Flammkuchen (Tarte Flambée)
This Flammkuchen (French: Tarte Flambée) is a dish made out of a thin piece of dough topped with onion slices and bacon and baked to perfection at a high temperature.
It kind of resembles a pizza with a very thin crust. But don’t you dare call it German pizza. People take it quite personally and freak out about it (as evidenced by the comments of a short Flammkuchen video I created and posted on YouTube). Haha.
Whatever the name, the dish is really really good. Give it a try if you’re in need of a simple something for a light dinner or even a snack.
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Origin of Flammkuchen
The literal translation of the word ‘Flammkuchen’ from German is ‘flame cake’. However, it’s not really a cake and the flame part refers to the way it was baked back in the day. Flammkuchen comes from the Alsace region in France, which has passed from German to French hands many times in history. As a result the Germans and French fight regarding this food, each claiming it as its own.
It’s a thin piece of rolled out dough topped with sliced onions and bacon. According to history, Flammkuchen was made by bakers to test the temperature of their wood-fired ovens. They knew they can start baking their bread when the Flammkuchen was properly baked.
Ingredients for Flammkuchen
Water, flour, olive oil, and salt are the only ingredients you will need to make the dough (all pantry staples).
Toppings – bacon (cubed), red onion, Crème Fraîche.
Flammkuchen VIDEO
Here is a quick video I created when making Flammkuchen. I used store-bought dough in this one, but the concept is the same. I will post an updated video showing the dough making process soon.
What is Crème Fraîche?
Crème Fraîche is a dairy product made of cultured cream and resembling sour cream. It is widely available here in Germany, though it’s a bit more expensive than sour cream.
If you can’t find Crème Fraîche where you live, you can try making it yourself. Serious Eats has a recipe for it here.
How to Make Flammkuchen
Combine flour and salt. Mix. Add oil and water to the flour, mix and then knead the dough until well combined and no flour is visible. The dough should not be sticky.
Cover and let rest while you prepare the toppings. Letting the dough rest will make it easier to roll out.
Divide the dough into two equal portions right before you are ready to roll it out. Keep the dough that you are not using covered so that it doesn’t dry out.
Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the red onions. Set aside.
Chop the bacon into small pieces, preferably cubes. I like to buy my bacon pre-chopped to save time on the preparation. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C).
Roll out one of the dough pieces as thin as you can. I try to keep the dough in shape of a rectangle when possible. But it can be rolled out into an oval shape as well. It also doesn’t have to be perfect.
Spread half of the Crème Fraîche onto the thinly rolled out dough. Sprinkle half of the sliced onions and half of the bacon onto the Flammkuchen. Sprinkle the toppings as evenly as possible.
Bake the Flammkuchen for 5-7 minutes or until the edges are a golden brown or darker.
The crust should be crispy, but not overly dark. We’ve eaten Flammkuchen in a restaurant where the edges were literally burnt (made outside on a wood-burning oven), and the burnt part was not good.
Prepare the second piece of dough the same way.
How to Serve Flammkuchen
Serve the Flammkuchen right away while it is hot. Since the dough is so thin, it cools down very fast. It’s great on its own, but you might need to make more of it as one person can finish one of these by themselves. Serve a fresh salad along for a more filling meal.
Tips and Tricks for Making
- It really helps to let the dough rest in order to make it easier to work with (about 10 minutes is usually enough). It’s not a hard dough anyway, but it helps when rolling out so thin.
- Lift and flip the dough as needed to be able to keep rolling it out.
- DO NOT fold the dough before rolling it out. This causes the dough to blow up in big bubbles while baking. It doesn’t affect the taste, only the looks. The dough deflates after coming out of the oven and looks a bit funky.
- I recommend rolling out both dough pieces before baking because rolling out takes the most time. Keep the rolled out dough covered with a kitchen towel so it doesn’t dry out.
Recipe Variations
The best way to variate this recipe is to add different toppings. I only ever just do the bacon and red onion as we just love the flavor combination. But here are some other topping ideas I found while researching online:
- Vegetables: Adding different vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, asparagus and even thinly sliced potatoes. Usually with a combination of something else. Onion is almost always added (either red, white or even fresh green onion).
- Herbs or Fresh greens: Rosemary, green onion, arugula
- Protein: Instead of bacon use ham, fish, tuna
- Cheese: all kinds of cheeses are added like goat cheese, camembert, feta
- Sweet toppings: Cream cheese with strawberries, or some kind of a jam
The important thing is to do a combination that works for you and your tastes. I’ve literally seen so many different things thrown on there that are so interesting! Sauerkraut, sweet potato, pesto, pears, anyone?
How to Store and Reheat
Store the Flammkuchen covered in the fridge. To heat up, use a skillet and heat on medium-low heat. You can also use a microwave for this part.
Recommended Tools
You will need the following to make Flammkuchen:
- Mixing bowl – to make the dough
- Rolling pin – to roll out the dough
- Baking sheet – to bake the flammkuchen
- Optional: a pizza stone for making a crispier flammkuchen
More Easy Recipes for Lunch
Looking for more easy recipes for lunch, here are some of our favorite ones:
Lastly, if you make this Flammkuchen recipe, make sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating here! I’d love to hear back from you and will do my best to answer and respond to every comment. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe. I’d love to see the photos of the recipes you have made!
Flammkuchen or Tarte Flambee
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups (270g) Flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- ½ cup (125 ml) Water
Topping
- 7oz. (200g) Crème Fraîche divided
- 4 small Red onions divided
- 4.4oz (125g) Bacon divided
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt. Mix. Add oil and water to the flour, mix and then knead the dough until well combined and no flour is visible. The dough should not be sticky. Cover and let rest while you prepare the toppings. Divide into equal portions before rolling out.
- Letting the dough rest will make it easier to roll out. Divide the dough into two equal portions right before you are ready to roll it out. Keep the dough that you are not using covered so that it doesn’t dry out.
- Meanwhile, peel and thinly chop the onions. Chop the bacon into small pieces (if not already bought that way). Set both aside.
- Preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C).
- Roll out one of the dough pieces as thin as you can, keeping it a rectangle or oval in shape.
- Spread half of the Crème Fraîche onto the thinly rolled out dough. Sprinkle half of the sliced onions and half of the bacon onto the Flammkuchen. Sprinkle the toppings as evenly as possible.
- Bake the Flammkuchen for 5-7 minutes or until the edges are a golden brown or darker. The crust should be crispy, but not overly dark. Serve hot.
- Prepare the second piece of dough the same way.