What's the difference between pizza and flammkuchen?

Unlike pizza, Flammkuchen, Tarte Flambée etc. don't have an underlying layer of tomato sauce under the cheese and toppings . Cheese, onions / leeks and sometimes lardon pieces are directly put on the rectangular base, before baking in a hot oven (usually wood-fired).

What is flammkuchen in French?

Flammekueche (Alsatian), Flammkuchen (Standard German), or tarte flambée (French), is a speciality of the region of Alsace, German-speaking Moselle, Baden and the Palatinate.

What's a flammkuchen good pizza?

Flammkuchen is a German thin crust pizza with crispy bacon and onions with a sour cream/greek yogurt sauce .

What is flammkuchen made of?

Flammkuchen, which means 'flame cake' in German, is the perfect example of a dish that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Crème fraîche, sliced onion, bacon and a crispy base come together to create this delicious pizza-flatbread hybrid.

What is the most common pizza in Germany?

28.4 % of Germans prefer their pizza Roman style (thin base, thin crust), 28.1 % Neapolitan style (thin base, thick crust) and 15 % American style (thick) . More than 50 % enjoy ketchup or sauce hollandaise as a dip for their pizza or substitute for the tomato sauce.

What is the most unique pizza in the world?

Brazil's Banana Topped Pizzas 🍌 It's a unique combination of sweet and savoury, where the sweetness of the bananas contrasts with the saltiness of the cheese and other toppings. These banana-topped pizzas showcase Brazil's creativity in blending diverse flavours to create a distinct culinary experience.

Which pizza is very delicious?

Margherita is one of the most iconic pizzas worldwide. It's a typical Neapolitan pizza made with all sorts of different ingredients including (but not limited to) extra-virgin olive oil, salt, basin, and exclusive ingredients like Mozzarella cheese and San Marzano tomatoes.

What is the most famous style of pizza?

In America, the most popular pizza style hails from the Big Apple . This is because many pizzas enjoyed nationwide owe their basic shape to the New York style. While not as large or thin as traditional New York pizza, pizza from chains such as Little Caesars, Pizza Hut and Domino's are all based on New York slices.

What is pizza called in German?

Pizza is translated in German by... Er aß eine Pizza . He ate a pizza. Das ist mein Pizzastück.

What does flammekueche mean in English?

Flammkuchen or flammekueche is essentially a bacon onion flatbread/pizza.

What is the difference between pizza and tarte flambée?

It looks like a pizza, it cooks like a pizza, but don't make the mistake of actually thinking it's a pizza . Tarte flambée, the Alsatian flatbread topped with fromage blanc (a fresh, tart, spreadable cheese), thinly sliced raw onions and bacon, is as Franco-Germanic in flavor as can be.

What are the two types of pizza in Italy?

Pizzaiolos (“pizzamakers” in Italian) all over the city of Naples toss this dough in multiple sizes and flavors–pizza Marinara (just tomato sauce) and Margherita (tomato sauce and mozzarella) toppings being the most common.

What is the difference between pizza and Apizza?

How Else Is Apizza Different From Regular Pizza? Another major difference is that unlike regular pizza, on which a layer of red sauce and a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese are assumed to adorn the crust, apizza will often dispense with both . A plain pie will have tomato sauce, plus garlic and parmesan.

Flammkuchen (French - German Pizza) (2024)

When most people think pizza, they think Italy, but Flammkuchen (also called Flammekueche or tarte flambé in French), the crispy and smoky pizza from the France / Germany border, is definitely worth your time!

We do love a big slice of saucy, mozzarella-laden, classic, Italian pizza. But, it’s also fun to explore the way that pizza has taken on a life of its own in regions outside of Italy.

Like this specialty of Alsace, France and southwestern Germany: Flammkuchen (sometimes spelled Flammenkuchen in German and known as Flammekueche or tarte flambé in Alsace, France).

What is Flammkuchen?

Translated ‘flame cake,’ flammkuchen really aren’t pizza at all, in their own right. They were originally used by bakers to test the temperature of their ovens. A bit of dough was taken and rolled flat, topped with crème fraîche, and baked in the wood-fired bread oven for a few minutes.

The amount of time it took for the flammkuchen to bake to nearly-blistered crispness told them the oven’s temperature. If the flammkuchen came out just right, then the ovens were ready to bake their bread!

This baker’s oven test became a hit, and now can be found made with numerous toppings of its own!

Is Flammkuchen French or German?

