“Galettes” are buckwheat crêpes (large, thin pancakes) used for savory fillings. Like traditional sweet crêpes, they originate from the Brittany region of France and are absolutely divine. The classic galette is usually crispy, buttery-tasting and stuffed with ham, melted gruyere and a sunny side up egg. If you want to make it a bit more elaborate, you add tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, or whatever else you like. The first time I tried one I remember wondering why in the world they didn’t share the same international popularity as their sweet counterparts. Well, I soon found out. When I tried doing them myself, I messed it up many many many times. The main reason is that I was following the classic recipe all the grandmothers and crêperie owners swear by: water, buckwheat flour, regular flour, salt, perhaps some salted butter and that’s it. I dare you. Try mixing this, letting it rest, and make a good galette. It ain’t gonna happen. I had seen a few bloggers mention the fact they would add an egg, but most of the time they would get high-and-mighty comments on their feed from purists, so I disregarded their recipes.

Anyway, fast forward a few years, after my final failed attempt with yet another type of buckwheat flour, a new pan and different water, I caved in and added the egg. I also substituted the regular flour with a white spelt one, which is easier to digest for people with gluten sensitivities. The result: the closest thing I’ve ever gotten to a real galette. The kiddos love it, my husband approves and so do I, otherwise I wouldn’t dare share it. I do a have a few tips though:

• If you are in France and can get your hands on French buckwheat flours like the Trébec brand, then get that one – it is also called “farine de blé noir”. If you are somewhere else in the world, stick to a good quality flour that you like. Just stay away from the non-descript no-name Russian buckwheat flours here in Dubai – for some reason they are slightly gritty and that just doesn’t work for this recipe. I use Bob’s Redmill, which is fairly easy to find or when I can, I get this one from Carrefour.
• Don’t try using buckwheat flour only – they won’t be as crispy and will tend to fall apart
• Letting the batter rest for a couple hours is ideal but not necessary
• Make sure your pan is quite hot when you pour the batter on it
• Once you’ve made them all, set aside covered in the fridge for 1-3 hours. This means you will need to reheat them in the pan and that definitely makes them crispier – it is also a good idea if you want to get most of the work done in advance

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup white spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp grassfed salted butter

Instructions

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Whisk in the water, egg and butter until smooth. The batter should be quite liquid.
3. Cover and let it rest in the fridge for 2-3 (optional but slightly better results)
4. Heat a non-stick pan – ideally a flat crepe pan – on high heat
5. Grease lightly with salted butter and pour 1 ladle of the batter, while doing a circular motion with the pan, ensuring you get a thin galette. You should see some holes appear. If not, it is probably too thick. Remember, the thinner, the better.
6. Let it get golden brown on the bottom, around 45 seconds or so, before you delicately flip the galette with a spatula
7. Leave it for another 30-45 seconds on the other side and slide onto a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Stuffing instruction

I always make the galettes a few hours beforehand and cover them in the fridge. When I am ready to stuff them, I:

1. Take out a pan, put it on medium heat
2. Add the toppings in the center of the galette, leaving a few centimeters empty around it. Topping should be in this order: cheese is first (it gives it time to melt), then meat (ham, turkey, smoked salmon, etc), the already-cooked vegetables (sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, etc), then the raw vegetables (fresh tomatoes, herbs, etc) and the last thing is the fried egg
3. Then, fold the galette so that it forms a square: take one side and fold it until it is a few centimeters from the center (usually if you have put an egg, you fold it until the border reaches the egg yolk), then fold the opposite side the same fashion and finally the other two opposing sides. It should look like the picture below…