Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls
Pumpkin shaped bread bowls are the perfect way to make your Fall soup fun and festive! Made with my Beginner French Bread recipe, they are easy to make and delicious to eat. Make them smaller for pull apart rolls!
Fall is full of wonderful traditions! The air is turning crisp and the excitement of the Holidays begins. One of the best things about Fall is the ushering in of soup season! All kinds of soups hit the menu and if you’re soup fan like me, you just can’t get enough!
Shaping
Shaping the dough is an important part of getting beautiful results on both the outside and the inside of the bread. Round each piece of dough into a ball. While cupping the dough ball with your hands, rotate the dough in a circular motion until the outer surface of the dough ball tightens and you feel the interior of the dough come together to form a solid ball of dough with no air pockets.
Creating the pumpkin shape
Once you have the dough balls all shaped and rounded out, it’s time to create some pumpkins! Take a piece of twine from the bowl of olive oil.
Find the middle of the piece of twine and place it over the center of the dough ball horizontally. Flip the dough over and bring the ends of the twine together. Tie a double knot in the center of the dough ball, making sure not to pull the twine too tightly around the dough. Take the ends of the string and arrange them vertically (in the opposite direction of the twine you just double knotted). Flip the dough back over, bring the ends up and tie another double knot in the center, loosely wrapping the twine around the dough. Arrange the ends of the twine diagonally, flip the dough over and bring the ends together. Tie a double knot. Arrange the ends of the twin diagonally in the opposite direction. Flip the dough over and bring the ends together, tying a double knot again in the center. Cut off the excess string. You should now have a dough ball that is wrapped with twine, creating eight sections.
Once you have all of your dough balls prepared, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cover with a light kitchen towel. Let them rise while you preheat the oven. This second rise shouldn’t take too long. You are looking for them to double in size. Typically by the time your oven is fully preheated, they will be ready to bake.
Check to make sure your dough has fully proofed by making an indentation in the dough with your finger. If the dough springs back quickly, it needs more time to proof. If it holds it shape and slowly springs back, it is ready to bake.
Brush the dough with an egg wash. This helps give the crust a beautiful shiny sheen and golden color when baked.
Making pull apart rolls
Want to make pumpkin shaped dinner rolls? Use the same technique, but with smaller pieces of dough. Rolls will weigh about 2.5 ounces each. The rise and bake time will be slightly less than a full sized bread bowl. This can be a fun option for pull apart rolls! The pumpkin wedges make it easy to pull apart and dip in your favorite soup! See the notes in my recipe for instructions to make these roll sized.
If you want a more flaky and crispy outer crust, use steam when baking. When preheating the oven, place a metal pan on the bottom rack. When you put the bread in the oven to bake, carefully add ice cubes to the metal pan and quickly close the door. The ice cubes will melt, creating steam in the oven. Remove the steam pan from the oven half way through the bake. The steam helps to create a fluffier, higher lift in the bread. Removing the steam half way through the bake will help you achieve that crispy, golden crust.
Bake the bread until it is golden. You can also check to make sure it is completely baked by lightly tapping on the bottom of the bread. If it has a hollow sound, it is done. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Allow it to cool for about 5-10 minutes and then cut and remove the twine from the bread. While the bread bowls are still a bit warm, gently insert a pecan half in the center top of the bowl, creating the pumpkin stem. Hot bread out of the oven continues to bake internally for 1-2 hours. Allow the bread bowls to cool completely before serving.
Serving bread bowls
These bread bowls are perfect for using during the entire Fall season! Start right after Labor Day and continue through Thanksgiving! They are a special touch that will make a beautiful statement on your Fall dinner table!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ½ cup warm water (110°F)
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 cups bread flour
Egg wash
- 1 egg plus 2 Tablespoons of water
Stems
- 4 pecan halves
Baking twine
- 4 42-inch pieces of baker’s twine
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
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Make the dough: Attach the dough hook to your electric mixer. Add the water, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil and 4 cups of the bread flour to your mixing bowl. Combine on low speed until the dough comes together in one large mass (about one minute). Stop mixer and check dough with finger. If it’s excessively sticky or wet, add 1/4 cup of flour and mix until combined. Check with finger again and repeat if needed. Dough should be soft but not wet. Knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Dough should clean the sides of the bowl and form a soft ball. Let it rest in the mixer for 5 minutes after kneading.
