Which Camp Are You In?

Ugggg... that's how I feel about Tarte Flambee. Also known as Flammkuchen. For those of you who don't know what it is, Alsatian Flatbread with Bacon and Creme Fraiche  is how "My Berlin Kitchen"  best describes it. It is from a region in France and Germany named Alsace. Alsace borders Germany and has a lot of the same culture as Germany. I have gone to France and visited Strasbourg, a city which is in the heart of Alsace. Strasbourg has amazing history, amazing culture, amazing food (except for some of us and the tarte flambee), and have you seen their houses!!!!! Alsace is overall AMAZING!!! When I went to Strasbourg, I had my first taste of tarte flambee. As a second grader it may have been a little extreme to try it. I did not like it one little bit. As I was flipping through Luisa Weiss food memoir (check out her blog) "My Berlin Kitchen" I found a recipe for it. Knowing that my mom loves it (if by chance I thought it was gross, AGAIN!) I decided to try it again. So on Saturday, January 19th, I finally got myself together and made it. While, my mother loved it, I on the other hand did not. It did not take that long, only about 1 hour (shorter than most things that I have made + posted about).  So, without further ado, here it is. Luisa Weiss's "My Berlin Kitchen"...

Tips:
1. The key is to get the dough as thin as possible
2. When you are rolling out the dough, get it as thin as possible without breaking, then put it as quickly as you can on the baking sheet
3. If you can find Speck, than by all means use it, but if you can't regular bacon will work too



Flammkuchen (Alsatian Flatbread with Bacon and Creme Fraiche) 
Serves 2

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 scant cup lukewarm water (this means barely 1 cup)
• 16 tablespoons Creme Fraiche
• 2 medium red or yellow onions, very thinly sliced
• 8 ounces Speck, cut into 1/4-inch batons
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the flour, yeast, olive oil, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times. Then with the motor running, add the water. The dough should come together in a matter of seconds.

2. Lightly flour your work surface, and dump the dough out onto it. Knead the dough a few times until its smooth and supple. Form it into a ball and place it in a bowl thats oiled with a drop or two of olive oil. Cover with a dishtowel and set aside for 1 hour.

3. Heat the oven as high as it goes. Divide the dough in quarters, and set aside 3/4 of the dough. Roll out 1/4 of the dough until its very, very thin, resting very so often to give the dough a chance to relax. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Transfer the nearly translucent rolled-out dough carefully to the baking sheet, pulling the edges of the dough all the way to the sides of the sheet so that the dough is even. Spread the dough thinly with a quarter of the Creme Fraiche, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Then distribute 1/4 of the onions and Speck evenly over the Flammkuchen. 

5. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until its crisp and browned. Remove the sheet from the oven, sprinkle liberally with freshly groud black pepper, cut into squares and serve immediately. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients **Make sure you use 1/4 of the dough and ingredients each time**.
   

Finished

Finished + up close