Easy Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe – Perfect For Soup Season!

This Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe is a perfect, fun and flavorful way to serve soups, stews, or dips! With its crisp crust and tangy, chewy interior, this bread bowl is the ideal vessel for your favorite comfort foods.

If you love the cozy charm of homemade sourdough and the fun of serving soup in something edible, you’re going to adore these sourdough bread bowls! They’re perfectly crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside—just right for holding your favorite chili, seasonal stew, or creamy potato soup. Soup season just got an upgrade with this easy bread bowl recipe!

Not only are these homemade bread bowls fun to make, but they’re also a total showstopper. Your family and guests will be so impressed when you serve up a warm, hearty meal in a fresh sourdough bread bowl. 

Sourdough pairs beautifully with a variety of fillings, from creamy soup to rich, cheesy dip. The naturally occurring wild yeast in active sourdough starter provides its signature tangy flavor, and when used for a bread bowl, it adds a depth of flavor that makes every bite more satisfying. 

This sourdough bread bowl recipe walks you through each step, so whether you’re a sourdough pro or just getting started with your own sourdough starter, you’ll feel confident and excited to bake. It’s perfect for cozy meals with friends and family or as a standout centerpiece at your next dinner gathering. 

Pair these homemade sourdough bread bowls with your favorite homemade soups – tomato soup, clam chowder, or delicious chicken noodle. You’ll love scooping savory soups from the insides of the bread bowls. The bread catches all the delicious flavor of the hot soup.

If you love the idea of making your true sourdough bread, try some of our other favorite staple sourdough recipes – sourdough garlic cheddar focaccia, same day sourdough pizza crust, soft sourdough pita bread, or easy sourdough tortillas.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavorful – The active starter gives the sourdough bowl a tangy depth of flavor that enhances any soup or dip.

Fun to make and serve – Turning sourdough into a bread bowl creates a memorable experience, whether you’re hosting guests or enjoying a cozy meal at home. Pair with your favorite soup recipe for the perfect meal.

Perfect for leftovers – The bread bowl doubles as an edible container, making cleanup easy and minimizing waste. Plus, the bread stays fresh for dipping or snacking!

What Is a Sourdough Bread Bowl?

A sourdough bread bowl is a rustic, round loaf of sourdough bread hollowed out in the center to create a vessel for soup, stew, or dips. The outer crust is crisp and golden, while the inside remains soft and chewy, making it perfect for scooping up delicious fillings. It’s a fun, practical, and delicious way to serve your favorite dishes.

This recipe uses a traditional sourdough method to make loaves, then hollows out the middle to create homemade sourdough bread bowls.

Sourdough Bread Bowl Ingredients

• Active sourdough starter: You’ll need a sourdough starter that is bubbly and active, not sourdough discard. 
• Bread Flour: Bread flour provides the structure necessary for the bowl to hold up when filled with soup or dip. To make bread flour, you can add 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten to every 1 cup of all purpose flour.
• Olive Oil: You can use any neutral oil you like, including avocado oil

A full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.

Tools You May Need

• Kitchen Scale – Bread recipes are much more accurate with weight measurements.
• Danish dough whisk – Not necessary, but I find this helpful for mixing the dough. You can also use a wooden spoon.
• Dough scraper (bench scraper) – This helps cut the dough into dough balls. You can also use a sharp serrated knife.
• Sheet pan or pizza stone – To make four mini loaves, open bake with a pizza stone or sheet pan. Place about a cup of water into a pan beneath the baking sheet to help with oven spring. You can use a Dutch oven, but would need a small one to make multiple at a time.

How to Make This Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the starter, water, and honey until mostly dissolved. Add the flour and mix until no dry bits remain. Let rest for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle in the salt and drizzle with olive oil. Gently mix until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Over the next 2 hours, perform 4 stretch-and-folds, one set every 30 minutes. To do this, pull up one side of the dough, fold it into the middle, then turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Cover the dough with a damp, clean tea towel. You will end up with a smooth dough after all the folds.
3. After the final fold, cover the bowl and let the bread dough rest at room temperature for 1–2 hours, then refrigerate overnight (8–12 hours) for a long bulk fermentation. For a faster rise time, place the dough in a warm place for 8 hours, then shape and bake.
4. Remove dough from the fridge and let it warm for 1 hour. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with a piece of parchment paper. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces (~215g each). Shape each piece of dough into a tight round ball to create surface tension. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Cover the dough rounds with a towel or place them in a lightly floured proofing basket. Let rise at room temp for an hour, until slightly puffy (but not doubled).
6. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) with a baking stone and a pan on the bottom rack for steam. When ready, score the top of the bread bowl with a sharp knife. You have the option to do an egg wash with a pastry brush for a more golden brown crust.
7. Slide the dough into the oven and pour a cup of water into the steam tray. Bake for 20–25 minutes until deep golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.
8. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, slice off the tops and carefully hollow out the centers to create your bread bowls.

Baker’s Timeline

Day 1

• 6 pm: Start your dough
• 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Stretch and folds
• 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm: Rest at room temperature
• 10:30 pm –  6 am: Bulk fermentation

Day 2

• 6 am: Remove from fridge
• 7 am: Divide and shape, then cover and rest
• 8 am: Bake

You’ll have bread bowls cooled and ready for use for lunch or dinner!

Tips for Making This Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe

• Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly. If it’s been stored in the fridge, feed it for a few days before using it in this recipe.
• Adding steam in the oven helps create that crispy, golden crust. Add a pan of water below your baking stone. This will evaporate and help the dough rise.
• Be careful when hollowing out the bread to leave enough of the bread’s structure so that it doesn’t collapse when you add soup or dip.
• Once cooled, store the bread bowls in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you want to keep them longer, do not hollow them out and freeze the mini loaves for up to 3 months.

Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe Variations

1. Garlic Herb Sourdough Bread Bowl: Add minced garlic and dried herbs (such as rosemary or thyme) to the dough for a flavorful twist.
2. Cheese-Infused Sourdough: Mix in some shredded cheese (cheddar or parmesan) into the dough before the first rise for a cheesy, savory version.
3. Whole Wheat Sourdough: Swap out part or all of the bread flour for whole wheat flour for a heartier, more rustic flavor.

Recipe FAQs

I hope you love this sourdough bread bowl recipe!

Other Sourdough Recipes You May Enjoy…

• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones
• Overnight Sourdough English Muffins
• Overnight Sourdough Bagels
• Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
• Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

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