Classic French Onion Soup

Steps

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and salt and stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the onions have softened and released their liquid.
   ⏱ Sweat onions: 15 min
3. Uncover, lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom every 5 minutes, until the onions are deep golden brown. Add a splash of water if the bottom starts to scorch.
   ⏱ Caramelize: 45 min
4. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
   ⏱ Garlic: 1 min
5. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat.
   ⏱ Cook flour: 1 min
6. Pour in the wine and

   scrape up the browned bits (how to deglaze)

   Deglaze Pour liquid into a hot pan and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom, which hold a lot of flavor. 1. After browning, pour off all but a spoonful of fat.2. With the pan still hot, pour in wine, broth or water; it will sizzle and steam.3. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon or flat spatula until the brown layer dissolves.4. Let it bubble down, as the recipe says, into the base of a sauce. Done when: The bottom of the pan is clean and the liquid has turned brown and tasty. Safety: Take the pan off the flame before pouring in wine or spirits, and turn your face away from the steam.How to deglaze a pan: mistakes to avoid

   , then

   simmer (how to simmer)

   Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

   until nearly gone.
   ⏱ Deglaze: 2 min
7. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire if using and pepper. Bring to a

   boil (how to boil)

   Boil Heat liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. 1. Use a pot big enough that the water fills it no more than three quarters.2. Cover it to boil faster, over high heat.3. Salt pasta or vegetable water once it boils.4. Add the food, stir, and bring it back to a boil before you start timing. Done when: A rolling boil keeps bubbling hard even when you stir. Safety: Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, and drain pasta into a colander in the sink, pouring away from you. Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to boil water for pasta and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   , then lower the heat and simmer.
   ⏱ Simmer: 20 min
8. While the soup simmers, heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake the baguette slices on a sheet pan until dry and crisp.
   400°F⏱ Toast bread: 10 min
9. Remove the bay leaf. Taste and add salt if needed.
10. Turn the oven to

    broil (how to broil)

    Broil Cook or brown food with strong heat from the top of the oven, like an upside-down grill. 1. Move an oven rack so the food will sit 3 to 6 inches from the heat.2. Turn the broiler on and give it a few minutes to heat.3. Use a metal pan (never glass that isn't broiler-safe) and put the food in.4. Stay at the oven and check every minute; things go from brown to burnt fast.5. Turn the food if the recipe says to. Done when: The top is browned and bubbly or charred in spots, usually in 1 to 5 minutes. Safety: Don't use parchment or wax paper under the broiler; it can catch fire. Use foil or a bare pan.How to broil: mistakes to avoid

    on high. Set 6 oven-safe soup crocks on a sheet pan.
11. Ladle the soup into the crocks, float 2 toasts in each and pile the cheese on top so it covers the bread.
12. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and browned in spots, watching closely.
    ⏱ Broil: 3 min
13. Let the crocks cool a few minutes before serving. They are very hot; use oven mitts and warn your guests.
    ⏱ Cool: 3 min

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

• Don't rush the onions. Turning up the heat burns them before they get sweet.
• No crocks? Top the toasts with cheese, broil them on a sheet pan and float them on the soup.

Storage

Refrigerate the soup (without bread or cheese) up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Make ahead

Make the soup up to 3 days ahead. Reheat, then toast, top and broil just before serving.

Cook once, eat twice: Double it (12 servings instead of 6), eat half and freeze the other half. It keeps 3 months frozen, by the storage note above. Print a freezer label · More freezer meals

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage.