“Flammkuchen,” otherwise known as a tarte flambée or flame cake, is a Franco-German favourite, though who invented it is hotly contested. Bakers in the Alsace region of northeastern France and southwestern Palatinate region of Germany supposedly tested the heat of their wood-burning ovens with thin pieces of dough topped with crème fraîche. When the dough came out crisp, the ovens were ready to use. Flammkuchen is claimed by and enjoyed in both countries, and both make delicious, mouth-watering versions. 

Traditionally, this pizza has a thin, crispy base that’s denser than regular pizza dough. Ooni ambassador and owner of Finland-based New York-style slice shop Slicemonger, Jukka Salminen (@slicemonger) created this flammkuchen recipe in one of our ovens. Honouring its flame-cooked roots and humble ingredients, including crème fraîche, bacon lardons and onions, this pie is rich, tangy and sharp, and we’re sure you’ll be saying thanks, merci or danke for all this fiery pizza goodness. 

Schweinekrustenbraten literally translates to “pork roast with a crust,” and is a staple of Bavarian cuisine. Schweinekrustenbraten is often found in beer halls, served with roast vegetables, potato dumplings or spaetzle, and sauerkraut. It’s particularly popular during Oktoberfest (the annual, weeks-long Bavarian festival that draws millions), when cooler days call for heart-warming dishes. The pork joint (typically the shoulder) is seasoned with a paste made from paprika, mustard and caraway seeds.

Cooking Schweinekrustenbraten in an Ooni oven is simple, thanks to Bavarian grill enthusiast Dominic Stettner (@dominic.stettner), who brought this delicious Ooni recipe to life. All you need is a deep stainless steel baking dish (that can sustain temperatures of 200°C / 392°F), tin foil, and a wired meat thermometer to ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly. After a sear on both sides, the cut is slow-cooked atop a bed of seasonal root vegetables, which infuse with the juices, stock, and dark beer as they cook. Later, the vegetables and juices are blended to make a beautifully rich sauce. The crispy pork rind is cooked last, and requires a strong lick of flames which caramelise the fat. Carve with your sharpest knife and serve with sauce and vegetables—washed down with a tankard of Bavarian beer! This dish should be enjoyed all year round, but it's especially apt to warm the cockles in the colder fall and winter months, and makes a great alternative to traditional beef or chicken roasts.

Warm, salty and satisfying, soft pretzels, or Brezn as they’re known in Bavaria, are one of life’s simple pleasures — and even more so when enjoyed fresh from the oven. They’re actually also incredibly rewarding to make. 

Pretzels have a long and complex history dating back 1500 years or more. Many of the theories about its origins tie into Christian symbolism: Some say the shape is reminiscent of arms crossed in prayer, or that the three holes represent the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit. One popular legend has it that a monk created the baked treat to reward his students for learning their prayers; pretiola means “little rewards” in Latin. Regardless of whether any of these theories are true, pretzels have earned a distinctive place in snack history beginning in Europe and later, across the world.

This recipe is an ode to the German archetype. We tapped German sourdough bread blogger Hendrick Kleinwaechter to fine tune this flame-cooked approach, using his experience to bring rich flavour and natural leavening to the dough. Because this recipe relies on a sourdough starter, be sure to begin preparing well in advance.

As for the dip, Obatzda is a popular dish to serve alongside soft pretzels in Bavaria. This Camembert and cream cheese dip takes its distinctive hue from paprika, then gets additional depth of flavour from finely diced onions and dark beer. The creamy, sharp profile of Obatzda is the perfect accessory to a soft, salty pretzel, and both go down swimmingly with a stein of good German beer. 

It’s believed that the first written recipe for pigs in a blanket appeared in Betty Crocker’s “Cooking for Kids” in 1957. While this certainly wasn’t the first time someone wrapped a sausage in pastry — both the German Würstchen im Schlafrock ("sausage in a dressing gown") and the Czech kolache have been around for a lot longer than 60 years — this was when many Americans were introduced to the delicious snack. Since then, they have taken off like tiny, pork-laden rockets, a staple of appetizer spreads the world over.

