Flammkuchen — also known as Tarte Flambée in French — originates from the border region between Alsace, France, and southwestern Germany. Traditionally, it was created by bakers to test the temperature of their wood-fired ovens before baking bread. They would roll out a thin piece of dough, top it with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon (Speck), and slide it into the flames.

If the Flammkuchen baked in just a few minutes with crisp, slightly charred edges, the oven was ready for bread — and the bakers had a delicious snack to enjoy.

Over time, this rustic oven test became a regional specialty celebrated in both Alsatian and German cuisines, especially in the Palatinate, Baden, and Saarland areas. Today, Flammkuchen is a symbol of simple, countryside cooking — thin, crisp, smoky, and comforting, often enjoyed with a glass of white wine or new wine (Federweißer).

ingredients

• 250 g all purpose flour
• 130 ml lukewarm water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For topping:

• 2 dl sour cream
• 150 g cubed, smoky bacon
• 2 medium red onions, sliced into rings
• pinch of salt, pepper and a little ground nutmeg
• chives to decorate when ready (makes a great contrast with the red onions)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, water, salt and olive oil and work it with your hands until it becomes fairly elastic and forms a ball without much effort. This process of kneading the dough will last about 10 minutes if you do it by hand. If you do it with your KitchenAid, might take 5-8 minutes.
2. Make a ball with the dough, cover and leave 30 minutes to rest at room temperature.
3. Pre-heat oven at 250°C. Top & Bottom heat option. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper (I use Ninjaplast – Free of PFOS/PFOA and PFAS).
4. Roll the dough veeeery thinly. Maybe 2 mm. As thin as you can and as long/big as your oven tray allows you to.
5. Place it on your lined tray, and now add toppings: spread the sour cream, sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the bacon, the thinly cut onion rings/slices.
6. Bake for 12 minutes at 250°C or until the edges become crispy.
   

Serve hot and enjoy right away (cools off quite quickly). I used to have Flammkuchen made by my grandmother and I also have a very fond memory of a medieval festival I attended in Germany as a child, where I enjoyed one of the best Flammkuchen pieces among castle ruins, larpers and overall a magical ambience. Lovely!

Let me know if you try it and how do you like it!