How to Make Panera’s Double Bread Bowl at Home – Info Computing

Soup and soup delivery systems continue to evolve and, as Jezebel reported earlier this week, Panera is transforming the soup-eating experience into something quite dadaesque by giving us a soup trough, with not one—but two—compartments.

Your first impulse may be to fill both compartments with soup, but Panera urges you to live a little and add some macaroni. Panera also recommends you share this “with your BFF, significant other, or even a coworker,” but I think this would best be consumed alone, under a bridge, with a shawl to shield yourself from the eyes of God (or Satan).

Because capitalism is a system that continues to fail us at every turn, this post-modern art project/food thing will only be available in Philly (which suspiciously, is where A.A. Newton lives) from August 5th (my birthday!) until August 31st. If you do not live in Philadelphia and need your own double bread bowl, you will have to (strong words) make your own. Here is how you do it:

Step 1: Abandon all hubris (and get some bread)

Look. You’re about to make a feeding trough of bread, and probably put macaroni and cheese in it, so it’s best you level with yourself. Look at the face on your head in the mirror and say “I’m going to make a double bread bowl now,” to completely free yourself from every last ounce of ego.

Next, go to the bakery, and buy a fairly large, oblong piece of bread (not a baguette), like a French boule, thicc batard, or loaf of sourdough. Size does matter here, and big bread energy isn’t enough; the loaf really does need to be quite large.

Step 2: Make the bowls

Using a sharp, thin blade—not a bread knife, because we aren’t slicing—carve out two three-inch holes about an inch and a half apart. Pull out the bread plugs, and eat them or set them aside to eat later.

Pull out more bread until you have two voids big enough to hold the amount of soup and cheesy noodles you would like to put in your body. Use the torn-out bread bits to make croutons by frying them in butter. Take care not to break the wall in between the two bowls for that would be a disaster. (No, it wouldn’t.)

Step 3: Fill the holes

So, uh, now it’s time to just shove food inside more food. If you’re worrying about the soup soaking through the bread, you can paint the carb chasm with a little room temperature butter (or mayo) to create a hydrophobic layer, or you could lay down some cheese slices I guess. It doesn’t matter. None of this matters.

Ladle hot soup into one side—this baby held a whole can—and spoon macaroni and cheese into the other, then garnish it to try and make it look respectable. Grab two spoons, find a buddy to share your creation with, and realize that you’ve never been more alone.