Get Your Baguettes Ready for the Best Cheese Fondue (2024)

FAQs

What is the best bread for cheese fondue? ›

Bread is the most popular dipper for cheese fondue. There are many excellent options to choose from. French bread, breadsticks, and croutons are always favorites, but also consider multigrain bread, rye, sourdough, pumpernickel, and even bagels.

The secret to good fondue is great cheese, obviously. But just as important is having a pot that maintains a nice, even consistency. A decent fondue set is an investment, for sure, but it holds the temperature so you get this fantastic melty, ribbony effect.

Slightly dry and day-old bread is an essential fondue ingredient (fresh bread absorbs far too much liquid and instantly disintegrates in the bubbly cheese).

Simply put, a hot pocket fondue is a petit baguette, sliced in half with the inside of each half of bread hollowed out. The bread is then warmed in the oven and filled with melted cheese.

Cut them it in squares with a knife or pizza cutter – you need to cut it almost completely through, don't worry it'll grow together again in the oven.

Bread is the main accompaniment, although boiled potatoes, charcuterie, and cornichons or other pickles can also be served. Veggies, fruit, and boiled eggs are not traditionally used in Swiss fondue. Take a piece of bread and spear it firmly on your fondue fork so that the crust is on the outside.

Fondue Bread

When guestimating how much bread you will need a rule of thumb is 4 slices per person before cubing. The bread should be slightly dried out but not stale. So it is best to cut it a short time in advance of serving. Cut a crusty Italian, French loaf or baguette into cubes.

If a man drops his bread, he has to buy or mix the next round of drinks. Drop your bread in a second time, and you host the next fondue party. The hard crust of cheese left at the bottom of the pot is called "la courte" or "la religieuse." It may also be called the "grandmother" because it is wrinkled.

If you remember with a day to go, slice your loaf.

Lay the slices on a cooling rack you'd normally use for cookies, let the air circulate, and watch your bread go gloriously brittle. Tomorrow it will be ready to turn into breadcrumbs or put into that pudding.

One of the secrets of a great baguette is to start with a sponge (a mix of flour, water, and yeast), which gives the yeast time to mature and combine with the other ingredients, creating the mildly sour and nutty flavors and chewy texture.

How do you keep French baguettes crispy? ›

Set the baguette wrapped in aluminum foil on the counter and try to use it within 1 day. Avoid refrigerating the baguette since the refrigerator will introduce moisture and cause the bread to harden faster. Freeze a wrapped baguette for up to 3 months.

By a law enacted in 1993, a baguette “tradition” can only contain four ingredients: flour, leavening, water, and salt. There are usually hand-formed and baked on the premises, and have sourdough starter in them.

For the ideal grilled cheese, look for bread with a soft-but-hearty texture with even slices of medium thickness (about 1/4 inch). Hearty sandwich bread, sourdough, brioche, and rye all work very well. Avoid rolls and loaves with large holes in the interior.

A: A good choice is a crusty artisan bread like baguette, sourdough, or ciabatta that can hold up to the weight of the charcuterie items and provide a nice texture contrast.

Bread & cheese

For soft rind-washed cheeses, such as Camembert, Brie, or Chaource, a French baguette is the best. It provides a tasty contrast of creamy cheese and crispy baguette. Bleu du Vercors, Fourme d'Ambert, and other blue cheeses go well with rye bread.