You go to a restaurant and decide to try the bread bowl. The waiter serves you the dish and you don’t even know where to begin from. All you see is a bowl filled with soup and a lid made of bread. How does one eat a bread bowl? Before you can know how to eat a bread bowl, you have to know what a bread bowl is to begin with. A bread bowl is a loaf of bread. Yes, a round bread loaf that has its middle cut out to form a soup bowl. This soup bowl isn’t just designed to serve as a bowl to carry food but you also get to eat the bowl after!
Bread bowls are used to serve clam chowder, chili and other thick soups and stew. It is not advisable to eat lighter soups with bread bowls because the bowls could become soggy before you even finish eating the soup. If the thin soup soaks thought the bread bowl before you finish eating, you won’t be able cut the bowl and eat. Bread bowls are loved because the bread soaks up the flavor of the broth and gives and it gives a satisfying feeling when you’re eating it. Bread bowls can also serve as a dip where the cut out bread is dipped into the broth in the bowl.
HOW TO MAKE A BREAD BOWL
Knowing how to eat a bread bowl helps improve your eating etiquette when you’re indoor and when you’re outdoor.
Ingredients:
- Active dry yeast (2 packages)
- Vegetable oil (2 tablespoon)
- Warm water (2½ cups)
- 7 cups of flour
- Salt (2 tablespoons)
- 1 egg white
- Cornmeal (1 tablespoon)
- Water (1 tablespoon)
The quantity of the ingredients depends on the number of servings.
Process:
Step 1: dissolve yeast in a large bowl of warm water. Leave it to become creamy; this should take about ten minutes.
Step 2: add 4 cups of flour, salt and vegetable oil to the yeast and beat it well.
Step 3: add the remaining cups of flour little by little as you beat the mixture until you have poured in all the flour. Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture.
Step 4: take the dough and put it on a board. Apply flour on the board before putting the flour. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic.
Step 5: oil a large bowl lightly and place the dough inside. Ensure to oil all the sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with a wet cloth and allow the dough rise in a warm place. Leave the dough until it doubles in size.
Step 6: punch down the dough and divide it into the number of portions you want to serve. Each portion should be shaped into a round loaf.
Step 7: sprinkle cornmeal on greased baking trays or sheets. Then, put the loaves on them.
Step 8: cover the tray. Let the loaves rise until it doubles in size.
Step 9: preheat the oven to 200ºc.
Step 10: beat egg while and water in a small bowl; brush the loaves with the egg mixture.
Step 11: bake the loaves in the oven for 15 minutes. Brush more egg mixture on them and bake again for another 10-15 minutes or until the loaves turn golden. Remove the baked loaves and allow to cool down.
Step 12: this is the part where you make the bowls. Cut out ½ inch slice of the bread loaf. Next, you have to scoop out the bread at the center of the loaf leaving the sides thick.
Fill the bread bowls with hot soup or broth and eat immediately.
HOW TO EAT SOUP SERVED IN BREAD BOWLS
The lid of the bowl is made with bread too. You can take the lid and dip it into the soup immediately you’re served. You can also decide to eat the bread lid with butter and sip the soup with a spoon. A bread bowl can contain chili, soup, broth or chowder. Immediately you’re served the soup, use a spoon to eat it before the bread gets soggy. Do not lift the bread bowl when eating your soup because the soup might spill. If you’re eating different dishes, finish the soup in the bread bowl first to prevent sogginess.
How to cut a bread bowl
When you have eaten a large quantity of the soup, here’s how to cut a bread bowl:
Use a serrated knife to cut the sides of the bowl that doesn’t have soup. Cut the bowl until you’re almost at the soup level. If you’re not comfortable using a knife, you can tear the bread bowl with your hands. Do not try to tear the bowl apart when it’s still full of soup. Make sure you eat enough of the soup before tearing small portions of the bread.
Light soup can soak through bread bowls quickly; thick soups are eaten instead when eating with a bread bowl. Thick soup does not soak into the bread and this helps the bowl maintain its shape while you eat the soup. Clam chowder, corn chowder and potato soup served in bread bowls is also an excellent idea. Meat or vegetable chili is also good for bread bowls because it doesn’t have too much liquid. You can also add toppings to garnish the soup in the bread bowl.
CONCLUSION
For those wondering how to eat a bread bowl the right way, you should understand that there is really no right or wrong way to eat a bread bowl. The best thing to do is to treat the bread bowl as just a bowl of soup that you regularly eat. Use a spoon to eat the soup or broth and then you can enjoy tearing the bowl itself. You should also keep a napkin handy to clean up after using your hand to tear the bread bowl.
