Mushroom flammkuchen

Name: Mushroom flammkuchen
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 2 large pieces
Cuisine: German,European
Ingredients: 250g plain flour; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 120ml hot tap water; 40ml olive oil

Helen Goh

March 22, 2024

Time:30 mins - 1 hourMakes:2 large pieces

Travelling through south-west Germany last summer, we became accustomed to snacking on these ubiquitous crispy pizzas and I was determined to make them once I got home. Although the dough doesn’t contain yeast, a short rest while the toppings are being prepared will relax the gluten, making it easier to roll very thinly. Baked for a short time at a very high temperature, the thin crust blisters and becomes delectably crunchy. Onion and bacon are the traditional toppings, but my version here is with mushrooms, which are so beautiful and plentiful at this time of year.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

250g plain flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
120ml hot tap water
40ml olive oil

FOR THE TOPPING

20ml olive oil, plus 2 tsp extra for oiling the oven trays
30g unsalted butter
2 medium onions, peeled, then sliced into rings roughly 5mm thick
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped, plus a few sprigs to garnish
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tsp red-wine (or sherry) vinegar
250g mixed mushrooms, sliced

FOR THE CREME FRAICHE LAYER

100g creme fraiche
20g parmesan, finely grated
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg tsp fine sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Method

Step 1
Begin by making the dough base. Place the flour and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the hot water and oil, then use a flexible spatula to mix and fold until the mixture forms a shaggy dough. Tip onto a clean workbench and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, then return it to the bowl, cover and set aside.
Step 2
To make the topping, put half the olive oil and half the butter in a large frypan and place over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions, half of the thyme leaves, ½ tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper and cook, stirring regularly until the onions have softened and are lightly coloured (about 8-10 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in half of the vinegar, then transfer the mix onto a plate.
Step 3
Without washing the frypan, place it back onto a medium heat and add the remaining olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the mushrooms, the remaining thyme leaves, ½ tsp salt and some black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until light golden-brown (about 5 minutes), then remove from heat. Stir in the remaining vinegar, then set the pan aside.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 230C fan-forced (250C conventional). Prepare two large oven trays by drizzling a teaspoon of olive oil onto the centre of each one.
Step 5
Divide the dough into two pieces (about 200g each). One at a time, roll the dough out as thinly as possible into a rough oblong. Place each piece in the centre of the oiled baking tray, then use your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough until it measures about 38cm in length and 20cm wide. Set aside.
Step 6
Put the creme fraiche, parmesan, nutmeg, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and mix to combine.
Step 7
If the dough bases have shrunk back a bit, gently stretch them out again before spreading the creme fraiche mixture evenly over the bases. Scatter the sauteed onions over both bases followed by the mushrooms, then place the trays into the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the trays at halftime, until the flammkuchen are golden-brown and crisp at the edges. Scatter a few sprigs of thyme to garnish and serve warm.