Bread Bowls for Two

By Addie

We're big fans of edible bread bowls; not only are they a tasty counterpart to whatever they contain, they minimize the amount of dishes in the sink once we're done eating!

Ingredients

• Starter:
• 1/2 cup cool water
• 1/16 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• ................................................
• Dough:
• all of the starter (from above)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• cornmeal for dusting

Preparation

Step 1

1) To make the starter: Mix the water, yeast, and flour, stirring until the flour is incorporated. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours, until bubbly.

2) To make the dough: Combine the starter with the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead by hand, mixer, or bread machine to make a soft, smooth dough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 60 minutes.

4) Gently deflate the dough, divide it in half, and round each half into a ball.

5) Place each ball, seam side up, in a generously floured mini brotform. No brotform? Place the dough seam side down on a piece of parchment.

6) Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy, about 60 minutes.

7) Tip the loaves out of the brotform onto a cornmeal-dusted baker's peel or parchment, and transfer them to a pizza stone in a preheated 425°F oven.

8) Bake the loaves on the stone for 22 to 26 minutes, until they're golden brown. No pizza stone? Simply bake the loaves on a baking sheet.

9) To make bread bowls: Cut the top third off each loaf. Scoop out the insides, and fill with your favorite hearty soup or stew.

Yield: 2 bread bowls.