Make The Bread In French Onion Soup Deliciously Crispy With One Simple Step

The sweet, caramelized onions and creamy Gruyere in a rich base of red wine and beef stock has solidified French onion soup as the ultimate cozy meal. While those other ingredients lend to its status, adding a piece or two of bread on top makes the dish even heartier. To finish off the soup with the right texture, make sure to broil the bread.

Like beef stock or the onions themselves, rarely will you encounter a recipe for French onion soup that doesn't feature bread. Soaking up the soup with a buttery piece of bread is all a part of the experience. A nice, crusty slice of the baked good offers a nice contrast to the soup and tender onions while fueling its comforting feel. The bread soaks up the broth well, and slightly softens when soaked in the soup. If you don't want it to fall apart, however, you'll need to make sure it's far from moist — and broiling it is the quickest way to do that.

The method uses high, direct heat to cook food, effectively drying bread out and ensuring it's perfectly crisp for soup. After cutting your loaf, brush the slices with extra virgin olive oil and broil them on high for about two minutes. Place the bread in the soup and top it off with Gruyere before broiling it again to melt the cheese. If you're using a bread bowl, you can also broil it to ensure the interior doesn't turn soggy from the soup.

When making French onion soup, choose your bread wisely — after all, it is the piece that pulls the whole dish together. Traditionally, a French baguette sits atop the hearty soup. The bread has a buttery taste with a crisp crust and soft center, making it toast beautifully when broiled. A baguette and French onion soup is a classic pairing, but the soup does work well with other kinds of bread.

The key is to find a crusty, yet airy bread that will absorb the soup well without crumbling apart. If you're looking to stay on theme, classic boule bread works perfectly with the soup. Meaning "ball" in French, the round-shaped bread has a crunchy exterior that houses a crumb with large air bubbles and a soft touch that hardens when broiled.

For a bread that doesn't impact the taste of your soup, try out pane toscano. The Tuscan bread has all the makings of a great loaf for French onion soup — it's crusty, yet airy, and has the perfect size for scooping up caramelized onions and gooey Gruyere. However, it's also saltless, meaning it has virtually no taste. Though not the best for enjoying on its own, it allows you to take in the splendor of French onion soup by altering it.