For almost two years now, we live in quite really strange times. Social distancing and lockdowns – these are certainly not the topics I wish to discuss on my blog. However, we cannot avoid the fact that they continually impact our daily lives by new challenges. So after the Christmas markets closed again this year, I decided to take matters into my own hands and recreate the well-known Christmas atmosphere at home. After all, Confucius said that happiness is everywhere, we just have to find it. So on this snowy Sunday, I made flatbread with cream and onions traditionally prepared at medieval German Christmas markets, as well as the most popular drink there – aromatic Mulled wine (see the recipe here).
The bread is called Flammbrot (Flammbrot; lit. a type of bread that is baked over a fire) or Ramfladen (Rahmfladen; lit. a type of flatbread with cream) and is made from yeast dough. It is usually topped with cream and a combination of potatoes, onions, or bacon. I’ll let you in on a secret and will tell you that it is just as delicious in other variations – for example with cherry tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, or why not a sweet variation with a Christmas twist e.g. apples, pears, and camembert or brie cheese?
I’m not going to cheat on the traditional recipe today because it fits our preferences perfectly. The vegetarian flatbread has two kinds of onion and potatoes. If you ask me it’s perfect like that and doesn’t need anything more, but I guess meat lovers might argue with me on this. For that reason, I added one more traditional ingredient to Emmanuel’s bread, namely small pieces of Mangalitsa salami (instead of bacon).
Note: These flatbreads are very similar to another pastry, also typical for the Christmas markets, which comes from France and is most popular in southern Germany. It is called Flammkuchen and is made from yeast-free dough that is rolled out very thinly.
German Flatbread with Onions, Potatoes & Bacon
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 210 g Wheat Flour
- 90 g Rye or whole grain Flour
- 6 g Fresh Yeast
- 50 ml Milk
- 100 ml Lukewarm Water
- 2 tsp Olive oil
- 2/3 tsp Salt
- 1 Pinch of Sugar
For the topping:
- 150 g Sour Cream
- 150 g Cottage Cheese
- 2 pre-cooked Potatoes
- 1 Onion
- Bacon or Salami (optional)
- Salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme
Directions
- Sift the flour and form an empty circle in its center (should look like a well or a volcano, scroll down to see a photo with example). Note: By using a combination of white and wholemeal or rye flour, you guarantee the rustic taste of the bread – just like from the Christmas market. Of course, if you wish, you can use only white flour.
- Add the yeast in small pieces into the lukewarm milk, add a pinch of sugar and whisk until the yeast is completely dissolved.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the “well” and stir in a little bit from the flour.
- Leave it for 15-20 minutes. The surface of the mixture should become foamy and should form air bubbles, which means that the yeast has been activated.
- Add the remaining ingredients and knead into a soft dough for 5-6 minutes.
- Shape the dough into 4 balls and coat them with some olive oil.
- Cover the balls with cling film or a lid and let the dough rise for about 1.5 hours at room temperature (20-25°C degrees).
- You can also prepare this dough the night before. Leave it to rise for approx. one hour at room temperature and then place in the fridge until the next day, but no longer than 18 hours. On the next day, take the dough out of the fridge around 1 hour before using it.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C degrees. If you have a pizza stone, you should definitely use it. Just prehead it long enough before the baking.
- Mix the sour cream with the cream cheese and season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
- Cut the onion into thin half-rings or rings, depending on its size.
- The meat lovers can add bacon or salami of their choice by cutting it into small cubes.
- Roll out the dough into oval patties about 5 mm thick, but keep the edges thicker (around 1 cm).
- Spread the mixture of sour cream and cream cheese on top of the flatbreads, but leave out the edges.
- Top with onion rings, potato, (and bacon), and sprinkle with thyme.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Do not overbake the flatbreads – they should be soft, not crispy.
For the dough
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For the topping and baking
