The French Connection

I never really liked soup. I didn't understand the point of soup really. Until one day when my Grandfather and I were discussing culinary specialties & he told me that he loved French Onion soup. From that day onward, the name was stuck in my head. I have been looking for some place promises me a good French Onion but couldn't find any. The restaurants were either too disappointing as a whole or too expensive. So I decided to make it myself. The recipe I found on the internet looked good and easy but it called for red wine. Can't just pour in some alcohol into a bowl of soup and serve it to my Muslim family now can I? lol

But I substituted it with some vinegar to deglaze the pan and some honey for the sweetness. Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
4 Onions, sliced
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 fresh Thyme sprigs
Kosher salt & freshly ground Black Pepper, as per taste
1/4 cup Vinegar
1 teaspoon Honey
3 heaping tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 quarts Beef Broth
5 slices Bread, cut into quarters
1 pack mozarella, grated

Directions

1. Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and salt & pepper. Cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 mins.
3. Add the vinegar and honey, bring to boil and reduce the heat. Simmer until the vinegar had evaporated and the onions are seemingly dry, about 5 mins.
4. Discard the bay leaves and thyme.
5. Dust onions with flour and give them a stir. Turn heat to medium-low so that the flour doesn't burn and cook for 10 mins to cook out the raw flour taste.
6. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer and cook for 10 mins.
7. Arrange the bread pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer and top with mozarella and bake for 15 mins or until the mozarella had completely melted. (Alternate method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top with a slice of bread and then top that with some grated mozarella and pop the bowl into the oven for 15 mins.)
8. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the mozarella croutons & enjoy.