Flammkuchen (pronounced flam-KOOK-en) in German, or Flammekueche (pronounced flam-KOOCHE) or tarte flambé in French, comes from the Alsace region of France (just across Germany’s the southwestern border with France).

The Alsace region, while currently a part of France, has bounced back and forth under German and French control through the centuries. So, understandably, there is a lot of German influence in this region, and a lot of Alsatian, French influence on the German side across the border.

You will find this specialty on both sides of the current border. It is thought that it originated as Flammekueche (tarte flambé) with bakers in Alsace. (But, when it originated, and whether Alsace was a part of France or Germany at that time, is up for debate.)

Crispy Thin Crust Pizza

Thin and crispy crust pizza lovers, this pizza is for you!

Flammkuchen is characterized by its incredibly thin, crisp, and blistered crust.

We’re talking cracker-like here folks.

What Is Crème Fraîche?

Rather than a tomato sauce, the dough for flammkuchen is spread with crème fraîche (KREHM fresh), a thick, French, soured cream.

Crème fraîche is less sour than American sour cream, so if you can’t find crème fraîche, we recommend using plain, strained yogurt. (Yogurt is naturally thinner than crème fraîche, so we strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to thicken it to a more proper consistency.)

Bacon and Caramelized Onion German Pizza

While you can use any toppings that you like for you flammkuchen, the most traditional combination includes bacon and caramelized onions. These are seasoned only with a bit of nutmeg and black pepper.

Other common variations include

gruyère (or Swiss) cheese
mushrooms
Munster cheese

You can even find sweet versions of flammkuchen that are typically made with apples, cinnamon, and a sweet liqueur.

We went for the classic caramelized onion and bacon version today. Because, really, how can you go wrong with those toppings?

Crisp, creamy, smoky, with a hind of caramelized sweetness.

This pizza makes for a perfect light dinner or appetizer.

Our Flammkuchen Recipe

As far as making pizza goes, this flammkuchen recipe is fairly straightforward.

The dough is a simple mixture of flour, salt, water, and oil that mixes together well and kneads nice and smooth. (Kneading to a smooth dough is important because you want your dough to be able to stretch out nice and thin.)

While the dough rests, it’s time to prepare the toppings.

Mix the crème fraîche and nutmeg for your ‘sauce’.
Saute up some bacon.
Caramelize some onions in the bacon grease.

Then, it’s time to stretch the dough. We like to stretch it right onto a baking sheet, that way once it is stretched, we don’t have to move it and risk tearing the dough.

Finally top and bake ’till crispy!

More Pizza Recipes To Enjoy

Pizza around the world has taken on some fun twists. If you’re a pizza lover, give these other variations a try too!

Polish pizza
Turkish pizza
Argentinian steak pizza

And, for your classic Italian pizza, you’ll love our quick and easy pizza dough or our whole wheat bread machine pizza dough recipes.

Ingredients

For the Dough

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ c water
2 Tbsp olive oil

For the Toppings

1 c crème fraîche, or 1 c Greek yogurt, or slightly over 1 c plain yogurt, strained *
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ lb bacon, diced
2 onions, halved and sliced thin
ground black pepper (to top)
Cornmeal (for the pan)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 500F.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, water, and oil. Mix until a dough begins to form, the turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is soft and smooth, 3-5 min. Set the dough aside and cover it with a towel.
In a small bowl, mix together crème fraîche and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large sauté pan, sauté bacon over medium high heat, until it is cooked about halfway to crisp, 2-4 minutes. Remove the bacon (keeping the grease in the pan) to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
Place the sliced onions into the hot bacon grease and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 10 min. Remove the pan from the heat.
Roll and stretch the dough out into a rectangle, roughly 11x16 inches. Place the dough onto a large baking sheet that has been generously dusted with cornmeal.
Spread the crème fraîche mixture over the crust, leaving just a little bare crust border. Distribute the caramelized onions over the crème fraîche, and sprinkle the bacon over the onions. Finish everything off with a dusting of black pepper.
Place the baking sheet with the pizza into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pizza is crisp and the edges are starting to darken.
Remove from the oven, cut, and serve immediately with some good wine.

Notes

*To strain your yogurt, place it in a couple layers of cheesecloth in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

Want to convert to WEIGHT measurements? Have a look at our ingredient conversion guide.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1/4 of recipe
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 853

We love this recipe so much, and we make it often. So, we’ve updated our pictures since we first shared it on Curious Cuisiniere. But we’ve left some original images here, in case you’ve found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.

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Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.