The bread bowls can be any bread recipe you've got. I don't recommend an enriched dough because it needs to have a good crust. Your favorite loaf recipe is fine as long as it doesn't have eggs or a lot of fat. It doesn't need to be a rustic bread to have enough crust. We used this recipe because the youngest had used it before and felt comfortable with it. It made 6 perfect bowls. We used 9 oz of dough shaped into balls. We let the balls rise for half an hour and then baked them at 350 degrees for about a half-hour or so. Be sure to let them cool for 20 minutes before you cut the tops off so you don't get gummy middles. Once you cut the tops off (about an inch down) pull out the bread inside. Don't get overzealous here. You want to leave a little layer along the bottom and sides to help protect against leaks. It should come out pretty easily. The bread you pull out can be served with the soup for dunking or you can save it and turn it into croutons.
The soup is simple and only takes 20 minutes.
Cream of Chicken With Thyme
3 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced fine
1/2 t salt
1 t garlic
3 T flour
6 cups chicken stock
3 potatoes, diced
two sprigs of thyme (1 T leaves, fresh)
2 cups shredded chicken*
1/4 c plain yogurt (buttermilk works too)
3/4 c heavy cream
1. Heat the oil in the bottom of a 4 qt pot and saute the onion and salt until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
2. Add the flour and stir cooking for a few minutes to make a roux.
3. Stir in the chicken stock and dump in the potatoes. Drop in the thyme.
4. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
5. Add the chicken. Stir in the yogurt and heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve.
I know the garlic seems like too little, but it's designed to not be a major flavor, just a background note. You can also add celery with the onions if you like.
*Alternatively, in step 1 heat the oil and then add two chicken breasts to the pot. Brown lightly on each side, approximately 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. In step 3, when adding the stock to the pot, add the stock slowly and scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the fond and get it into the soup. Then add the chicken back into the soup. Poach in the stock until done. Remove from soup and let cool for a few minutes. Shred or cube according to preference and add back to the soup. Continue as written for the rest.
