Traditional German Flammkuchen

Flammkuchen has to be one of my FAVORITE German dishes. It is delicious! The first time I tried it was in the Spring of 2010, when I lived in Germany for a few months. I fell in love with this dish. Its almost like a pizza, but instead of pizza sauce, creme fraiche is used. You can get a really delicious and inexpensive creme fraiche at Trader Joe’s, and I have seen it at other chain grocery stores in the US, but it can be quite expensive.  This traditional German flammkuchen recipe is a basic one, for there are many variations. Usually bacon or prosciutto is used, but I prefer to use ham slices to keep it healthier. Tomatoes, corn, zucchini or basil, are some other toppings I have seen used at German restaurants. The possibilities are endless! Serve with a fresh salad. Tip: If you can’t find creme fraiche, try adding 2 tbsp buttermilk to 1 cup heavy whipping cream and let stand covered for 24h then refrigerate…you can also try sour cream, but it will taste a little different…

5.0 from 1 reviews
Traditional German Flammkuchen
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total
 
Type: Main
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 package creme fraiche (6 oz)
  • 1 cup chopped ham (sub bacon or prosciutto)
  • ½ cup thinly sliced white onion rings
  • ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Add water to yeast and a pinch of sugar and let stand 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in olive oil and flour a little at a time with a fork or in a standalone mixer.
  3. Knead for 10 minutes on a floured surface, and place in a greased bowl.
  4. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 525 F.
  6. Deflate dough and roll on a floured surface to the size of a large pizza pan.
  7. With a tablespoon, drop creme fraiche around surface of dough, then smear around to fully cover to edges.
  8. Sprinkle pepper over creme fraiche, then top with sliced ham and onions.
  9. Top with mozzarella cheese (only a small amount! No more than ¼ cup).
  10. Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking for browning of the top. Crust should be hard when done.

 

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15 comments

  1. Sharon | Chinese Soup Pot says:

    Wow, thanks for introducing this German dish! I’ve never heard of flammukuchen before but it looks really good! It looks so much like pizza and I think I will like this a lot! I’ve also been hearing a lot about creme fraiche lately – on tv cooking shows and on blogs. It seems like creme fraiche is becoming very popular all of a sudden in the US. I’d like to try it and see what the fuzz is all about. =) Your flammkuchen turned out beautiful – perfectly baked with a nice golden crust! I wish I could be there to try a slice! =)

  2. lo says:

    Looks delicious.

    History question for you: Was this German dish originally made with Quark, a soft German cheese? Just wondering. It would make sense, as it’s one of the most popular cheeses in Germany and it has a similar texture to creme fraiche or ricotta.

    • mysanfranciscokitchen says:

      Hi Lo,

      Great question! I have never seen it made with Quark, and I asked my fiance (he is from Germany) and he hasn’t heard of that either…but I have tried quark and it sounds like an interesting idea! Just can’t find it here in the US where I live 🙁

  3. Kati says:

    Hi there,
    the original recipe for Flammkuchen has sour cream (or: Craime fraiche/Schmand) in it, not quark, although it might work with it as well. Quark is leaner than sour cream and the outcome might be slightly different: it won’t have the same silky texture. Quark is also hard to find in Australia , which is hard for us Germans cos if you do like it there is really no substitute! Flammkuchen is tradinionally served with the fresh new white wine “Federweisser” (more like lemonade than wine really) – beautiful but also impossible to find anywhere in Australia….

  4. Doug says:

    After hearing about this in French class (we were talking about the Alsace region), I had to try it and ran across your recipe. It came out great! It was also my first time making crème fraîche (yummy!). For those who have yeast in larger quantities, 1 packet = 2 1/4 tsp. Mine was instant (not active dry) so I didn’t have to proof it, although of course you still want to keep the amount of water the same.

  5. Gail says:

    I just made this recipe and it was delicious. I used creme fraiche, thinly sliced yellow onions and pancetta, in tiny dice. Since I was able to make the dough in my Kitchenaid machine, and since it rose perfectly and since I was able to stretch the dough out to paper-thinness, I made two flammekuchen. My husband and I ate this in Alsace, village of Riquewehr, and I have longed to make it. thank you for an excellent dough recipe. What I made is the traditional Alsace style.

  6. Vicky says:

    My daughter, who has lived in Germany for 17 years, is the flammkuchen queen! She uses 5 c. flour, about one cup water for one packet of yeast and lets it rise for several hours. Fabulous.

  7. Vicky says:

    I would say that creme fraiche would be the base since it originates in France. Also Gruyere cheese is the cheese of choice due to its origins. The Germans use speck, but we’ll use bacon lightly cooked first to get ride of some of the delicious fat!!

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