Flammenkuche Recipes

JOHN'S FLAMMEKUECHE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out the bread dough into a rectangle, and spread out on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Set aside.
• Place potato slices in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add bacon slices to the water, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain. Remove bacon, then dice.
• While the potatoes and bacon cook, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring until tender. Remove from heat and stir in cream; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Spread the onion mixture over the bread dough. Arrange potato slices evenly, and sprinkle with bacon.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until crust is golden on the bottom. Let stand for a few minutes before slicing.

FLAMMKUCHEN (TARTE FLAMBEE)

Steps:

• Place 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons of flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add yeast, 3 to 4 tablespoons of the lukewarm water, and sugar into the well and stir in a small amount of flour from the sides. Set aside until mixture is frothy, about 10 minutes.
• Pour in remaining water and olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined. Add 1 teaspoon salt and knead vigorously with your hands until dough holds together as a ball.
• Loosely cover dough with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm, dry place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare the topping while dough rises. Stir 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and sour cream in a bowl until smooth; season with salt, pepper, and parsley.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll out 2 pieces as thinly as possible into long rectangles on a large piece of parchment, so both will fit on one baking sheet. Fold the sides of the dough pieces to form a 1/4-inch edge all around. Spread cream topping evenly across the dough and top each dough piece with 1/4 of the bacon and the onion rings. Transfer the 2 flammkuchen with the parchment paper onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. Repeat with the other 2 dough pieces.

TARTE FLAMBéE (ELSäSSER FLAMMKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to the highest temperature possible.
• Thoroughly mix flour, oil,water and salt to make a dough (should not be sticky) and roll out as thin as possible.
• Optional:Melt the butter in a pan, add onions and sweat for just a couple of minutes. Add bacon, stir and heat through. If you slice everything thin you don't have to sautée it before putting it on.
• Spread creme fraiche on top of dough, then spread onions and bacon on top of it. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Once the bread looks crispy it's done.
• SUGGESTIONS: Tastes great with a glass of white wine.
• Thin out the sour cream with a bit of cream.
• You could add cumin or grated cheese.
• Top with olives,tomatoes and bacon instead of onions. Or top with spinach,garlic tomatoes and sheep's cheese.
• You could even make a sweet version and top with thinnly sliced apples and cinnamon sugar on top of the creme fraiche.

PFLAUMENKUCHEN (GERMAN PLUM CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Quarter each plum so that all four quarters remain clinging together by their skin, forming a row.
• In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter together by cutting the butter in with a fork.
• In a measuring cup, combine the beaten egg and almond extract, then add enough milk to make 3/8 of a cup (aka 3 oz) total. (It may seem strange that there isn't an exact amount of milk to add, but I promise this method works. You'll likely use under 2 oz of milk, considering that a large egg is usually around 1.5 oz or so.).
• Add this to the dry ingredients and mix them together with your hands, forming a dough.
• If the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour.
• Spread the dough thinly over a 13x9 inch jelly roll pan and cover it with overlapping rows of plums. (It may seem like the dough will never stretch to fit the entire pan, but be patient! Use the heel of your hand to gently spread the dough out evenly to each corner of the pan, the crust is supposed to be on the thinner side anyway.).
• Bake the tart for 1 hour and let it cool slightly before sprinkling with sugar for extra sweetness (or skip the sugar if you like it sweet-tart like I do).
• The plums will change color from green to a deep magenta as they bake, and will ooze lots of sticky purple juice that stains the crust beneath. Be careful not to overbake, this crust should be on the softer side.

FLAMMENKUCHE

Steps:

• Lightly oil a large bowl; set aside. Stir water, sugar, and yeast in a medium bowl; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Stir flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add oil to yeast mixture; pour into flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Place a pizza stone in oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal; set aside.
• Stir together onion, cream, bacon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Place on prepared baking sheet. Spread onion mixture evenly over the dough. Drizzle with any cream remaining in bowl; season with salt. Place sheet on stone in oven. Bake until bottom and edges of bread are golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Cut into rectangles, and serve with pickled vegetables.

FLAMMEKUECHE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in bowl of a large mixer. Mix with a dough hook for 5 to 7 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until dough forms a sticky ball on the end of the hook. Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, approximately 1 hour. Punch down and divide into 6 equal pieces. Place 1 piece of dough on a floured board and coat with flour. With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough into a rough rectangle, approximately 10 inches to 12 inches across and 1/8-inch thick using plenty of flour on both sides of dough at all times. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the topping. Dough can be prepared 1 day in advance, wrapped and refrigerated, until ready to roll.
• For the topping: In large bowl whisk together first 8 ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. and place racks close to bottom of oven. Spread 1/2 cup topping on each piece of rolled dough. Sprinkle with onions and then bacon. Bake until brown and crisp, approximately 10 minutes, rotating sheets midway through to brown evenly. Repeat with remaining dough and topping. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

FLAMMEKUECHE (THIN-CRUSTED CHEESE, ONION AND BACON TART)

Steps:

• Combine the water, yeast and one cup of the flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended and set aside to proof the yeast, about five minutes.
• Once proofed, add the salt, then begin adding the remaining flour, little by little, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and begin kneading, adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.
• Once kneaded, place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about one hour.
• Punch down and let rise again, covered, until double in bulk, about one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Combine the onions, cheese, creme fraiche, salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes to soften the onions.
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle to fit a large baking sheet, measuring about 12 1/2 by 15 inches. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
• Spread the onion mixture over the dough right to the edge. Sprinkle the bacon evenly over the top, then sprinkle generously with pepper.
• Bake just until the dough is crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.