Our breeders have never suggested using anything other than a dog food bowl since the day we brought them home. Some folks do use a jelly roll pan or other strategies to get their dogs to eat more slowly, maybe that's the reason she suggested it at all. You could go ahead and start using a bowl any time you'd like. Don't be surprised if your puppy vacuums up his food like he's never eaten before. Both my lab puppies ate like that. I do add some water to my dogs' kibble as well but I do not let it sit and soak in. I haven't read that there's any risk involved in letting your puppy chow down like that.
If you decide you are uncomfortable with the pup hoovering up his food, there are specialty bowl with humps built into the bottom to slow them down. You can put a ball or other obstruction in there that he needs to try to eat around. You can buy treat dispensing balls to put his meals in that will slow him down and make meal time last more than 7.3 seconds, or you can go back to the jelly roll pan.
Thanks for joining us. I hope to learn more about you and your new pup!