Puffy, meaty, and just a tad sweet (thanks to the mustard sauce), our Pigs in a Blanket (or Mini Sausage Rolls, if you prefer) are delicious and addictive.

The 6th of December is Saint Nicholas Day (in honour of the patron saint of children), and is a popular holiday for families in Germany. The celebrations begin the day before, when St. Nicholas (also spelled Nikolas and Nikolaus) visits children and tests their behaviour, sometimes asking them to recite a song or poem. That night, they leave their (ideally clean) shoes at the door, hoping the next morning they will be filled with goodies as a reward. This is often in addition to presents left in stockings — hung early in anticipation of St. Nick’s visit.

To celebrate, we’ve put a spin on the festive stocking with this strawberry and vanilla pudding pizza, shaped and decorated to look like St. Nicholas’ boot. Once the base is cooked, topping and decorating the pizza is a great way to get the kids involved. It’s a nice exclamation point to the end of a long day full of anticipation, cleaning and putting away toys before the arrival of a certain midnight visitor.

While we suggest using vanilla pudding and freshly sliced strawberries, you could choose any flavoured pudding base (chocolate or caramel, for instance), or opt for berry jam or conserve instead. Of course, a savoury version with tomato sauce and a mozzarella lining would be delicious, too. Whatever your style, this unique pizza is sure to be a fun treat for the whole family.

Notes: This recipe requires a blind bake using ice cubes. You’ll also need a pair of gloves and metal tongs. Watch this clip to get a sense of how the ice cube technique works.

For a flame-cooked twist on Entenbrust mit Knödel, a classic German dish of duck breast with dumplings, this recipe from Bavarian grilling enthusiast Dominic Stettner is one to try. Using fresh, high-quality ingredients will make the standout flavors of this dish pop — from fresh asparagus spears to succulent, organic duck breasts. The bacon-wrapped green beans add a salty kick to the tender duck breasts, which are served with an earthy root vegetable sauce that's heated with butter for a velvety finish.

Tradition holds that the duck breasts are served with potato dumplings (Kartoffelkloesse) . Soft and filling, potato dumplings are the ideal feel-good comfort food; even better, they’re easy to make at home. Made from butter, flour, eggs, and mashed potatoes, the ingredients are such staples, you probably already have them all on hand. If you’re in a pinch, store-bought packets of instant potato dumpling mix are a quick and effective substitute. (If you’re based outside the EU and instant boxes aren’t as readily available, try visiting your local specialty grocery or an online European store.)

Currywurst is a German street food classic. Invented in the late 1940s in Berlin by kiosk owner Herta Heuwer, this spicy sausage is a riff on bratwurst, and it’s incredibly popular (the average German consumes 10 currywursts a year).

So, what’s in a currywurst? Well, you begin with a sliced bratwurst base (a rich pork-blend sausage seasoned with salt, pepper and maybe a little marjoram, caraway seed, nutmeg or garlic), pour a generous amount of curried tomato sauce over the top and finish with a dash of curry powder. Full-sized cutlery? No. Tiny wooden fork? Yes.

In Germany, currywurst recipes vary from region to region. Most sausage experts agree that currywurst began as a thing in Berlin — but these days, the Ruhr valley region also has a special relationship with this ready-to-eat treat. Case in point: Bochum’s very own Herbert Grönemeyer once dedicated a slightly tongue-in-cheek song to the humble currywurst.

Pizza and currywurst have a lot in common. They’re both comfort foods, and they’re both delicious: Combining them into one mouthwatering dish just makes sense.

Recently, Ooni ambassador Julia (@manopasto) invented a homemade curry sauce of her very own — an updated version, if you will, of Heuwer’s original Chillup sauce. Apples, orange juice, and just a touch of cola add sweetness to the paprika-enhanced tomato base. We think it’s delicious.

