Flammekuche (tarte flambee) is a specialty of Alsace, Saarland, Baden and Pfalz at the French-German border region. Its origin remains debated as to whether Germany or France can claim this savory treat where the ingredients shine. This is a thin, crispy dough topped with bacon, fromage blanc, creme fraiche and onions.
I like to call this a “pizza” and first read about it in “French Cooking” where it was adapted from Le Diplomate Restaurant in Washington, DC.
I ended up making this three times; first with dough I purchased at the local deli suggested by Le Diplomate (there was obviously a lot of yeast and I do not recommend if you want the traditional thin crust), 2nd the recipe had no yeast and third a dough recipe from America’s Test Kitchen which had 1/2 tsp. yeast.
My favorite: America’s Test Kitchen dough and the toppings from Le Diplomate Restaurant. Because of the addition of a small amount of yeast and honey this was the most flavorful dough. Fromage blanc was not a common ingredient in recipes but I liked it combined with creme fraiche. The dough was very easy to work with and roll thin resulting in a perfect crust.
My 2nd favorite was this dough without any yeast or leavening but the same toppings. The dough rolled out very thin – perfect. Not as flavorful as America’s Test Kitchen with the honey and just a little yeast.
The deli dough was not easy to roll thin at all but was very good, like a deep dish pizza! I do recommend making your own dough…
Flammekueche (Tarte Flambee) Using Three Different Doughs
Recipe slightly adapted from Le Diplomate Restaurant in Washington, D.C.
- 3 pizza doughs were used (see recipes below)
- I used the following toppings for all 3 pizzas:
- 1 cup uncooked (hickory smoked) bacon (thick sliced is the best), sliced into lardons – 1/4-inch pieces
- 2 cups thinly sliced yellow or white onions (don’t use Vidalia as they have too much water)
- 1 cup fromage blanc
- 1 cup creme fraiche
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp. (freshly) ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- garnish with green onions, sea salt, finishing oil (optional)
Saute the bacon until crispy; set aside. Remove most of the fat from the skillet and saute the onions, but not to the point of caramelizing; set aside.
Combine the fromage blanc, creme fraiche, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt and pepper; stir until smooth and set aside.
Let pizza dough come to room temperature for about 1 hour before rolling and baking.
I used my pizza stone with the first recipe as suggested in Le Diplomate recipe and ended up using a baking sheet pan lined with parchment for the second and third recipes.
Deli Dough: Le Diplomate recommended this but it did not give a thin, crispy crust. It was very good but like a deep dish pizza – not like Flammekueche should be.
No Yeast Dough From thekitchn:
- 2 cups flour
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2/3 cup room temperature water, divided
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Combine the flour, oil and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the water. Continue adding a little water at a time until the mixture forms a shaggy dough. I maybe had 1/8 cup of water left.
Turn the dough out and knead until all the flour is incorporated and it is no longer sticky and becomes smooth and elastic. This is a really nice dough to work with. Roll the dough out on lightly floured parchment paper – I ended up with 11×14-inch oval. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet pan.
Add the toppings; first a layer of the fromage blanc mixture, then the onions and bacon.
Bake up to 20 minutes or until the edges of the dough have turned golden and crisp.
Tart Dough With 1/2 tsp. Yeast from America’s Test Kitchen – makes two pizzas:
- 2 cups flour (see Note)
- 1/2 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1/2 tsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. room temperature water (100 to 105 degrees)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Process the flour, yeast, honey and salt in food processor. Slowly add the water, then vegetable oil; continue to process until dough forms ball. This is a sticky dough!
Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly into a ball. Divide in half and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Place each half on lightly floured parchment paper, cover with a piece of plastic wrap and roll into an oval. Remove plastic and slide parchment with dough onto baking sheet. Spread half of the fromage blanc, bacon and onion.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and the edges are crispy.
Repeat with the other half of dough.
Note: America’s Test Kitchen recommends you use a flour with no more than a 10.5 per cent protein such as Pillsbury or Gold Medal. Good to know as I usually use King Arthur Flour!!!
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
If you are interested in more info or dining at this upscale restaurant go to https://lediplomatedc.com/#about. It is a 260 seat restaurant showcasing dishes from the cafes of Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Ingredients for Le Diplomate’s Flammekueche – you can see how much the dough did rise just from being in my refrigerator over night.
Look at all that yummy goodness!
Tip – keeping green onions fresh: Place a bunch of onions in a little water, cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate.
For another good recipe see Paradiso Reserve Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza
I. Love. Pizza. 🍃🍕
So do I Gail – favorite comfort food! This “pizza” is so easy to make 🙂
This looks delicious, Aunt Juju! I have been to Le Diplomate, and the food is very good. You have to book a reservation weeks out to get a table. I will have to go back and see if I can order this…
Thanks Bethany – lucky you to have dined there. It sounds like a fabulous restaurant – a little expensive but when the food is good who cares 🙂 I checked the website and they are not making Flammekuche at this time.
Thanks for experimenting with the different types of dough. This is definitely my kind of pie/pizza. Love all the ingredients in it.
I’m now curious as for where the flambée is hiding… Guess the process changed over the years.
You’re welcome Ronit – the deli dough was not what I wanted but what the recipe called for. So, with a little searching I came up with two rather simple doughs – ATK is the best (in my opinion). Flammekuche is the German name and tart flambee is the French name. It was originally cooked in wood-burning ovens with intense heat and the “pizzas” only took minutes to cook. It literally meant “baked in flames” 🙂
That explains it. My favorite pizza places are the ones that have a coal oven. It’s really the best.
this looks delicious and i’m feeling really hungry right now. i may have to run off and make a sandwich…
I can see why Sherry – every time I look at the pictures it makes me hungry and wanting this pizza again 🙂
Why in the world have I never heard of this?! My mother is from this area. I LOVE the toppings, especially the creme fraiche and farmer’s cheese. Fabulous! Thanks so much for posting on this.
How interesting Mimi – you will have to ask your Mom! it’s a delicious pizza and maybe you don’t get the full taste that you would from a wood burning stove it is still out of this world. I could eat this every week. The combination of cheeses takes Le Diplomate’s recipe over the top 🙂
I will! And I could too.
Okay, talked to mom. She was sure it was the dessert version where you light it on fire. I kept telling her it wasn’t sweet. She has dementia so I just let her talk, whilst googling it, and like you figured out, the flambé past isn’t about lighting it on fire with alcohol, it’s about using a super hot pizza oven. Very confusing. She also claims there’s no such thing as a French pizza. I read some comments where it is a recent “Germany and France’s answer to Italy’s pizza.” So maybe it is a recent invention? Whatever, thank you for telling us about this.
cookingwithauntjuju.com
10/14/2020 AT 10:34 AM EDIT
Thank you so much for your comments and checking with your mom. It is definitely savory and I think when the pizza craze caught on back in the 1960’s it became known as a “pizza” and was introduced to American restaurants which then followed with home cooks. There is just no tomato sauce! I absolutely love it – and I got to make three of them 🙂
Great job of comparing the different crusts and you tarte flambé looks terrific. My husband and I have it every time we visit the Alsace region. We love sharing one at lunch but it is sometimes hard to find at that time of day. The restaurants usually serve it in the evening as it takes so long for the wood fired oven that they cook it in to get hot. While similar to pizza, it really is different in that it is paper thin and stays pretty white as it bakes so very quickly.
These all look divine, AuntJuju! I can never get enough of smoky bacon with onions!