January really is a depressing month, cold wet and miserable. One of my favourite meals for this time of year is soup and fresh bread. It feels healthy enough to fit in with any new year’s resolutions and is warm and comforting at the same time. While I make a lot of fresh brea d I’ve never actually made soup before so when I saw some friends having a similar lunch out on Facebook I decided to try making tomato soup served in freshly baked bread bowls.
First the bread:
Makes 2 small loaves including a roll on the “lid”
250g Wholemeal bread flour
250g Strong white bread flour
1 sachet fast action yeast
10g salt
125ml warm whole milk
125ml warm water
30g Unsalted butter (softened)
Method:
- Place the flours in a large bowl or freestanding mixer bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon
- Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the opposite side. Mix thoroughly.
- Mix 125ml of whole milk and 125ml of water in a microwavable jug and heat for approx 40 seconds (try 20 seconds at a time to avoid over heating).
- Gradually add the warm milk & water to the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon (or fingers) until all the flour is picked up. Depending on how moist or dry your flour is you might need slightly more / less water.
- Once all the flour is picked up add the softened butter and knead for at least 10 minutes. I let my stand mixer do this for me with a dough hook but it can also be done by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place in a clean oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise for at least an hour and a half until doubled in size.
- Tip the risen dough onto a floured surface and knock back (knead out the air)
- Split the dough into two and then split each piece into a large piece and a small piece (about 3/4 and 1/4)
- Shape the 2 larger pieces into round loaves and push down with your thumb in the centre to make a dent for the roll on top (it’s almost like a cob loaf).
- Shape the 2 smaller pieces into round rolls and push down onto the top of the loaves.
- Place on a greased and floured baking tray, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 30 minutes whilst preheating the oven to 180c.
- Bake at 180c for about 25 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when you knock on the bottom.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack
- Once cooled cut off the top of the loaves just below the rolls to make “lids” and scoop out the middle of the loaves.
The tomato soup actually contains a few other veggies as well – basically the bits I had left from making pizzas earlier in the week.
Ingredients:
1/2 a large red onion (or 1 small red onion)
1 – 2 red peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 handful of fresh basil
Olive oil to roast
Balsamic vinegar to season
250g passata
Black pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200c
- Chop the tomatoes into quarters and chop the red onion and red pepper into similar sizes chunks.
- Peel the garlic cloves and use the flat of a knife blade to crush them.
- Place the vegetables into a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil, turning the veg to coat evenly.
- Add the basil leaves and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
- Cover the tin with foil and roast for 1hr 30 minutes turning occasionally to stop the veg sticking to the tin.
- Place the veg in a blender and pulse until all lumps have gone.
- Pass the purée through a sieve to remove the tomato seeds and place in a saucepan. Add the passata and 250ml of boiled water, add black pepper to taste and simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring occaisionally.
- Once the passata has cooked through serve the soup in the previously hollowed out loaves.
This post is my entry into the Co-operative Electrical competition being run by Tots 100. I’m also linking to Emily Leary’s recipe of the week and Karen Burns-Booth’s cooking with herbs.
LOVE the way you’ve presented it – looks and sounds yummy. Thanks so much for joining in with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve Pinned and Tweeted this post and there’s a fresh linky live now for this week. Hope you can join in! x
What a FABULOUS recipe, I LOVE it! So inventive and no washing up, well no bowls to wash up! Fabulous, thanks for linking up to Cooking with Herbs! Karen
I love serving soup in bread bowls. Although I have previously gone the, probably dafter, route of making large rolls, and cutting off the top before scooping out the bread. Making a cob-style seems so much more simple, and I bet you get a better bowl out of it too.
This soup looks like a winner.
Oh this looks so yummy! The kids would love the bread roll bowls too.