Dough:

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a crater in the center. Pour the milk into the crater. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the milk; let sit 10 - 15 minutes, until the yeast begins to foam. Add the butter, egg, and salt and mix into a dough. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Pressing it with fingertips, use the dough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan, coming up about 1 inch from the top edge.

To make the topping, melt the butter or lard, then fry the bacon until it turns translucent. Add the chopped onions at that point and saute, stirring frequently, until they turn clear yellow in color. Add salt, pepper, and caraway seeds to taste; allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Thoroughly beat the eggs and yolks into the sour cream. Spread the onions and bacon on the dough, then pour in the sour cream mixture, slowly enough so that it's able to penetrate past the onions. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. After 15 minutes of cooking, reduce heat to 350 degrees F.

Badische Zwiebelkuchen (Baden-style onion tarts) can be made with ordinary bread dough, and in the old days they used to be put in last of all with every batch of bread that went into the baker's big oven - year round, not just during the new wine season. Nowadays, 'Zwiebelkuchen' is still occasionally made in the old way, on large baking sheets, starting out with just a thin layer of dough and a thin onion/sour cream topping.

In Swabia, 'Zwiwlwaehe' are baked in flat baking pans, like Sicilian-style pizza, and finely chopped scallions are used for the topping. Shortcrust dough (used for pies) can also be used for these Swabian-style 'Zwiebelkuchen', or frozen puff-pastry dough as well.

Schuster/Poseidon Press, New York. 1989 Posted by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 8/92