Something Old is New Again:Uptown's Fresh Baked Sourdough Bread Bowls

When we first started baking our own bread a few years ago, one of my managers suggested that we do a bread bowl for our soups. My first thought was, "That is so 80s," and I dismissed it.  I thought bread bowls had gone the way of fern bars and macramé. You know, I've been around the block a few times.

In recent years, I have noticed - especially with some of the chains - a resurgence of the bread bowl. Some things just never go out of style I guess. In many cases, I'm sure that what you see these days are product that is called a par baked. This is something that comes in 80 to 90% baked, then frozen and finished off in the oven. While they can be very good, nothing beats fresh out of the oven.

Recently on one of our 20° below zero days, the idea hit me... or should I say re-hit me. It was right before lunch, and the fresh sourdough had just come out of the oven. I sliced a piece for me and grabbed a cup of our fresh homemade soup. What a fantastic combination!  Full flavored sourdough, crispy crust, great homemade soup.

Yes, I was having the bright idea, "Let's do a bread bowl!"

We pair this bread bowl with a side wedged iceberg salad, or you can also have "the bowl" by itself. We will only serve them fresh, and we won't have them every day. Sometimes it might depend on the style of soup whether it will work in a bread bowl.

We usually have our menu updated online by 11 o'clock in the morning so you could check and see if we have a bread bowl available that day and what the hot steamy homemade soup is. While it's cold, get 'em while it's hot.