Flammkuchen

Flammekueche ( Alsatian), Flammkuchen (Standard German), or tarte flambée (French), is a speciality of the region of Alsace, German-speaking Moselle, Baden and the Palatinate. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval, which is covered with ''fromage blanc'' or ''crème fraîche'', thinly sliced onions and lardons.

The name of the dish varies in local dialects; it is called ''Flàmmeküeche'', or ''Flàmmaküacha'' in Alsatian, or ''Flammkuche'' in Lorraine Franconian – compare (Standard) German ''Flammkuchen''. All these names translate as "(pie) baked in the flames". Interestingly, the French name "tarte flambée" is the most common name for the dish in Alsace, while it is known as its Alsatian name "flammekueche" in the rest of France. Contrary to what the direct translation would suggest, ''tarte flambée'' is not flambéed but is cooked in a wood-fired oven.Helga Rosemann, ''Flammkuchen: Ein Streifzug durch das Land der Flammkuchen mit vielen Rezepten und Anregungen'' lammkuchen: A foray into the land of the ''tartes flambées'' with many recipes and suggestions(Offenbach: Höma-Verlag, 2009).

Varieties

There are many variations of the original recipe in terms of the garniture. The standard variations are:
* ''Gratinée'': with added Gruyère cheese;
* ''Forestière'': with added mushrooms;
* ''Munster'': with added Munster cheese;
* Sweet: dessert version with apples and cinnamon, or blueberries, and flambéed with Calvados or another sweet liqueur.

History

The dish was created by farmers from Alsace, Baden and the Palatinate who used to bake bread once a week. The ''Flammekueche'' was originally a homemade dish which did not make its urban restaurant debut until the "pizza craze" of the 1960s. A ''Flammekueche'' would be used to test the heat of the farmers' wood-fired ovens. At the peak of its temperature, the oven would also have the ideal conditions in which to bake a ''Flammekueche''. The embers would be pushed aside to make room for the cake in the middle of the oven, and the intense heat would be able to bake it in one or two minutes. The crust that forms the border of the ''Flammekueche'' would be nearly burned by the flames.Rosemann 4–5. The result resembles a thin pizza. After the annexation of Alsace by France, the ''Flammekueche'' made its way as ''tarte flambée'' into French cuisine.

See also

* List of bread dishes
* Zwiebelkuchen
*

References

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Flatbread dishes
Alsatian cuisine
German cuisine
Bread dishes