Pretzel Bread Bowls

There are soups that yearn for this kind of thing.

I mean, think about it.  When you lovingly pour your heart and soul into a pot of hearty soup, you don't want to subject that extension of your being to the cold, hard life that awaits them in ceramic bowls.  Bowls like that are essentially a soup prison.  Cold, depressing walls with no give, no texture, and no escape.

Do you want to live in prison?

Well, neither does your soup.

Enter these bad boys.  Essentially, these are pretzels molded into giant rolls that can be scooped open to create a pocket for your handcrafted dinners.  And pretzel bowls?  They are warm.  And soft.  And moist.  And, full of little nooks.  Nothing like prison and everything like a warm, delicious cloud from Heaven.

Have I gotten the point across yet?

These are absolutely fantastic with a cheese-based soup.  But, I'm pretty sure they would work for just about anything else, too.

It's too cold not to make these right now!



Pretzel Bread Bowls
(adapted from Une Bonne Vie)


7 cups flour
1/2 stick butter
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups milk, approximately 105F
1 cup lukewarm water


In a large bowl, combine milk and yeast.  Let sit 5 minutes.  Make sure the mixture has bubbles on the surface before continuing.

Add the flour, butter, salt and water to the yeast mixture and form a dough.  Cover with a warm dish towel and let rise one hour.

Punch dough and form a ball with the dough.  Cut into pieces to desired size.  I cut 18 out of mine for small bowls.  Roll each piece into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Cover with a warm dish towel and let rise for an additional hour.

Preheat oven 400F.

Start a pot of 6 cups boiling water with 4 tablespoons of baking soda.  Using three balls at a time, submerge into boiling water for 1 minute.  Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.  Return to the greased surface.

Cut a slit in the top of each bread ball and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

When ready to use, hollow out the inside of the bread bowl like you would a pumpkin, starting with a large hole in the top.  Pour desired soup into the bowl.  Serve with bread bowl filling on the side.





Listening to:   AC/DC - Back In Black