• First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Wash the potatoes well, then wipe them dry.
  
• Prick each potato with a fork in 5–6 places, on all sides.
  
• Rub the potatoes with oil or fat, and coat them with salt on all sides. This is what makes their skins delicious and crispy.
  
• Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 2 hours. Turn them roughly halfway through. 20 minutes before the end, raise the temperature to 425°F (220°C).

  Don’t forget, the potatoes should be baked whole, with their skins on.
  
• Before the potatoes are done, grate the cheese. A large-hole grater is perfect.
  
• Take the potatoes out of the oven. With a sharp knife, cut each one lengthwise, very deeply, then a little crosswise as well. Open the potato with a knife and fork, and lightly scrape the inside with the fork.

  Be careful, because at this point the potatoes are very hot. Touch the baking sheet only with oven mitts, and the potatoes only with utensils. But don’t let them cool down, because then they won’t be as good.
  
• Use the knife to curl thin pieces of cold butter into the hot potatoes, and salt them. Pile the cheese into the potatoes, and let the hot potato melt everything a little. Serve immediately.
  

Broiling

• If you’d like to melt the cheese separately into the baked potatoes, at this point place them under the broiler for 2–3 minutes.

  This step is optional; baked potatoes with cheese are a perfect dish both broiled and without broiling.