Broccoli Cheddar Soup

When I first met Panera about 9 years ago, it was love at first bite. The atmosphere, the paninis, the soups, the breads, the bagels. What more could you want in a bistro/cafe type restaurant? And even better when I discovered it was a chain and I could order my favorites in so many locations. But the recent increase in prices and skimpier portions have caused a strain on our relationship. How was I to fill this broccoli cheddar void in my stomach when they give you but a thimbleful for 3/4 of your life savings? I never even considered making it myself because I figured it was full of artificial ingredients and easy squeeze cheese. I am ashamed that I never thought of making a roux. I don't expect everyone to know what it is, but I've been an avid Food Network watcher for over a year now. It's a thickener made with melted butter, flour and milk or cream.

I barely had to do any research before I found a recipe with raving reviews as to how close it was to the real Panera thing. The soup came out amazing, and truly close to the original but I'd still tweak it in the future. Here are some of my notes:

• The soup came out very intensely cheddar flavored. I realize it's one of the main flavors, but it was pretty strong. I'd either use mild cheddar next time and/or less of it.
• It probably had something to do with the generous portions, but we had a very heavy feeling in our stomachs after eating so I might try milk instead of half and half or a combination next time. I now see that some of the others who commented on the recipe did that and it came out fine.
  
• I didn't use any salt and pepper and it was very flavorful.
• Some of the comments on the recipe page said that Panera listed dijon mustard and hot sauce in their ingredients for this soup. I didn't try it this time, but I'll probably try it next time. They didn't list quantities though!

As you can tell, I'm a little addicted to my breadmaker right now. It's so easy to make the dough! I did bagels twice last week and homemade pizza dough. Today I also made homemade french baguettes. They tasted almost perfect, but a few things I might try next time:

• A little less water in the mix. I've been adding a little extra since the bagel recipe I used recommended it for certain breadmakers. I used 1-1/4 cups water and the dough was ridiculously sticky.
  
• An egg wash on top before going in the oven. They came out nice and crispy from baking with a pan of water underneath for 20 minutes, but they weren't very brown. I'm wondering if that might help. Plus I rolled them out with some flour because the dough was so sticky, so they were very white on top.
  
• I also might try a higher temperature to assist in the browning.

In any case, they still tasted great. Not as chewy or crisp as Panera but still crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with great flavor.