Tarte Flambee Alsatian Pizza Recipes

Steps:

• Put the flour and salt in a mixing bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor.
• In a measuring cup, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir in the sugar.
• Add to the flour all at once and stir or motor until smooth.
• Be careful not to over-process.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise, undisturbed, for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and rub two large baking sheets with a little vegetable oil.
• Divide the dough into four parts, and on a well-floured surface, roll each part into an 8-inch round.
• Put the rounds on the oiled baking sheets and set aside.
• Combine the fromage blanc or cottage cheese, the crème fraîche and the 1 tablespoon of flour and stir or process until smooth.
• Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until some of the fat is released, then add the sliced onion and cook 2 or 3 minutes, or until the onion is barely softened.
• Distribute the cheese evenly between the rounds of dough and spread it up to the edges.
• Sprinkle the bacon and onions on top.
• Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is browned.
• Serve hot.

Steps:

• Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked but not crisp and fat has rendered out, about 8 minutes. Drain in a strainer; reserve the fat.
• Place skillet back over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Cook briefly just until they lose their raw edge and soften up slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon or 2 of bacon fat if pan seems too dry. Remove skillet from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Mix fromage blanc, creme fraiche, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a mixing bowl.
• Place 1 ball of pizza dough on a well-floured surface. Flatten and roll out to a 10- or 12-inch thin circle. Transfer to a cold cast iron pan. Heat over medium-high heat to pre-cook the bottom of the crust. As dough heats and bubbles appear, deflate them with the tines of a fork so crust ends up thin and crisp (not chewy). When bottom is nicely browned and just about to start getting charred, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from heat. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread a generous amount of cheese mixture over the crust. Top evenly with some onions and then the bacon. Broil 5 or 6 minutes until edges are browned and starting to lift. Repeat for remaining tartes.

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk yeast and sugar into warm water to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed. Knead on a lightly floured work surface until dough is slightly tacky. Be careful not to incorporate too much flour while kneading.
• Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Place a pizza stone on floor of a gas oven (remove racks) or bottom rack of an electric oven. Preheat oven to 475 degrees for at least 45 minutes.
• Make the topping: Place bacon in a medium skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until lightly browned and crispy, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat and place skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 12 minutes. Remove onions from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl, mix together creme fraiche, egg, and coriander; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Punch down dough to deflate; divide into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time (keeping remaining dough pieces lightly covered with plastic), roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle about 10 inches by 8 inches, stretching with fingers if necessary. Using a pizza cutter trim a scant 1/8 inch from edges to make even.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet. Using an offset spatula, spread one-quarter of the creme fraiche mixture evenly over dough, spreading as close to the edge as possible. Top with one-quarter of the bacon, onions, cheese, and thyme.
• Gently shake pizza on peel to ensure that pizza will slide easily onto pizza stone. Open oven door and align the front of the peel with the back of the stone; swiftly jerk peel backward to release pizza onto one side of the stone. Bake, rotating with a large spatula halfway through, until crust is crispy and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove pizza from oven and top with additional creme fraiche and thyme leaves. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into disks about 3-1/4 to 4 inches in diameter and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
• Leave in freezer until dough is frozen.
• Mix together quark, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Remove crusts from freezer.
• Poke pastry with a fork.
• Spread cheese mixture equally on each crust.
• Sprinkle with onion and bacon.
• Bake on bottom rack of oven for ten minutes, or until bottoms of pizzas are a dark, golden brown.
• Serve warm.