Flammkuchen (Crisp Bacon and Onion Tart)

Method

1. 1

   Heat the stone screaming hot — Slide a heavy baking tray or a pizza stone onto the top shelf and heat the oven to its maximum, at least 250 °C, for 30 minutes. Flammkuchen lives or dies on a screaming hot surface.

   ⏱30 min
2. 2
   • wheat flour250 g
   • water1¼ dl
   • olive oil2 tbsp
   • salt½ tsp

   Knead a yeast-free dough — Knead the flour, water, olive oil and salt into a smooth, supple dough, about 5 minutes. There is no yeast — you want a thin, snappy base, not bread. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

   ⏱20 min
3. 3

   Roll the bases paper-thin — Halve the dough and roll each piece out on a sheet of baking paper into a thin oval — thin enough to see the paper through it. Trim nothing; the ragged edges are part of the look.

4. 4
   • salt½ tsp
   • crème fraîche200 g
   • onion2
   • bacon150 g
   • ground nutmeg¼ tsp
   • black pepper½ tsp

   Spread and top sparingly — Season the crème fraîche with the nutmeg, pepper and a pinch of salt and spread it thinly over the bases, leaving a 1 cm rim. Scatter the onion evenly, then the bacon — the topping stays sparse or the base steams instead of crisping.

5. 5
   • crème fraîche200 g
   • bacon150 g

   Bake until the edges char — Slide each tart, still on its paper, onto the hot tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are blistered and darkly charred in places, the bacon is crisp and the crème fraîche has set.

   ⏱12 min
6. 6
   • fresh chives1 tbsp

   Cut and eat straight away — Snip the chives over the hot tarts, cut them into squares with a wheel or a large knife and eat immediately, standing up, before the base loses its crunch.