Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen) for #BreadBakers

Mother Nature put yet another hold on plans. It was two weeks ago when I had some outdoor related to-do items on my list. That Friday I checked the forecast and there were a few days of little or no rain ahead. Then I checked the forecast again late Saturday morning while I was out getting ingredients for Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread only to find it had drastically changed. Grilling was put off for another day so I could cut the grass before storms arrived.

Nature is one of the unexpected aspects of food blogging. Varying light and weather affects photography. Partly cloudy days are a beast. Just when everything is set up and ready to go you have to stop and reset the camera’s white balance. Rain definitely gets in the way of grilling, candy making, and delicate pastries like pavlova. It was a good thing I had time to wait on the rain to stop so I could uncover the grill and have this recipe ready to share.

Yeasty flatbreads is the June Bread Bakers theme. It was announced by our host Mirelle of The Schizo Chef several months ago. I first thought about a Mediterranean flatbread since I have it on my long list of things I’d like to make. Then I decided to look up all the different types of flatbreads. I spotted Flammkuchen in Wikipedia’s list and went on to investigate. Three things won me over; bacon, onion, and cheese.

Flammkuchen translates to flame cake. Another name for it is Tarte flambée translated as “cake baked in flames”. The names come from it being cooked in a high temperature wood-fired oven. Well, I do not have one of those ovens. I do have an outdoor oven, a.k.a. grill, and it sure does have flames. So I “baked” my flatbread over instead of beside fire.

More about the flatbread: The base is a basic pizza dough rolled out very thin. Since grilling flatbread takes only minutes, I was concerned the onions would be too raw tasting. The answer was to grill them first which also brings out their sweetness. Ricotta cheese and creme fraiche (or sour cream) stirred together is the sauce. Crispy bacon goes on top for a final touch of yumminess. Flammkuchen is creamy, salty, sweet, chewy, and crispy too. No wonder it is one of the most famous specialties of the Alsace region in France.

Which kind of flatbread is your favorite? Do you make it at home? Scroll down to find recipes for various types of flatbreads found around the world. Also take a look at my Grilled Wine and Cheese Pizza if you enjoy firing up the grill for pizzas too.

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Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen)

Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread is a twist on traditional Flammkuchen or Tarte flambée by grilling it instead of cooking in a wood-fired oven.

Course Flatbread

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings 12 to 16 servings

Author Renee

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 ounce
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water 105° to 110°F
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Olive oil

For the topping:

• 2 medium-size red onions sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream at room temperature
• 1 cup ricotta cheese at room temperature
• 12 ounces bacon amount prior to cooking, cooked and chopped

Instructions

For the dough:

1. Place yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Add water and stir. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade. Pulse about 4 times to combine.
3. Turn on the processor and slowly pour in yeast mixture. Continue processing until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Process for an additional minute.
4. Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in the bowl, turning to coat all side of dough with oil.
5. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

For the flatbread:

1. Heat grill to medium-high (about 450° to 500°F).
2. Place onion slices in a large casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn to coat onion with oil (be careful not to separate onion rings).
3. Place onion slices on grill in a single layer. Close lid and grill for about 3 to 5 minutes, until bottom side has grill marks.
4. Turn onion slices over. Close lid and grill for another 3 to 5 minutes, until bottom side has grill marks and onions have softened. Place grilled onions in a bowl or casserole dish and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Stir creme fraiche and ricotta cheese together in a small bowl.
6. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll out each half on a lightly floured surface into a round measuring about 12 inches across.
7. Place one dough round on a pizza peel (sprinkle pizza peel first with cornmeal for easier sliding of dough).
8. Use tongs to dip a paper towel into a small bowl of olive oil then brush grates with oil.
9. Slide dough from pizza peel onto grill grates. Cover and grill for about 2 minutes, until bottom has lightly browned.
10. Use tongs to remove dough and place upside down on the pizza peel.
11. Spread half of sauce over dough. Top with half of grilled onions and bacon pieces.
12. Return flatbread to the grill. Cover and cook about 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese has melted and bottom of crust has browned.
13. Repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

Recipe Notes

Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread is a twist on traditional Flammkuchen or Tarte flambée by grilling it instead of cooking in a wood-fired oven.

Dough recipe adapted from Food-Processor Pizza Dough on the Williams-Sonoma website. Flatbread toppings recipe adapted from Flammekeuche on the New York Times Cooking website.

It’s time to flatten out some dough. Check out these tasty flatbread recipes from talented bread bakers from all over the world:

• Chickpea Moroccan Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Emirati Khameer by The Schizo Chef
• Focaccia by Simply Veggies
• Garlic Naan by Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen) by Magnolia Days
• Grilled Naan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Naan by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Hönökaka – Swedish Flatbread by Passion Kneaded
• Kesra – Moroccan Flatbread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Man’oushe – Lebanese Flatbread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Margherita-Style Grilled Flatbread by Cali’s Cuisine
• Orange Herb Pitas by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Paneer Kulcha by I Camp in my Kitchen
• Roghni Roti by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers and Onions by Pastry Chef Online
• Simple Pita Bread by A Baker’s House
• Spelt Biskers by What Smells So Good?
• Tigelle – Italian Flat Bread by Cooking Club
• Whole Wheat Pita Bread by G’Gina’s Kitchenette
• Za’atar & Cheese Manakish – Levantine Flatbread by Ruchik Randhap
• Za’atar Spiced Khobez by Cook’s Hideout

What is Bread Bakers? It’s a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Bread Bakers Pinterest Board. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page.

How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to Stacy at [email protected].