FCG: Zwiebelkuchen 02/07/04

How's that for a name for you? Hi gang. Today's recipe is for an onion tart. (In German, zwiebel (f)is onion or bulb [such as a tulip, but the recipe doesn't call for those] and a kuchen (f) is a cake, a tart, or a pie. For those gluttons for punishment, the pronunciation is something like tsveebel kooken. [Actually, that ch is not pronounced as a "k" in German, but that's how most Americans interpret it. It's a sound we don't make in English unless we're annoyed or clearing our throats.]) This recipe is easier than the name might imply, and really tasty. Hope you enjoy it. --Devon

Zwiebelkuchen
3/4 cup milk
5 TBSP butter (divide into 4 TBSP and 1 TBSP)
1/4 cup sugar
salt
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon (a little more than a teaspoon if you're using dried lemon peel I think)
3 large egg yolks (I used 2 eggs: I had nothing else to do with the whites at the time.)
1 package active dry yeast
3 cups plus 1 1/2 tsp flour
3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" dice
3 large onions, finely chopped
1/3 plus 2 TBSP sour cream
1 large egg (another one)
1 tsp caraway seeds

Place milk and 4 TBSP butter in small saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and let mixture cool until tepid. Place in mixing bowl and blend in sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, lemon zest, egg yolks, and yeast. Gradually add the 3 cups flour, creating a dough that is soft, but not sticky. (Mine stayed kind of sticky, though.) Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (springs back when you poke it). Place in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (~1 hour). Heat oven to 400. Punch dough down and roll it to 1/4" thick. Put it on a 11X17" baking sheet that has been greased or lined with parchment. Cover the dough again with plastic wrap (recommend buttered) and let it rise until the dough doesn't spring back when you poke it (~20 minutes). Melt remaining TBSP butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon (this recipe will kill you, by the way: consider not frying your bacon in butter--you don't really need it) and cook until golden and crisp and most of the fat has been rendered. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the 1 1/2 tsp flour. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and the egg and then stir it into the onion mixture. Cook, stirring until the mixture thickens (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and add salt (if you want it). Spread mixture on top of the dough and then let it rise 15 minutes more. Sprinkle the top with caraway seeds. Bake until edges are crisp and brown, about 30 minutes. (Check at 20: it may be that my oven is either a whole lot hotter than 400 when I set it there, but I'm more inclined to think that a dough this light doesn't need to be cooked quite so long, so hot.) transfer to a wire rack and cool enough to serve. The recipe then goes on to say that this bread will keep wrapped and unrefrigerated up to 4 days, but I'm not brave enough to leave meat on my counter (unless it's jerky) for that long. It kept in the refrigerator for me. :) It's a pretty big tart, so be hungry or have guests when you make it.