This recipe makes 6 miniature sourdough bread bowls which results in a fun and easy way to serve a variety of soups and dips. You can also leave these as mini artisan loaves which are a great way to gift bread!
❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough Bread Bowls
I think the best part about these mini sourdough loaves is that they are a special touch to any meal. Our family loves soup, and they are so impressed when I serve their favorite soup in a homemade bread bowl. These are also great for gifts! I bring them to Bible study or women’s group, and we just split them in half so everyone gets a piece without the hassle of cutting slices of bread for a group.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – Active, bubbly starter that has been fed and is ready to leaven bread. Every good loaf of sourdough bread starts with a strong starter. It is typical to use your starter anywhere from 4 – 8 hours after feeding, depending on the temperate of your home. The colder your home, the slower it will be to rise.
Flour- All-purpose flour is a staple in our home. Even if you’re not a frequent baker, you usually have a bag of all-purpose flour in your pantry, so I wanted to make this recipe accessible to the masses.
Water – filtered, room temperature water.
Salt – I use pink Himalayan salt.
👩🍳 How to Make Sourdough Bread Bowls
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- When your starter has peaked, assemble your dough.
Dough Assembly
- In a large bowl using a food scale, whisk together your water and bubbly starter until a milky liquid form. Add in the flour and salt. Mix together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Let rest for 45 minutes.
- After resting, work your dough into a semi – smooth ball by pulling one side of the dough up and over, rotating the bowl, and repeating until the dough appears smoother (about 30 seconds).
- Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes.
- After resting, perform your first set of stretch and folds, or coil folds. They do the same thing.
- Perform 2-4 more stretch and folds anywhere from 30 minutes-1 hour apart.
- Cover with a damp tea towel or bowl cover and let it rest on the counter overnight (8-10 hours).
- In the morning, your dough should have doubled in size. Turn over onto a lightly floured work space. Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces (280 – 300 grams each).
- Shape each piece like you would a regular round artisan loaf, only this one is smaller.
- Place seam-side up into a proofing basket and place all 6 baskets onto a baking sheet for easier transferring. Cover with plastic wrap and place the whole tray of dough into your fridge for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
Baking
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Turn all 6 loaves onto a large piece of parchment paper on top of a baking sheet, score the tops of the dough as you would a normal size loaf. Carefully transfer to the top wrack of the oven.
- Place an oven-safe shallow dish (I use my cast iron skillet) on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour boiling water in the dish and close the oven immediately to trap in the steam.
- Bake for 18 minutes with steam, then remove the dish with water and bake for an additional 18-20 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
- Tip: to make into a bread bowl, with a sharp serrated knife cut the top of the bread off in a circle. Then with your hands, take the inside of the bread out as deep and wide as you prefer.
- If you top any soup off in the bowl with cheese, you can toast the entire bowl for another 10 minutes at 370 degrees.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t have the mini bannetons, this recipe also makes two regular sized loaves. Just split the dough in half instead of in 6ths when you are ready to bake.
- If you don’t have mini bannetons but still want to make these bread bowls, place them in a small linen lined kitchen bowl instead.
- Hollow out the bread: Use a serrated knife to carefully remove the interior of the bread, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick and then you can fill it with your dips, soups, or stews!
🗒 Bakers Schedule
10am: feed your sourdough starter and let it rise throughout the day.
5pm: whenever your starter is at peak, assemble your dough.
6pm: work the dough into a smooth ball
7pm: coil fold/ stretch and folds
8pm: coil fold/ stretch and folds
9pm: coil fold/ stretch and folds
Cover and let it rise overnight
7am: separate the dough into 6 equal pieces and let rise, or place in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
7:30am: preheat your oven.
8am: bake and enjoy a soup bowl for lunch or keep the dough in the fridge and bake at 3pm to have a soup bowl for dinner 🙂
👩🍳 Variety
Mini loaves are a fun and simple way to make bread for friends and family without a lot of extra work or ingredients!
Triple Chocolate Mini Loaves – Acts Of Sourdough
Mini Jalapeno Cheddar Loaves – Acts Of Sourdough
Mini Chocolate + Strawberry Loaves – Acts Of Sourdough
Tiny Turkey Loaves – Acts Of Sourdough
Dutch Oven Tomato Soup – Acts Of Sourdough
🗒 Best Served With
- This can be served with a variety of soups, stews, and dips
- Simple sides like a mixed green salad or pickled vegetables for a well-rounded meal.
- Serve these bread bowls on a appetizer table for game day!
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Storing Leftovers: If you have extra bread bowl pieces, they can be used to make croutons or stashed in the freezer for future use.
Short term: Store your leftover bread in a bread on your counter for 2 – 4 days.
🤔 Common Questions
Yes, you absolutely can. Bake two – three at a time in one Dutch oven, they will be a little softer on the outside, but they bake for the same amount of time. Just take the lid off to release the steam.
Sourdough Bread Bowls
Equipment
- Mini bannetons
- large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 100 grams bubbly, active starter
- 700 grams water
- 1000 grams all purpose flour
- 18 grams salt
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- When your starter has peaked, assemble your dough.
Dough Assembly
- In a large bowl using a food scale, whisk together your water and bubbly starter until a milky liquid form. Add in the flour and salt. Mix together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Let rest for 45 minutes.
- After resting, work your dough into a semi – smooth ball by pulling one side of the dough up and over, rotating the bowl, and repeating until the dough appears smoother (about 30 seconds).
- Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes.
- After resting, perform your first set of stretch and folds, or coil folds. They do the same thing.
- Perform 2-4 more stretch and folds anywhere from 30 minutes-1 hour apart.
- Cover with a damp tea towel or bowl cover and let it rest on the counter overnight (8-10 hours).
- In the morning, your dough should have doubled in size. Turn over onto a lightly floured work space. Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces (280 – 300 grams each).
- Shape each piece like you would a regular round artisan loaf, only this one is smaller.
- Place seam-side up into a proofing basket and place all 6 baskets onto a baking sheet for easier transferring. Cover with plastic wrap and place the whole tray of dough into your fridge for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
Baking
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Turn all 6 loaves onto a large piece of parchment paper on top of a baking sheet, score the tops of the dough as you would a normal size loaf. Carefully transfer to the top wrack of the oven.
- Place an oven-safe shallow dish (I use my cast iron skillet) on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour boiling water in the dish and close the oven immediately to trap in the steam.
- Bake for 18 minutes with steam, then remove the dish with water and bake for an additional 18-20 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
- Tip: to make into a bread bowl, with a sharp serrated knife cut the top of the bread off in a circle. Then with your hands, take the inside of the bread out as deep and wide as you prefer.
- If you top any soup off in the bowl with cheese, you can toast the entire bowl for another 10 minutes at 370 degrees.
Notes
Nutrition
Sign Up for a 🆓 Free Digital Seasonal Soup Book
I made these to go with my ham and bean soup. They are fabulous. I particularly like the flexible schedule once the bulk fermentation overnight is completed. I put them in the refrigerator and baked them the next day for dinner. I made three round loaves to use as bread bowls and shaped the rest of the dough into a loaf and baked in a bread/loaf pan. I will use this recipe again!
I love that! 😊