Tarte Flambée Alsace Style
My home state of Baden-Württemberg is not far from the French Alsace, both geographically and in terms of cuisine. So it’s hardly surprising that one of the perennial favorites for dinner is the dish for which this region of France is famous: the tarte flambée.
The “flamme,” as it’s called in French, is very quick to prepare and requires only a few ingredients. Equally, however, the recipe can be adapted to your own taste. Therefore, this dish is also super as a leftover utilization.
We start with the dough, which for me does not need leavening. For me, the paper-thin crust makes a tarte flambée. Some recipes use a yeast dough, which then rises more in the oven and is therefore reminiscent of a pizza. But this is very different from a tarte flambée as I know it. It is not just a pizza with a light topping!
The dough goes through quite a transformation process: from very crumbly at the beginning to elastic after a few minutes of vigorous kneading. At this point you can wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. To thaw, just put it in the fridge in the morning and it will be ready for further processing in the evening. Don’t forget to label it, though – otherwise you’ll wonder at some point what that weird ball in the freezer is and how long it’s been there!
I went right ahead and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. Since there is no yeast in the dough, it does not rise. The resting time is necessary for the gluten strands created by kneading to relax again. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to roll out the dough, because it always wants to return to its original shape.
For the classic topping I spread sour cream, onions and bacon and a good portion of pepper on the rolled out dough. Then off into the oven and about 25 minutes later you feel like God in France!
Tarte Flambée Alsace Style
Ingredients
- 200 g flour
- 110 ml water
- 1 tbsp. tasteless oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g sour cream
- 2 onions medium size
- bacon in strips
- Pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Make a dough with flour, salt, oil and water. Knead it until it no longer sticks to your hands, adding a little flour if necessary. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200 °C convection (220 °C top/bottom heat).
- Cut onions into strips. Roll out dough thinly and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread with sour cream and top with bacon and onions. Season with pepper to taste.
- Bake the tarte flambée in the oven for approx. 20 minutes until golden brown.