(By the way — currywurst usually comes with fries. For a fully authentic “currywurst pommes” experience, add a handful of your favourite fast food fries to the pizza post-bake.)

Marinated in rosemary, mint and thyme, and served with a minty yogurt sauce, these flame-roasted lamb chops make a great centerpiece for any special occasion. Peppers, carrots, bush beans and potatoes — all grilled on a cast-iron grizzler — round out this dish from German food blogger and digital creator Claudia Kratz of Recipe Love (@rezept_liebe).

This recipe looks impressive on a dinner table (especially at Easter), but it’s deceptively easy. Lamb chops marinate with herbs, sea salt, olive oil, and lemon juice for an hour in the refrigerator; minty yogurt dip comes together in minutes, and par-baked vegetables only cook for about fifteen minutes. While it’s no thirty-minute meal, this showstopper is simple to make.

When it comes to the ingredients, it’s also accessible, relying mostly on seasonal vegetables — like bush beans and pointed peppers — and meat. Other ingredients, like yogurt, lemon juice and baby carrots, are easy to find all year round.

The non-negotiables? High-quality lamb and fresh herbs. A great lamb chop starts at the butcher’s shop, and a stellar marinade and dipping sauce both begin with excellent herbs.

Why not try this out at your Easter celebration or a spring dinner party?

Some beer doughs use beer instead of water and yeast. Others replace the water with lager for  a malty kick. This beer dough flatbread recipe from German food blogger Claudia Kratz or Recipe Love (@rezept_liebe) also incorporates fresh thyme and rosemary for a layer of herbal aromatics. 

Easy to make and quick to cook, beer flatbreads are light and fluffy, and they go beautifully with bratwurst, caramelised onions and a host of other foodie treats. Serve them warm and slathered with mustard, or stuff them with cheese — it’s up to you. 

This recipe is also a great way to celebrate German Beer Day. Yes, that’s right, in Germany there’s a whole day dedicated to beer, over and above the month-long Oktoberfest. We’re talking about the April celebration of Deutsches Reinheitsgebot, the 500-year-old Bavarian beer brewing laws. Known as the purity order (translation: reinheitsgebot) and created to keep inedible things like soot and chalk flour out of breweries, this decree announced that beer could only contain water, malt, hops and yeast. German brewers still stick to the regulations today, and they take one day a year to revel in all of the beer they’ve brewed under its guidelines. Festivals, parties, food and drink fests happen on or around April 23 every year on “German Beer Day.” 

If you’re celebrating at home this year, add beer dough flatbreads to your table. We recommend using light beer, but you can always amp up the flavour with your favourite funky IPA. 

Cold outside? In Germany, that means one thing: it's finally kale season! Of course, you don’t have to be in Germany to enjoy the highly nutritious and tasty green – this hearty, deep-dish kale pizza with chopped-up mett sausages is perfect for anyone, anywhere. Mett sausage – or Mettwurst – is usually made from raw ground pork and sometimes finely chopped beef, which is then cured and cold smoked or air-dried, depending on the region. No Metts on hand? No problem – just use some spiced Bratwurst – the recipe will work just as well.

Traditionally, it’s more common to find kale in a hearty stew with Mett sausages and a dab of mustard – not only is it a German classic (and probably the best thing to warm you up on a cold night), but it’s also the final part of another ancient German tradition: “Wintergang.” All winter long, groups of friends meet up in frosty woods for these “winter walks,” occasionally stopping for shots of schnapps and a “Boßel” match (a game in which players try and throw heavy balls as close as possible to a smaller target ball, similar to boules). After the chilly outdoor fun, the reward is a steaming bowl of kale stew at a pub.

For this recipe, though, you can leave your pots in the cupboard, because the combination of kale, sausage meat and mustard works just as well in a Chicago-style pan pizza. Instead of layering toppings like the American original does, just mix steamed kale, juicy mett balls and grated Emmental for a delicious filling. The grated cheese and egg mixture will turn the stew into a proper filling which can then be easily sliced and served. You've definitely never eaten kale like this before!