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Make homemade bread bowls for your delicious soups and dips! This recipe is easy, oil-free, and vegan!
Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Bowls
Broccoli cheddar soup in a Panera bread bowl was HEAVEN for me in my pre-vegan days. I don't know what it is about Panera that exudes health...but, in reality, you can make homemade bread bowls that are MUCH healthier than what they are serving.
These bread bowls are oil-free, vegan, and made with whole wheat flour. I had yet to find a recipe online that fit that criteria, so I decided to make it myself - and I just have to say, I'm pretty proud. Are they as indulgent-tasting as Panera Bread's bread bowls? Nope, but they're still good and I really don't miss the unhealthy alternative when there is SUPER DELICIOUS soup filling these babies.
Don't limit homemade bread bowls to vessels for just soup - they also work excellently to hold dip in (like nacho cheese)! Make sure to reserve the cut-out bread for dipping. Don't waste an ounce of those tasty carbs, okay?
Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups warm water NOT hot
- 2 packets active dry yeast or 4.5 tsp
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup or agave syrup
- 4 cups unbleached white flour
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup aquafaba liquid from a can of chickpeas - optional
Instructions
- Mix the yeast, warm water, and maple/agave syrup together in your mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer with a dough hook for this recipe.) Let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a separate bowl, combine the white flour, whole wheat flour, and salt.
- Turn on your mixer and slowly add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time. Let the dough hook knead the dough on a low speed for about 10 minutes. Occasionally, the dough might crawl up the hook - push it back down.
- If the dough is still sticky, add more flour 1-2 tablespoon at a time.
- Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 1 hour in a warm area. I like to place the bowl in my oven with just the oven light on - perfect temp!
- Punch the dough down and then separate into 5 even pieces. Roll them up into balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and let rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- If the balls have flattened out a little, just re-shape and plump them back up.
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (make sure your bread bowls aren't still in there!)
- Brush the tops of the bread bowls with aquafaba - this is optional but will help achieve that golden brown look without eggs.
- Bake for 20 mins. Brush with more aquafaba and bake for another 15 minutes.
- After your bread bowls have cooled, carve out the middle using a serrated knife. Hollow it out more using a spoon - make sure to leave ¾-1 inch of the bread bowl intact all the way around so it is still strong enough to hold warm soup!
Tessa Cunningham says
Made this and it was so simple and delicious! Such a great accompaniment to a warm soup on a chilly fall day!
Tessa Cunningham says
Hi Karissa! Would this recipe work with all whole-wheat flour, or all purpose flour? I don’t currently have unbleached flour on hand. Thanks!
Karissa says
Yes, all-purpose will work in place of unbleached.