Flammekueche (Tarte Flambée)

Bonne fête and welcome to the 2015 edition of the No Free Lunch Bastille Day special, which I think is fair to say has become a tradition here. This time, we head to Alsace for flammekueche, known in French as "tarte flambée." It translates roughly as "flame cake," but can be thought of as a thin crust pizza. Although flammekueche is not part of the "core" library of French cuisine, it is an Alsatian classic. In a way, Alsatians were the first to celebrate Bastille Day, storming the Strasbourg city hall just a week after the Bastille fell. Today, we salute their revolutionary spirit.

Alsace is one of the world's fascinating border regions, being passed from the Austrian-led Holy Roman Empire to Burgundy, to France over the years. Seized by Otto von Bismarck in the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace became a part of the German Empire until returning to France, where it has remained, in the Treaty of Versailles. Traditional Alsatian cuisine is a testament to the cultural blending that came out of this history. Where else in France is sauerkraut a central part of the cuisine? Their coq au vin is even made with Riesling. In fact, the first time I had flammekueche was in Germany.

As with many traditional dishes, my investigations turned up a lot of variation. The biggest differences are in the dough. Some use yeast and rise the dough, while others do not. Since the Wikipedia article describes it as "bread dough" I went the yeast route. There are also a variety of takes on the topping. I had decided on a mix of crème fraîche and fromage blanc, a tart fresh cheese from France. I was unable to get fromage blanc, so I am substituting fat free Greek yogurt. I also had some of the crema Mexicana left from the corn, and used that in place of crème fraîche.

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 package) dry active yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

Topping

• 3/4 cup crème fraîche (substitute crema Mexicana)
• 3/4 cup fromage blanc (substitute fat free Greek yogurt)
• 1 onion
• 6 strips thick-cut bacon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Dough

Start by preparing the dough about 2 hours ahead of time. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the water in. Slowly mix the flour into the water until everything is integrated. 

Before kneading

Knead until smooth. I did this in the stand mixer. Note the dough is quite sticky compared to bread dough. 

After kneading

Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. Punch down, cover again and let rise for 1 more hour. Punch down again and divide the dough in half.

Assembly

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Halve the onion and cut it crosswise as thin as possible. Cut the bacon into thin strips, about 1/4 inch wide. Mix together the crème fraîche and the fromage blanc/yogurt. 

Ready to bake

Roll both pieces of dough into large, thin rectangles. Transfer to oiled sheet pans. Spread the topping mixture over both, and sprinkle onion and bacon on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake on lower rack for 15 minutes. Cut into squares for serving. Wine pairing would traditionally be Riesling, but Vouvray did nicely today.