This football bread bowl dip is made of a homemade foot ball shaped bread bowl, and a dip featuring bacon! Serve with crunchy vegetables and chips for a game day snack that will be everyone's favourite!
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🏈Game Day Appetizer
I seen many recipes for football bread bowl dips that uses refrigerated French bread dough, but none of them uses a homemade bread recipe. Because I like to make things from scratch, I set out to make the bread completely homemade. If you want to make it easier on yourself, you can absolutely use store bought dough. I suggest purchasing 3 of them.
I have a recipe for a soft French bread, but I wanted something more stable so that it could hold the dip. So I decided on a recipe that is more of a crusty French bread, and it works so perfectly for this recipe.
The dip gets added after you bake the bread. Cover and warm the whole thing up while your guests arrive. Serve with crunchy vegetables and chips!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Water - It should be warm, not hot. Aim for about 110°F (43°C).
- Yeast - Use whichever type of yeast you are used to working with.
- Cream cheese - Use the block cream cheese which is meant for cooking with.
- Oil - I used vegetable oil. Other non tasting oils can be substituted here.
🔪Instructions
Bread Bowl
In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes to let the yeast bloom. When ready, add 5 cups flour, salt, and oil. Knead dough, adding more flour as needed, a bit at a time. Dough is ready when it comes together.
Form dough into a large ball and place into a large greased bowl, and cover. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Football Assembly
When dough is ready, punch it down and form into 3 equal balls. Roll one ball out onto a floured surface until it's a large rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect at this point. Move the rolled out dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Form another one of the balls of dough into a long log and place it on top of the rolled out dough, forming one side of a football. Repeat with the last ball of dough and place it forming the other side of a football. Pinch the bread seams together.
Trim around the edge of the football removing the extra dough. Using the extra dough, make 2 strips about 3 inches long, and a set of football laces. For the laces, cut out a strip of dough, about 4 inches long. Cut out 4 thinner strips, about 1.5 inches long. Put them vertically over the horizontal 4 inch strip of dough to make "'laces."
Place the 2 dough strips onto each end of the football bread to make it look like stripes. Place the laces onto the baking sheet with the football bread. In a small bowl combine egg and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk and then brush all over the football bread and the laces.
Cover the whole baking pan with the bread on it, with clean dish towels while you preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Remove towels from baking pan. Place baking pan with all the bread on it into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bread is a golden brown.
Dip
In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sour cream together. Mix until the mixture is smooth. Add cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and half the bacon. Mix together until well combined.
Assembly
When bread is fully baked, remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (165°C). Let bread cool for 10 minutes on it's baking pan, then remove the laces and set them aside to cool completely.
Use a bread knife and trim out the center of the football, making the opening in the bowl larger. Leave a 2 inch border around the outside of the football. The bread will be quite hot so be careful. Spoon dip into bread bowl. Cover the whole baking pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the dip is hot.
Remove from oven and remove aluminum foil from baking pan. Place bread bowl onto a serving dish. Scatter remaining bacon and green onions on top of dip. Place reserved bread "laces" on top of dip. Serve dip hot with vegetables and chips.
✔️Expert Tips
- Instead of a homemade bread bowl, you can substitute with Pillsbury refrigerated French Bread (the one in a tube).
- New to bread baking? I have a bread baking tutorial post and you can find it here!
- You can make this ahead of time. Make the bread dough, let it rise, and then cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. Let dough warm to room temperature the next day, before continuing with the recipe, about 2 hours.
- You can also make the dip the day before. Store in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
💭FAQs
You could freeze the bread dough after making it, and before it's rise. I don't recommend freezing anything else.
You can make the bread dough, let it rise, and then cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. Let dough warm to room temperature the next day, about 2 hours.
You can also make the dip up to 3 days in advance. Store in the refrigerator.
🔖Related Recipes
📋 Recipe
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Football Bread Bowl Dip
Ingredients
Bread Bowl
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup warm water
- 6-8 cups all purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large egg for brushing on to the bread
Dip
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1½ cups sour cream room temperature
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 5 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon green onions chopped
Instructions
Bread Bowl
- In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes to let the yeast bloom.
- When ready, add 5 cups flour, salt, and oil. Knead dough, adding more flour as needed, a bit at a time. Dough is ready when it comes together.
- Form dough into a large ball and place into a large greased bowl, and cover. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- When dough is ready, punch it down and form into 3 equal balls. Roll one ball out onto a floured surface until it's a large rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect at this point. Move the rolled out dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Form another one of the balls of dough into a long log and place it on top of the rolled out dough, forming one side of a football. Repeat with the last ball of dough and place it forming the other side of a football. Pinch the bread seams together.
- Trim around the edge of the football removing the extra dough. Using the extra dough, make 2 strips about 3 inches long, and a set of football laces. For the laces, cut out a strip of dough, about 4 inches long. Cut out 4 thinner strips, about 1.5 inches long. Place them vertically over the horizontal 4 inch strip of dough to make "'laces."
- Place the 2 dough strips onto each end of the football bread to make it look like stripes. Place the laces onto the baking sheet with the football bread. In a small bowl combine egg and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk and then brush all over the football bread and the laces.
- Cover the whole baking pan with the bread on it, with clean dish towels while you preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Remove towels from baking pan. Place baking pan with all the bread on it into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bread is a golden brown.
Dip
- In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sour cream together. Mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Add cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and half the bacon. Mix together until well combined.
- When bread is fully baked, remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (165°C). Let bread cool for 10 minutes on it's baking pan, then remove the laces and set them aside to cool completely.
- Use a bread knife and trim out the center of the football, making the opening in the bowl larger. Leave a 2 inch border around the outside of the football. The bread will be quite hot so be careful.
- Spoon dip into bread bowl. Cover the whole baking pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the dip is hot.
- Remove from oven and remove aluminum foil from baking pan. Place bread bowl onto a serving dish. Scatter remaining bacon and green onions on top of dip. Place reserved bread "laces" on top of dip.
- Serve dip hot with vegetables and chips. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Instead of a homemade bread bowl, you can substitute with Pillsbury refrigerated French Bread (the one in a tube).
- New to bread baking? I have a bread baking tutorial post and you can find it here!
- You can make this ahead of time. Make the bread dough, let it rise, and then cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. Let dough warm to room temperature the next day, before continuing with the recipe, about 2 hours.
- You can also make the dip the day before. Store in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️