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First rise: Spray the inside of a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put the dough in the bowl and turn so all sides are coated. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
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Prepare the baking twine: In a small bowl, soak the 4 pieces of baker’s twine in olive oil. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes before using. I start soaking it up to 2 hours before using.
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Prepare your baking pans: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
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Scale & Shape: Sprinkle work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, about 8 ounces each. Round each piece of dough into a ball. While cupping the dough ball with your hands, rotate the dough in a circular motion until the outer surface of the dough ball tightens and you feel the interior of the dough come together to form a solid ball of dough with no air pockets.
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Remove one piece of string from the bowl of olive oil, pinching off any excess while sliding it between your thumb and finger tip.
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Wrapping the dough: Find the middle of the piece of twine and place it over the center of the dough ball horizontally. Flip the dough over and bring the ends of the twine together. Tie a double knot in the center of the dough ball, making sure not to pull the twine too tightly around the dough. Take the ends of the string and arrange them vertically (in the opposite direction as the twine you just double knotted). Flip the dough back over, bring the ends up and tie another double knot in the center, loosely wrapping the twine around the dough. Arrange the ends of the twine diagonally, flip the dough over and bring the ends together. Tie a double knot. Arrange the ends of the twin diagonally in the opposite direction. Flip the dough over and bring the ends together, tying a double knot again in the center. Cut off the excess string. You should now have a dough ball that is wrapped with twine, creating eight sections.
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Place the twine wrapped dough ball on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the remaining three dough balls.
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Second rise: Cover the dough balls with the kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in size, about 25-45 minutes. Don’t over proof or the twine will be very difficult to remove from the baked bread.
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Preheat oven to 375°F. If baking with steam, preheat with a metal pan on the bottom rack of the oven.
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In a small bowl, crack one egg and add 2 Tablespoons of water. Whisk together and brush onto the loaf. This will give the bread a shiny, golden crust.
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Put the bread in the oven on the center rack. Before closing the oven door, carefully place 2 cups of ice in the preheated metal pan on the bottom rack.
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Bake for 18-24 minutes and golden. Remove the steam pan half way through the bake, after about 10 minutes. Continue to bake for the remainder of the bake time. When tapping on the bread, it should have a hollow sound.
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Transfer bread bowls to a wire cooling rack. Once they have cooled enough to handle (about 5-10 minutes), cut the twine and carefully remove it from the bread bowls. Discard the twine. While still warm, place the pecan half in the center on top of the bread bowl, creating the look of a pumpkin stem.
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Once completely cooled, cut a circle around the top of the bread bowl with a sharp serrated knife. Carefully remove the top. Gently tear out the interior bread, saving the crumbs of bread for dipping later. Create a hollow interior for pouring soup into – being careful not to tear the sides or bottom of the bread bowl. Pour your favorite soup into the bread bowl and enjoy! Use the extra crumbs that were removed from the inside for dipping.
Notes
- Make a smaller version for pull apart rolls. When dividing the dough, divide it into 12 small dough balls, about 2.5 ounces each. Repeat the same process of wrapping them in baker’s twine, using pieces of twine that are about 36 inches long. Bake at 375°F for 16-20 minutes and golden.
- There are many factors that can change the results of a yeast bread dough. Heat, humidity, altitude, flour types can all yield slightly different results. When I’m adding flour to a bread recipe, I always check my dough before adding the last cup of flour. I touch the dough with my finger and gauge how much more flour it needs. If the dough is still very sticky and wet, I add 1/4 cup flour at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds and checking again. Bread dough should be soft to the touch, but not sticking excessively to your fingers. It’s always best to go lighter on flour, because you can always add more during the shaping process. Mixing in too much flour will yield a dry loaf. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at knowing how the dough should feel.
- I’ve made this bread substituting two of the cups of flour for wheat flour. This gives it a great flavor and adds extra nutrition!