Flammkuchen

Now I generally don't post recipes but Mark and I had a such lovely lunch on Saturday, I feel compelled to share.  I have been working on the Esbjerg International Ladies Cookbook lately.  The first edition is out and I am working on the second one (i.e. bugging and badgering all the ladies who didn't cough up recipes first time round <g>).  Anyway, my chum Katharina had promised me a recipe for Flammkuchen - bear with me while I briefly digress. 

While on holiday in Germany last year Mark and I discovered Flammkuchen (basically German pizza, sshh - I'm not allowed to call it that *tee hee*) in Freiburg - on my birthday - and we fell in love with it, so an opportunity to get the recipe was grabbed with both hands. 

Katharina is German and a little unsure of some of the translations so after much faffing around caused by adult illness, infant illness, Christmas intervening and sundry trips to the UK by yours truly we finally set a date to organise a recipe exchange.  Oh, and Katharina and her husband Stefan said they would throw in a tasting session if I brought the dog as 9 month old Constantin has never met a dog before.  Sorted!

Anyway, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Makes enough for one Flammkuchen measuring 30 cm x 50 cm.

Dough Base

·                     200 grams plain flour (405)

·                     ½ tbsp salt

·                     7 grams dry yeast (or 25 grammes fresh yeast)

·                     100 ml warm water

·                     2 tbsp olive oil

Topping

·                     2 tbsp crème fraiche

·                     2 medium onions, thinly sliced

·                     50 grams bacon cubes (lardons)

(Mushroom and cheese may also be used)

Method

1. Heat the oven (with or without the stone) to 270 degrees
2. Mix all the ingredients of the dough base thoroughly; knead for about five minutes to make a smooth dough ball.
3. Place in a bowl, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has risen.
4. Roll out the dough very thinly onto greaseproof paper.
5. Spread the crème fraiche over the top.
6. Lay the sliced onions over the top of the crème fraiche.
7. Sprinke the cubes of bacon (lardons) over the top.
8. Place in the oven (or on the hot stone) for 12 minutes.

Tastes bl**dy wonderful :-)

Before we munched it.

Stefan preparing the first cut

Constantin meets Ollie.  Despite a little nervousness on both sides, the two were good friends by the time we left :-)