Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowls

It officially feels like Fall now. The high temperatures have subsided and the past few days have been really gloomy and rainy. When it's so cold and cloudy, it puts me in a mood to knit and sip hot soup. Broccoli cheddar soup sounded perfect and by making my own bread, my house got filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread.

I had such a hard time finding faux chicken stock because my local Whole Foods was out. So if you cannot find any, vegetable stock can be substituted.

I also found it easier to bake each bread bowl in a small duralex glass bowl or any other oven safe bowl. It helped it to keep its shape because when placed on a baking sheet, it tends to start going flat. I kept all the soft bread filling that I scooped out to dip in my hot soup. Really good and so filling!

Printer Friendly Recipe Here

Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients

* 2 Tb vegan butter ( such as Earth Balance )
* 1 onion, diced
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 2 cups soy creamer or any other non-dairy creamer
* 3 cups faux chicken stock ( try Better than Bouillon )
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 lb broccoli
* 1 1/2 cups carrots, diced
* sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* a dash of nutmeg
* 2 1/2 cups vegan cheddar cheese, finely grated ( I recommend Daiya Cheddar Cheese )
* 6 bread bowls ( Recipe Below )

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.


2. Whisk in flour and cook 2 more minutes.


3. Then slowly whisk in soy creamer and faux chicken stock. Stir until smooth. Add bay leaves, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered until thickened, about 20 minutes.


4. Add broccoli and carrots and cook another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.


5. Puree soup either in a blender in batches or by using a immersion blender.


6. Return soup to pot over medium heat. Add cheese and stir until melted.





Bread Bowls
Makes 4 Medium Sized or 6 Small Sized Bread Bowls

Ingredients

* 2 ( .25 ounce ) packages of active dry yeast
* 2 1/2 cups of warm water
* 2 tsp sea salt
* 2 Tb canola oil
* 7 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting

Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Mix well. Add remaining 3 cups of flour. Mix again and then knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.


4. Punch dough down, and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape them into round balls, not flat. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.


5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Uncover loaves and heavily spray with water.


6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 22 minutes or until they are a golden brown. Cool on wire racks.


7. To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).

To Serve - Ladle hot soup in each bowl.

I got the recipe for the bread bowls here and changed it around a little the bowls large enough and the ingredients vegan