Bread bowls

There is something about eating a bread bowl that makes me feel like Willie Wonka. Remember that scene where they are in that room where everything is edible? He takes a bite of that crispy tea cup. I'm sure somewhere in that scene there is a bread bowl sitting atop a chocolate covered marshmallow stool. I might just need to watch it again to find that bread bowl. It's gotta be in there somewhere! Anywho- if you haven't guessed, I made bread bowls tonight, and they turned out wonderful. I want to share the recipe with you.
By the way- the soup in that bread bowl was ridiculously delicious. That post is next.

Bread Bowls:
adapted from a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com called Italian Bread Bowls

1 pkg yeast or 2 1/4 t yeast
1 1/4 c warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 t sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t Italian seasoning
1 T vegetable oil
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 t cornmeal
1 egg white
1 1/2 t water

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Sprinkle the sugar on top to help the yeast fall. Stir it all up and let it rest for ten minutes. Add the salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, vegetable oil, and 2 cups flour. I threw all of this into my bread maker. If you don't have one, use a mixer with a hook attachment. If you don't have that, I hope you have some buff biceps to knead all of this yourself. Add the remaining 1 1/2 c flour by 1/2 c at a time. Knead well after each addition. Put it on the dough setting or place it in a bowl, cover it, and let it rise until it is doubled in size.

Punch the down down and divide it into four balls. I did two larger bowls for me and my husband and two smaller ones for my kids. The larger ones were about 4 inches in diameter. Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size. I always stick my bread in the microwave with a bowl of warm water. It rises pretty quickly like that. Mine doubled in size in about 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Brush them with a mixture of the egg white and water. I used a silicone brush since it's a little softer than a pastry brush. Bake them for 15 minutes. Take them out, brush them again, and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Isn't that lovely? I cut off the tops using a serrated knife and scooped out the inside. The inside chunk of bread is great for dipping in the soup. I was very happy with the way this turned out. I thought for sure my bread bowls were going to come out looking like bread frisbees. I was a bit disappointed because it would have been a lot of fun for the family to chuck a bread frisbee around the park. Maybe next time. :)