1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add yeast, warm water, honey (or granulated sugar), flour, butter and salt to your bowl. Knead on medium-low speed for 5 minutes.

2. Transfer dough to greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place. If you have extra time, you can allow the bread to rise for 60 minutes, which will add more flavor to the bread. In order to help the bread rise faster, I like to turn my oven on. Once it reaches 100F, I turn my oven off and place the covered dough in the warm oven. This creates a nice warm environment for the dough to rise.

3. Once the dough is done rising, punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 roughly equal pieces.

4. Shape each piece into a ball. To do this, clear some of the flour off of the counter. You want the dough to slightly stick to the counter so that the countertop slightly tugs on the dough as you drag it across. This helps create tension and the smooth shape. You may have to sprinkle a little water on the counter to get your dough to stick slightly. You don’t want the dough to stick too much.

You will move the dough in a circular motion. Cup the side of the dough with one hand and push the dough away from you, then cup the top of the dough and pull back towards you to come in contact with your other hand at the bottom of the dough. Use your other hand at the bottom of the dough to help push the dough to the side, or start of the circular motion. Repeat two or three more times until the top of the dough appears smooth and the dough is in a nice uniform, taut ball.

5. Use a bench knife to transfer the dough ball to parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

6. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.

7. Preheat oven to 400F.

8. When the dough is done rising, score the top of the bread bowls with an X using a sharp knife or serrated knife. Brush the dough with egg wash, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in color. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when the center reaches 195F on an instant read thermometer.

9. Cool until ready to handle. The longer the bread bowl cools, the easier it is to cut open. To serve, cut a large circle out of the top. Scoop out the center (save for dunking in your soup!) and fill with your favorite soup.

10. You can store leftover bread bowls, covered in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for 3 months.