Bätscher (Dätscher) – Swabian Sour Cream Flatbread
Description
A local speciality of the Swabian Albvorland: an oval yeast-dough flatbread brushed before baking with a sour cream mixture and scattered with onions, ham, chives and caraway. Related to the Dinnete, but not a Flammkuchen.
Directions
✓ researched- 1
Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in the lukewarm milk and leave for 10 minutes until it begins to bubble.
⏱️ approx. 10 min - 2
Add the flour, salt and oil and knead everything into a smooth yeast dough. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in volume.
⏱️ approx. 50 min - 3
For the topping, stir the sour cream together with the egg and season well with salt and pepper. Finely dice the onions, cut the ham small and chop the chives.
⏱️ approx. 10 min💡 Tip: The egg binds the sour cream mixture so that it does not run off the dough while baking.
- 4
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees conventional heat. Divide the dough into four portions and roll each into an oval flatbread, letting the ends taper slightly.
⏱️ approx. 15 min💡 Tip: Leave a rim so that the sour cream mixture does not run over.
- 5
Place the flatbreads on a baking tray lined with paper and spread the sour cream mixture evenly over them. Scatter with the diced onion, ham and caraway.
⏱️ approx. 5 min - 6
Bake in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the rim is golden brown and the topping lightly coloured. Scatter with chives before serving and eat hot.
⏱️ approx. 20 min
Recipe video
YouTubeExternal video for inspiration – ingredients and preparation may differ from our recipe. Playing it connects to YouTube (Google).
📜 Origin & History
Bätscher, also called Dätscher, is a local speciality of the Swabian Albvorland, the foreland below the Swabian Jura. It consists of a yeast dough brushed with a sour cream mixture before baking, over which chives, onions, pieces of ham, caraway and whatever else is to hand may be scattered. The original shape is oval, sometimes with pointed ends; today it is also baked on trays and cut into squares. Villages where the Bätscher is baked include Holzmaden, Notzingen – where a Dätscherfest is held every year – and Weilheim an der Teck with its district of Hepsisau. In Holzmaden the shape has even given its name to the village centre, which is itself known as the Bätscher. Despite the similarity it should not be confused with Flammkuchen, and it stands as a dish in its own right beside the Upper Swabian Dinnete.
🗺️ Where is Bätscher (Dätscher) cooked?
Albvorland · Baden-Württemberg
Main regionBätscher and Dätscher belong to the Swabian Alb foreland at the foot of the Teck. Places with their own baking tradition are Holzmaden, where the Bätscherfest is held every three years, Notzingen with its annual Dätscherfest, and Hepsisau, a district of Weilheim.
More from Albvorland →Wuerttemberg · Baden-Württemberg
In the rest of Württemberg the pastry is hardly known. Related are the Upper Swabian Dinnete, which carry seasoned soured cream with potato slices, bacon and cheese instead of the sour cream mixture.
More from Wuerttemberg →🌿 Regional variants
Chive Dätscher (Notzingen)
The Dätscher from Notzingen is baked from a fine salted yeast dough and carries a well-seasoned cream mixture. Chives are the most frequent topping.
Bacon Dätscher (Notzingen)
Close behind the chive version comes the one with bacon. Poppy seeds and caraway are equally usual toppings.
Holzmaden Bätscher (Holzmaden)
In Holzmaden the Bätscher is baked every three years at the Bätscherfest in and around the village centre. The oval village centre with church and rectory itself bears the name Bätscher and gave the festival its name.
Bätscher from the communal bakehouse (Hepsisau)
In Hepsisau the home-made Bätscher come out of the communal bakehouse at the village festival on the first Sunday in September, together with wood-oven bread.
🍷 What goes with it?
The Bätscher comes to the table warm from the wood-fired oven and is eaten from the hand. At the village festivals draught beer is poured alongside, with brass music playing. In Hepsisau the wood-oven bread from the same bakehouse stands next to the Bätscher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Bätscher the same as a Flammkuchen?
No. Flammkuchen is baked from a thin unleavened dough. The Bätscher has a light yeast dough and carries a bound sour cream mixture instead of crème fraîche with bacon.
What distinguishes it from the Dinnete?
The Upper Swabian Dinnete is spread with seasoned Schmand and topped with potato slices, bacon and cheese. The Bätscher from the Albvorland carries a sour cream mixture with onions, ham and caraway.
Can I make the Bätscher vegetarian?
Yes. The topping is scattered as you please – leaving out the ham and using only onions, chives and caraway keeps the dish entirely within tradition.
Where does the name Bätscher come from?
In Holzmaden the oval village centre with church and rectory is itself called Bätscher; the local Bätscherfest is named after it. The pastry has the same shape: oval, with ends that sometimes taper to a point.
Where can you try Bätscher and Dätscher?
In Holzmaden at the Bätscherfest, held every three years in and around the village centre; in Notzingen at the annual Dätscherfest; in Hepsisau at the village festival on the first Sunday in September, where they are offered alongside wood-oven bread from the communal bakehouse.
How is the dough traditionally baked?
The oval pieces of dough go into the wood-fired oven, which is heated with self-tied bundles of brushwood. The dough is a fine salted yeast dough; the cream mixture is spread on before baking and the topping scattered over it.
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Ingredients
verified- Wheat flour500 g
- Yeast21 g
- Milk250 ml
- Vegetable oil30 ml
- sugar10 g
- Sour cream400 g
- Egg50 g
- onion100 g
- Cooked ham100 g
- Chives10 g
- Caraway3 g
- salt
- pepper
Nutrition per serving
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🌿 More from this culinary tradition
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