Alsatian Flatbread (Tarte Flambée / Flammekueche)
A paper-thin Alsatian flatbread spread with tangy crème fraîche, scattered with raw bacon lardons and thinly sliced onion, then baked in a screaming-hot oven until the edges crackle and the bacon turns crisp. Simple, smoky and irresistible straight from the oven.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the flour and salt, then add the water and oil. Knead by hand for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a ball, cover with a cloth and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the dough becomes easy to stretch very thin later.
- 300 g flour
- 180 ml water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt (dough)
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky, and has rested for the full 30 minutes
Season the crème fraîche
In a small bowl, stir the with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. This seasoned cream is the only sauce the tarte needs — there is no cheese in a true , so taste it now and adjust the seasoning until it's pleasantly savory.
- 300 g
- 1/2 tsp salt (topping)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
✅ Done when: the cream tastes well seasoned, with a light hit of nutmeg
Preheat the oven very hot
Place a pizza stone or a heavy, rimless baking sheet in the oven and preheat to the highest setting your oven allows, ideally 250°C (480°F), for at least 20 minutes. A properly scorching-hot surface is what gives its crisp, lightly blistered crust in just a few minutes, the way it was once baked in the leftover heat of a bread oven.
✅ Done when: the oven and stone or sheet have been fully heated for 20 minutes
Roll the dough paper-thin
Divide the dough into 2 pieces. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll each piece out as thin as you possibly can, almost see-through, into a rough rectangle or oval about 2–3 mm thick. Thin dough is the whole point of this tarte, so don't be shy about rolling further than feels natural.
✅ Done when: the dough is almost translucent and very thin all over, with no thick patches
Top the flatbreads
Spread half the seasoned in a very thin layer over each round, right to the edges but leaving a tiny bare border. Scatter the sliced onions evenly over the cream, then the raw bacon on top. Keep every layer thin and even so it all cooks through in the short baking time.
- 2 sliced onions
- 250 g bacon
✅ Done when: both flatbreads are evenly covered with a thin layer of cream, onion and bacon
Bake until crackling crisp
Slide one flatbread, still on its parchment, onto the hot stone or sheet. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are deeply browned and curling, the onions are soft, and the bacon is cooked through and sizzling. Repeat with the second flatbread, reheating the oven for a few minutes between bakes if needed.
✅ Done when: the crust is crisp and spotted brown at the edges and the bacon is fully cooked
Slice and serve at once
Cut each tarte into wide strips or squares with a pizza cutter or large knife, scatter with chives if using, and serve immediately while the crust is still crackling. is eaten hot from the oven, traditionally with your hands and a glass of chilled Alsatian white wine or beer.
- to garnish chives
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the flour and salt, then add the water and oil. Knead by hand for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a ball, cover with a cloth and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the dough becomes easy to stretch very thin later.
- 300 g flour
- 180 ml water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt (dough)
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky, and has rested for the full 30 minutes
Season the crème fraîche
In a small bowl, stir the with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. This seasoned cream is the only sauce the tarte needs — there is no cheese in a true , so taste it now and adjust the seasoning until it's pleasantly savory.
- 300 g
- 1/2 tsp salt (topping)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
✅ Done when: the cream tastes well seasoned, with a light hit of nutmeg
Preheat the oven very hot
Place a pizza stone or a heavy, rimless baking sheet in the oven and preheat to the highest setting your oven allows, ideally 250°C (480°F), for at least 20 minutes. A properly scorching-hot surface is what gives its crisp, lightly blistered crust in just a few minutes, the way it was once baked in the leftover heat of a bread oven.
✅ Done when: the oven and stone or sheet have been fully heated for 20 minutes
Roll the dough paper-thin
Divide the dough into 2 pieces. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll each piece out as thin as you possibly can, almost see-through, into a rough rectangle or oval about 2–3 mm thick. Thin dough is the whole point of this tarte, so don't be shy about rolling further than feels natural.
✅ Done when: the dough is almost translucent and very thin all over, with no thick patches
Top the flatbreads
Spread half the seasoned in a very thin layer over each round, right to the edges but leaving a tiny bare border. Scatter the sliced onions evenly over the cream, then the raw bacon on top. Keep every layer thin and even so it all cooks through in the short baking time.
- 2 sliced onions
- 250 g bacon
✅ Done when: both flatbreads are evenly covered with a thin layer of cream, onion and bacon
Bake until crackling crisp
Slide one flatbread, still on its parchment, onto the hot stone or sheet. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are deeply browned and curling, the onions are soft, and the bacon is cooked through and sizzling. Repeat with the second flatbread, reheating the oven for a few minutes between bakes if needed.
✅ Done when: the crust is crisp and spotted brown at the edges and the bacon is fully cooked
Slice and serve at once
Cut each tarte into wide strips or squares with a pizza cutter or large knife, scatter with chives if using, and serve immediately while the crust is still crackling. is eaten hot from the oven, traditionally with your hands and a glass of chilled Alsatian white wine or beer.
- to garnish chives
The Story Behind the Dish
Tarte flambée, known locally as Flammekueche, comes from the farmhouses of Alsace, where bakers used to test the heat of their wood-fired bread ovens. Before the daily batch of bread went in, a thin sheet of dough topped with cream, onion and bacon was slid in first to check the oven was hot enough, cooking through in just a couple of minutes in the fierce heat.
Over time this quick test became a treat in its own right, and families started making it as a simple, satisfying meal on baking day. It spread from farmhouse kitchens to village inns and eventually to restaurants across France and the neighboring German-speaking regions, keeping its rustic, no-fuss character all along.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's famous for its paper-thin, cracker-crisp crust and simple topping of cream, onion and bacon, a stark contrast to heavier Alsatian cooking, and for the dramatic way it's baked at very high heat in just minutes.
💡 Fun Fact
Its name literally means 'flamed cake' in the Alsatian dialect, a nod to the flames of the traditional wood-fired oven it was once baked in.
Alsace, a region in northeastern France along the border with Germany
48.57°N, 7.75°E
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