Onion cake with yeast pre-dough

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g flour
• 20 g fresh yeast
• 250 ml milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 60 g butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 kg onion(s)
• 200 g cream
• 2 eggs
• 400 g smoked streaky bacon
• 250 g Emmental cheese, grated
• Pepper, freshly ground
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• Caraway powder
• possibly flour for the work surface
• possibly grease for the tray

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 35 minutes

normal

First prepare the yeast dough; while the dough is resting, you can start on the onion mixture. Crumble the yeast into a bowl and stir it into a soft pre-dough with a few tablespoons of lukewarm milk, the sugar, and a little flour. Sift the remaining flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well. Lightly dust the edges with a little flour, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. This initial resting phase is over when the pre-dough has doubled in volume and the surface may begin to crack slightly. Add the remaining milk, which should be lukewarm again, 50g of room-temperature butter, and the salt. Using the dough hook of a hand mixer, knead everything until you have a smooth ball of dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. More milk makes the dough stickier, and flour makes it more pliable. Knead the yeast dough vigorously with your hands in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface. You can also flour your hands beforehand so the dough won’t stick as much. Then, cover and let rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes. The dough should double in size during this second resting period. Then dust the work surface with flour again, and if you like, flour the rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick to the pin, and roll out the yeast dough on it. Place it on a well-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and let it rise for a third time for 15-20 minutes before baking. I do this in the oven and set the oven to 50°C. For the onion mixture, peel the onions and slice them into rings. Trim the tough rind from the bacon (I don’t use it) and cut the bacon into small cubes. Whisk together the cream and eggs. Melt the remaining butter in a large pan and sauté the onions in the butter. The onions should become slightly translucent; this can take a while. They shouldn’t brown, so mix well and only turn the stove up to half power. Then let it cool slightly. Dice the bacon and fry lightly in another pan. Since the bacon already contains enough fat, you don’t need any more if you’re using a non-stick pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/convection oven (200°C top/bottom heat). After the dough has risen for the third time, spread the onions and bacon cubes on the dough. Season with pepper, caraway seeds, and nutmeg. Spread the cream and egg mixture over the onions. Season again with pepper and nutmeg. Spread the grated cheese on the mixture. Bake the onion tart in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. Tip: I always set the timer for 25 minutes to check whether the tart has already turned yellow-brown, and then add a few more minutes depending on how browned it is.