German Pizza (Flammkuchen)
Spice up your pizza night with this crispy German Pizza, also known as Flammkuchen or tarte flambée in the French Alsace region. Traditionally made with crème fraîche and bacon, this recipe features chorizo sausage and sour cream, alongside red onion and cheese, offering a tangy and spicy alternative.
While working in a bakery café in Baden Württemberg for five years during my studies, I sold plenty of Flammkuchen. This crispy flatbread pizza is typically enjoyed in wine regions such as Baden during the fall alongside the first wine of the season, Federweißer, though it can be found on menus throughout Germany year-round.
Traditionally made with bacon, I couldn’t resist adding spicy chorizo sausage instead. It works well with the fresh sour cream and red onion, balancing its spice. You can of course use bacon or any other beef or lamb sausage incl. Merguez.
Baked in my newish Ooni pizza oven, this Flammkuchen was a close second in our pizza cook-off recently. It came second, after the Turkish pizza and ahead of the pesto pizza and sausage pizza.
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German Pizza (Flammkuchen)
Ingredients
- 1 pizza base fresh or precooked, about 12 inches wide
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 red onion finely sliced
- 1 chorizo sausage or lamb sausage
- 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp fresh mint as garnish, sliced if needed
Instructions
- Preheat your pizza oven or a pizza stone in your oven or BBQ.
- Shape the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch wide pizza base.1 pizza base
- Add the sour cream to the base, distributing it evenly with your fingers covering the whole base apart from 1/2 inch of the edge.1/4 cup sour cream
- Evenly place the sliced red onion and chorizo sausage pieces on top of the pizza base. Cover it evenly with grated mozzarella cheese.1/2 red onion, 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 chorizo sausage
- Cook the pizza for 1-2 minutes in your pizza oven, rotating it frequently. If you're cooking it on a pizza stone in your conventional oven or BBQ, it'll take about 10 minutes to cook.
- Remove the German pizza from the pizza oven, oven, or BBQ, and garnish with fresh mint. Slice up the Flammkuchen and serve immediately!1 tbsp fresh mint
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients and substitutions
- Pizza dough – I use my cold-fermented pizza dough recipe but any fresh dough or store-bought thin pizza crust will work. Traditionally Flammkuchen dough is made without yeast.
- Sausage – Chorizo adds a rich and spicy flavor but any sausage meat including homemade Merguez will do as well as bacon, the traditional choice.
- Sour cream – Sour cream adds freshness and a bit of a tang. Traditionally richer crème fraîche is used to make Flammkuchen.
- Onion – Red onion adds color and a savory flavors. You can use yellow onion for a stronger taste or green onion for a milder one.
- Cheese – I chose quick melting mozzarella cheese but you can use your favorite pizza cheese blend.
- Mint – Fresh mint works well but you can also garnish the pizza with fresh parsley or thyme.
Flammkuchen: step-by-step photos
1. Start shaping the pizza dough by hand on a lightly floured surface.
2. Shape the pizza by stretching and rotating the dough.
3. Add sour cream to the shaped dough in an even layer using a spoon.
4. Place red onion rings on top.
5. Add uncooked chorizo sausage pieces.
6. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake the pizza.
My top 3 Flammkuchen tips
- Even toppings: By spreading out the toppings evenly across the pizza base you’ll end up with a consistent flavor and texture across every slice.
- Thin pizza crust: For a light and crispy base, make sure you have a thin base to start with and go easy on the sour cream or the bottom will end up soggy. Make sure the pizza stone or oven is preheated properly as well.
- Less is more: Don’t overload the flatbread pizza. It works so well thanks to its simplicity of flavors and toppings.
