Clam Chowder in Bread Bowl

All this rain during the rainy season in Jakarta has been making me crave soup.  The other night I decided I really wanted some clam chowder in a bread bowl.  I looked up some recipes for clam chowder and came up with this one by taking parts from a couple of recipes.  I get most of my recipe ideas from www.allrecipes.com.  I mixed recipes because I really wanted clam chowder, and I didn’t want to run to the store to get anything I didn’t already have in my pantry.  The kids liked the soup although they weren’t too fond of clams.  DH loved the soup.  Everyone loved the bread bowls. So this isn’t the healthiest recipe, but it certainly hit the spot!
Clam Chowder

• 1 can cream of potato soup
• 1 can baby clams
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 strips of bacon chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp. butter

I cooked the bacon in the bottom of a soup pot.  The bacon here in Jakarta is actually super lean and more like ham so I added 1 Tbsp. of butter and cooked the bacon in the butter. If using regular bacon, I would drain the excess fat and leave just a little bit for flavor.  When the bacon was part-way cooked, I added the onions and bell peppers and cooked everything until the bacon was crispy.  Then I added some potatoes and stir-fried them briefly.   I added the entire can of clams.  Then I added 2 cups of heavy cream and the can of cream of potato soup.  I added a little salt and white pepper to taste.  I also threw in roughly 1 Tbsp. of dried parsley…I think fresh would be better. I cooked the soup over medium heat until the potatoes were tender.

Bread Bowl
Before starting the soup, I started the dough for the bread bowls. I basically used the recipe for the Italian Bread Bowl from allrecipes.com. I liked this recipe because the ingredients were simple and I had them on hand. I halved the recipes and made 5 smaller bread bowls for our family instead of the 8 in the recipe.  The following recipe makes 4 large bread bowls.

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1-1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 egg white
• 1-1/2 teaspoons water

The instructions are pasted from all recipes.com with a few minor changes to the quantities since I halved the recipe.

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, oil and 1/2 the flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. 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 each portion into a 4 inch round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. 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). In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make bowls: Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from top of each loaf; scoop out centers, leaving 3/4-inch-thick shells. Fill bread bowls with hot soup and serve immediately.