Gluten-Free Buckwheat Galette

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Galette

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Galette, also known in France as La Galette Bretonne, is a seriously wholesome and satisfying breakfast filled crêpe to enjoy for those lazy weekend mornings or as an indulgent snack.

I love this pancake/crêpe dish – lots of opportunities to custom-fill each one with your favourite filling.  If you aren’t a big fan of eggs, simply fill up this space with more cheese, ham and whatever vegetables you fancy.

What is a Buckwheat Galette?

It is a thin buckwheat crêpe filled with several slices of strong cheese, ham and an egg. Classically, this is known as a galette complète but any savoury filled buckwheat crêpe is known as a galette Bretonne (or Breton galette) in France.

Additional ingredients may include asparagus, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes or peppers/capsicums. Once the crêpes are folded over at the corners towards the filling, leaving them slightly exposed, the crêpe is transformed into a “galette”.

How is a Buckwheat Galette prepared?

This savoury crêpe (or thin pancake) is made from buckwheat flour which is naturally a gluten-free flour (although the name is scary in gluten-free recipes, it is totally gluten-free!)

Once the crêpe batter has rested for 30 minutes, each crêpe is fried gently on one side, then flipped over to be filled with:

• Slices of strong cheese
• Slices of ham
• Blanched asparagus spears (or other vegetables mentioned above)
• A fresh egg

The four corners of the crêpe are folded over to encase the filling like a square envelope but framing a window to expose the filling attractively.

The length of cooking will depend on how you like your eggs cooked. As a guide, allow 3 minutes for soft eggs or 5 minutes for well-cooked.

It helps to cover the pan with a lid to generate more heat and steam to speed up the cooking of the egg and the melting of the cheese.

Where did “La Galette Bretonne” originate from?

For those who like to know the history of dishes, this one was inspired by the Duchess Anne of Brittany in Northern France (hence the name, Bretonne), who introduced buckwheat crêpes as a healthy dish to the local cuisine. It later evolved into an elaborated “galette” encased dish with varied fillings. Incidentally, in Norman times – a galette was known as a gale – which is referred to as a ‘flat cake’.

Some tips for the perfect galette:

Rest the batter

for at least 30 minutes. If you intend to rest it longer, chill it but you will need to bring it to room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking. During my testing of these crêpes, I found that 30 minutes of resting at room temperature was sufficient.

Invest in a crêpe spreader

if you intend to make crêpes on a regular basis. It really does get the job done when spreading the batter evenly across the pan.

Use butter

not oil, to grease the crêpe pan. It really makes a difference in flavour.

A thin pouring cream

should be the consistency of the batter. If it appears too thick, whisk in a small amount of water to loosen it up.

Use a crêpe frying pan

or a cast-iron pan to cook the galette.

Heat the crêpe pan up over medium heat.

Don’t be tempted to crank up the heat as the crêpe will over-cook and the filling will be under-cooked.

Use two wide spatulas

to help you flip over the delicate crêpe and to fold the corners down.

Have the fillings prepared in advance

before cooking to save last-minute slicing and chopping.