Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup In Bread Bowls

This past weekend it snowed here in Utah and I was freezing! All I wanted to do was sit on the couch with a bowl of soup and watch movies until the snow went away. Soup helps me get through this freezing season that I'm not a huge fan of. Give me a big bowl of soup and I'm a happy camper. One of my favorites is Broccoli Cheese soup. I have never be able to find a recipe that is close to Kneaders famous Broccoli Cheese soup. I found this recipe for Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup and I thought it looks like Kneaders Broccoli Cheese so why not give it a try. So I made it and it turned out almost exactly like Kneaders. I also love soup in bread bowl so I decided to make my own bread bowls, so easy! Here is what you will need:

1/4 Tbs Melted Butter
1/2 Medium Onion
1/4 C Flour
2 Cups Half and Half Cream (I use heavy whipping cream)
3 C Chicken Stock
1/2 lbs Broccoli (about 1 cup)
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
8 oz Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Frozen Loaf of Bread (makes 2-3 bread bowls)
1 egg

 

 

 



The morning that you are going to make your soup, take out a loaf of frozen bread dough. Spray a plate or a pan with cooking spray and put your loaf on the plate to defrost. Take plastic wrap and gently lay it over your frozen loaf so that as it thaws the top will not dry out.
Once it has defrosted cut the loaf in half or thirds pending on what size you would like your bread bowls to be.

Take each section of the dough and make a ball by grabbing the ends of the dough and wrapping them underneath until it forms a round ball. Place them on a cookie sheet cover in wax paper and cover the tops of the balls in plastic wrap so they will not dry out. Now just let them hang out and raise.



Now for the soup. Add butter to your pot and let it melt. While your butter is melting dice up your medium onion. Once diced add it to your melted butter and sauté until your onions are translucent. Next you will add your flour. You will want to make sure you are constantly stirring your flour mixture so your flour doesn't burn. Stir that for about 2 minutes than add your cream and chicken stock. Let that simmer for 20 minutes.

Your soup should have a thicker consistency and is ready for your broccoli. Add all your broccoli. I was add double the broccoli because we like a lot of broccoli so add as much as you would like. You will want to cut your broccoli down in to small bit size pieces. Let  your broccoli simmer on low for 25 minutes until broccoli is tender.

Add your nutmeg and salt and pepper. This next step is completely up to you. We like our soup to have a smoother consistency so at this point I will pull out my potato masher and start mashing the broccoli into smaller pieces. After I have broken down the broccoli into smaller pieces I add the cheese. Let your cheese melt. Once it is melted your soup is ready.

Now to get back to the bread bowls. At this point the bread should have doubled if not tripled in size.

While the broccoli is getting tender I will preheat my oven to 350 degrees. Take an egg and beat it up. Add a little water to your egg. This egg wash is what will give your bread bowls the nice golden color. Take a brush and very gently bush your egg wash onto to the bread bowls. Put into your oven for 20-25 until they are golden brown.

You are now ready to eat. Cut the top off your bread bowl. Pull all the bread out of the inside (great for dipping!) and fill your bowl up with delicious Broccoli Cheese Soup. You can top with more cheese if you are cheese lover like myself. I hope you all enjoy my favorite soup! Stay warm!