TikTok is unstoppable at producing alluring yet slightly grotesque food. Some of it is great. Most of it I just can’t unsee. I’ve lately stumbled upon the perversion of fondue as a “hot fondue pocket.” It looks like it should be enticing—a ladle of hot, melty fondue waterfalling into a hollowed out, 10-inch baguette pocket—but in practice, there’s just something off. (Ratio, perhaps?) Here are a few ways to make a hot fondue pocket that actually rocks.
1. Choose your bread wisely
In the TikTok video I watched, from Brunchwithbabs, Babs uses two “small” baguettes. She cuts them in half but they’re still roughly 8 to 10 inches long. She hollows them out (a challenge in and of itself if you don’t have a super long fork or knife), and fills them with fondue. I estimate that’s 6 to 8 ounces of fondue depending on the size of the cavity. While I love cheese as much as the next person, that’s a lot of one thing.
It’s crucial to have a butt on your bread (some call it a "heel," but in my part of Jersey it’s a butt) because the crust acts as a container. There’s a possibility the cheese will escape out the back. Decide if you need a full size baguette to cut in half for two sandwiches. If that’s too large of a serving, opt for a smaller loaf for more manageable pieces.
Try demi baguettes, or pretzel rolls. I used one of the mini ciabatta rolls from Trader Joes and it was perfect. Choose loaves or rolls that are soft on the inside, but have a discernible crust. Bread that is too soft, like Hawaiian rolls, brioche buns, or croissants, will work too, but the texture is so similar to the soft fondue that it loses interest, and somehow feels even more heavy. The crunchy and chew of a more lean bread makes for a better match.
2. Use a fondue recipe that you love
Biting into this bread pocket full of fondue looks amazing on the way in, and then all at once it’s too much of a good thing. Since a mouthful of fondue is what you signed up for, make sure it’s damn good. Babs uses one type of cheese, raw milk GrandCru. If you're picky about your cheese, don't spring for the $18 mystery wedge. Don’t use a fondue recipe with white wine if you hate white wine. If you like cheddar more than Swiss, use a recipe that includes it. Try a blend of two cheeses if you think a balance of stretch and melt will be more appealing to you.
I used this recipe from the New York Times, which includes gruyère and emmentaler cheese. The resulting fondue was silky and flowing while hot, and became soft and pillowy as it cooled in the bread pocket. What I like most about the recipe is that the bottom includes totally different fondue possibilities. It’s subscription locked, but the gist of it is that you can make a fondue out of totally different ingredients to appeal to your palate. Try a red wine fondue, maybe one with jack cheese, or a cheddar and whiskey fondue if that’s more your speed.
3. Add herbs
Herbs aren’t technically traditional for fondue, but what part of this is? I found the flavor of a simple hot fondue pocket became tiresome after five bites, and I still had about 20 to go. Add some complexity with fresh herbs. I added a small sprinkle of thyme to my mixture, but there’s really no limit to how much or what variety you use. Try some finely chopped rosemary or parsley. A sprinkle of dried herbs, like oregano or herbs de provence, and spices, like cayenne or nutmeg, will also add a much needed layer to your hot fondue pocket.
4. You must have other fondue components
This might be the most meaningful thing I changed about my fondue pocket. I know we’re not losing sight of this as a totally bizarre modification of fondue, but just to be clear, fondue as a dish has many elements. It’s served along with cubed bread, cornichons, cured meats, sausages, fresh and dried fruit—all designed for dipping in the puddle of cheese fondue. Cheese isn’t just poured into your mouth, it's a veil that coats a complementary ingredient. It's balanced.
Although a hot fondue pocket takes away the process of dipping other fondue components, you don’t have to lose them completely. In fact you shouldn’t. I added chopped pickles, cured meat, and pieces of apple to mine. This didn’t just make it better, it made it fantastic. The saltiness from the cured meat and sweetness from the apple excites your palate, and the bright acidity from the pickles is essential for balancing out the fat. Make about a third of your recipe add-ins. While this may sound like a lot, it means each morsel will be coated in cheese and you’ll get a couple delicious bits in every bite.
I chopped my add-ins into small pieces, about quarter or half-inch chunks and tucked them into the pocket as I poured in the cheese. If you’re making a bigger batch of pockets for friends, just dump the added components into the fondue pot, stir, and pour the mixture into the hollowed out bread. With these tips in play, you’re bound to have a more flavorful and less wearisome hot fondue pocket than the original.