Last Updated on 2 years by Tim
Crispy flatbreads topped with cultured cream, bacon, and onions. If these words make your mouth water, then continue reading. I’m about to show you how to make super delicious Flammkuchen.
The ingredient list is similar to the one of a traditional Quiche Lorraine, however, Flammkuchen are so much quicker and easier to make than a proper quiche.
They’re lighter in texture and flavor. So they’re the perfect meal for the last sunny days of fall.
Table of Contents
What is a Flammkuchen?
Flammkuchen are often described as being a German kind of pizza. I don’t agree with this definition.
A Flammkuchen is a crispy flatbread with a super thin crust and a generous amount of topping. Pizza, on the other hand, has a much thicker and pillowy dough. The toppings are traditionally used only sparingly.
The invention of the Flammkuchen dates back to the old days when bakers were still baking their bread in wooden ovens. Baking a Flammkuchen was a way to check if the temperature of the oven was on point.
Of course, with today’s technology, it is totally unnecessary to check the oven temperature by baking a flatbread. However, up until today, Flammkuchen have remained hugely popular around the Southwest of Germany.
Don’t use yeast in your dough
Flammkuchen are all about the crispiness of the dough. So I don’t use any leavening agents.
I am well aware that there are tons of recipes out there which call for yeast. Italian cuisine has had a lot of influence on contemporary German cuisine. The average German nowadays eats more pizza and pasta than spaetzle and sauerkraut.
So people adapted the traditional Flammkuchen recipe to be closer in resemblance to the Italian pizza. There’s nothing wrong with fusion food. However, I still very much prefer my Flammkuchen made the traditional way.
My Flammkuchen dough is super simple to prepare and much quicker to make than any yeast dough. Just knead together the flour, salt, oil, and water until smooth and let the dough rest a little. Roll it out paper thin. Done.
These are my toppings
The traditional toppings for the Alsatian Flammkuchen are cultured cream, thinly sliced onions, and fatty bacon cubes.
The cultured cream I use is called ‘Schmand’ in German. It has a fat content of around 20 %.
I am aware that
Make sure to cut your onion slices as thinly as possible so they cook through completely.
For the bacon, I used fatty smoked Black forest ham. It’s important that you use bacon made from the pork belly with a lot of fat content. The lean stuff just won’t taste as good.
How to assemble and bake your Flammkuchen
When rolling out the dough, make sure to roll it out paper thin. It’s best to roll it out directly on a parchment-lined baking tray. That way there’s no risk of breaking your dough when transferring it to the oven.
Be very generous with the cultured cream and rather put a little too much onto your Flammkuchen than too little. Some of the water in the cultured cream will evaporate so that you will have a lot less sauce on the final pancake. Your onions slices and bacon cubes will shrink in the oven as well.
It’s important to bake your Flammkuchen at the highest possible heat. For my oven that is 480 °F (250 °C). At that temperature, you need to bake your Flammkuchen for 10-12 minutes.
If you have access to a commercial or wooden oven you can go even higher with the temperature and reduce the baking time further.
The Flammkuchen is done once the crust is super crispy and the top is very lightly charred. You don’t want it to look too dark or burned. Just a little char on the edges.
Flammkuchen are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven accompanied by a glass of dry white wine. I recommend pairing them with a green salad for a light meal.
Alsatian Flammkuchen (‘Elsäßer Flammkuchen’)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 4.2 ounces (120 g) bread flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2.1 ounces (60 g) water
For the topping:
- 7 ounces (200 g) schmand or crème fraîche
- freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 1 small onion, sliced super thin, about 1/2 cup
- 1/2 cup small bacon cubes
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir in the water bit by bit. Once all the water is incorporated, knead the dough using the palm of your hands for about 5 minutes until smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 480 °F (250 °C).
Prepare the toppings:
- Put the schmand or crème fraîche in a small mixing bowl and add nutmeg, black pepper, and salt depending on your taste preference. Mix well and set aside.
Roll out the dough:
- Divide the dough into two pieces for 2 small flammkuchen or leave it as is for 1 large flammkuchen. It’s best to roll out the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper so that you can easily transfer the assembled flammkuchen into the oven. Roll the dough out as thinly as possible. It should literally be just a little thicker than paper. The traditional shape would be a rectangle with curved edges but you can roll it out into any shape of your preference.
Assemble and bake your Flammkuchen:
- Spread the spiced schmand or crème fraîche very generously all over your flammkuchen. Then top with the sliced onions and bacon cubes. Sprinkle the thyme leaves on top and bake the flammkuchen in the middle tray of the oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is super crispy and the top lightly charred.
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