 hours.
- Divide & Shape: The next morning, gently take the risen dough out of the bowl and divide into 8 equal sections (about 220 grams each). Shape each dough ball by folding the sides of the dough onto itself, and roll up. Shape into a tight smooth ball by gently spinning it toward you. This helps to create a nice oven spring, which is essential for bread bowls. You don't want them to be flat!
- Place the individually shaped dough balls onto sheets of parchment paper (I do 4 bowls per sheet and bake one baking sheet at a time). Cover with plastic wrap and allow them to rise one final time for 1-2 hours.
- Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, place a baking dish with boiling water (about 4 cups) onto the bottom rack and a baking sheet onto the top rack. This will help create crusty exteriors for the bread bowls.
- Carefully remove the preheated baking sheet out of the oven and place the parchment paper with the bread bowls on top. Add the egg wash (optional but highly recommended!) right before popping into the oven.
- Baking the Bowls: Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn the oven down to 425 and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes, or until nicely golden brown and a food thermometer inserted into the center reads 200-205 degrees F.
- Allow the bowls to cool before cutting a circle into the top and scooping out the interior. Ladle in your favorite soup and enjoy!
Notes
- Serves: This recipe yields 8 bread bowls. It can easily be cut in half to create only 4.
- Storage: Baked bowls will store well in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Once the bowls have cooled completely, store in an airtight, freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw and then reheat in the oven.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bread Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for from scratch sourdough bread bowls, be sure to come back and leave a comment and a 5 star rating! Tag me on Instagram with your creations @ourhandcraftedhomeblog.
