Hessian Potato and Bacon Flatbread: Schmirchelskuche

"Schmirchelskuche" is also spelled "Schmiergelskuche," and these are regional names for the more general term "Schmandkuchen," which means "cream cake." These "cakes" are rather more like flatbread made with yeast dough spread with a "creamy paste-like" layer and then topped with other items, either sweet or savory. The "Schmirchels" and "Schmiergels" parts from the words above are dialect words from standard German "schmieren," the close cousin of English "smear." The dialect names for this flatbread dish come from the idea of "smearing the creamy layer over the dough."     

You can cut some of the fat in this recipe by using reduced fat sour cream, but admittedly, this is an old time dish from a time when eating fatty foods was not discouraged, but rather it was often ENCOURAGED as a way to provide calories for people who did a lot of physical work, such as in farming; and this dish seemingly developed in the farming areas of northern Hessen, where the dialect is "Oberhessisch" (Upper Hessian), a branch of the more general Hessian dialect. Part of my roots are from northern Hessen. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds relatively small sized potatoes, skins on (you can certainly use larger potatoes)
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (for cooking the potatoes)
2/3 teaspoon salt (for cooking the potatoes)
1 pound of prepared bread/pizza dough*
1 finely chopped or grated medium onion (large pieces won't cook properly)
1/2 pound thick sliced streaky bacon, cut into about 1 inch strips
1 cup sour cream (reduced fat type is fine) or creme fraiche **
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
(optional) some caraway seed to sprinkle on top
oil for the baking sheet
 
Boil the potatoes in salted water with a 1/2 teaspoon of caraway seeds. Roll or press out the dough and put it onto a lightly oiled/greased baking sheet. Germans usually fit the dough into a rectangular baking sheet, but you won't turn into a pumpkin latté if you don't have a total rectangle. Let the dough rise a little as you continue with the recipe. When the potatoes are tender, but not mushy, pour off the hot water and rinse them in some cold water to cool them down somewhat; they should still be "warm." Drain the potatoes and remove the skins, then use a potato masher to mash the potatoes as smoothly as you prefer. Mix together the mashed potatoes, sour cream, onion, eggs, salt and chopped chives. Spread the potato mixture over the dough (I leave an edge around the crust, like pizza, but Germans tend to put the potatoes clear up to the edge), then put strips of bacon on the potato topping. Some people sprinkle some caraway seed on top before putting the flatbread in the oven, but this is purely optional. Heat oven to 350 F. Bake about 50 to 60 minutes. (Note: If you have some potato mixture left over, you can bake it in a separate dish)

* In the U.S., such dough is sold frozen in supermarkets, but some pizza shops sell dough that is not frozen. Of course, you can make your own yeast-risen dough according to your own recipe.

** Creme Fraiche is generally a little less tangy than sour cream. You can easily make your own:
 https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/make-your-own-creme-fraiche.html?zx=5147a608f2ae7fa3 

WORD HISTORY:
Buy-The origin of this common word is unknown and forms have only been found in the Germanic languages, although the English form is the only one to survive in a standard Germanic language in modern times (Old Saxon/Low German had "buggjan/buggian," and meant, "to buy," Old Norse had "byggja," meaning, "to rent out." It goes back to Old Germanic "bugjanan," meaning, "to take possession of something by giving money for it;" thus, "buy," as opposed to exchanging goods (trade). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bycgan," with the same meaning. This then became "budgen" (?) in southwestern England, and "bydgen" (?) in some eastern parts of England, which then became "buyen/byen," before the modern version. The meaning, "to believe someone's explanation of some incident," is a figurative use "seemingly" from the earlier part of the 1900s.