Flammekueche facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Flammkuchen, Flàmmeküeche, Flammkuche |
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| Place of origin | Upper Rhine Valley, (Alsace, France; Baden and the Palatinate, Germany) |
| Main ingredients | Bread dough, fromage frais or crème fraîche, onions, lardons |
| Variations | Au Munster, gratinée, forestière, sweet |
Flammekueche is a tasty dish that comes from the Upper Rhine Valley. This area includes parts of Alsace in France, and Baden and the Palatinate in Germany. It's also known as Flammkuchen in German or tarte flambée in French.
Imagine a very thin, crispy crust, like a super-thin pizza. This crust is made from bread dough. On top, it's covered with a creamy mix of fromage blanc or crème fraîche. Then, thin slices of onions and small pieces of bacon, called lardons, are added.
The name Flammekueche means "pie baked in the flames." This is because it's traditionally cooked very quickly in a super hot wood-fired oven. Even though it sounds like it might be set on fire (flambéed), it's not! It just gets really crispy from the intense heat.
Different Kinds of Flammekueche
Just like pizza, there are many ways to make Flammekueche. People often add different toppings to the classic recipe. Here are some popular kinds:
- Gratinée: This version has extra Gruyère cheese melted on top.
- Forestière: For this one, mushrooms are added to the toppings.
- Munster: If you like strong cheese, this one has Munster cheese.
- Sweet: Yes, there's even a dessert version! It often has apples and cinnamon. Sometimes, blueberries are used, and it might be drizzled with a sweet liqueur like Calvados.
A Bit of History
Flammekueche was first made by farmers in the Alsace region and nearby areas of Germany. These farmers used to bake their bread once a week in big wood-fired ovens.
They would use a small piece of dough to test if their oven was hot enough for baking bread. They'd roll it out, add some simple toppings, and put it in the oven. If it cooked quickly and got crispy, the oven was ready! This quick test became the delicious Flammekueche we know today. It only takes about 1 or 2 minutes to cook in a very hot oven.
For a long time, Flammekueche was a homemade dish. It didn't become popular in restaurants until the 1960s, when people started loving thin-crust dishes like pizza. When Alsace became part of France, Flammekueche also became known as tarte flambée and joined the delicious world of French cuisine.
