Galette Bretonne (Buckwheat Crepes)

Galette de Sarrasin with Homemade Preserve

Our family grew up making and eating many galettes with a variation of different flours. Galettes were a staple food. Eating these for dinner was not uncommon. Crepes tend to have a sweeter taste. Galettes ask for buckwheat flour and usually include other foods other than fruit. We always opted to include jams, peanut butter and yes just plain brown sugar. That was the extent of our sweet foods in our house. Zachary and Leah love eating these. We take advantage of making these during the Days of Unleavened Bread. We still make them using a frying pan, just like my mamie and grandmaman made them years ago. They originate from Brittany, France where my mother grew up.  It takes a bit of work ensuring the liquid gets spread as evenly as possible throughout the pan but it is well worth the work.
There are a variety of recipes out there. I've some that use only one egg and no sweetener.  Here is the recipe that we use.

Galettes bretonne au Sarrasin (Buckwheat crepes)

Ingredients

• 2-3 eggs
• ¾ cups sugar(honey will work as well, may want to add less)
• ¾ cup buckwheat flour* (I’ve added up to 1 cup)
• 2 to 3 cups whole wheat or spelt flour (can use white organic flour) rice flour does not work
• 2 to 3 cups of milk or water
• Buckwheat flour is also known as blé noir (black wheat) or farine de sarrasin (buckwheat)

 Directions

• Mix first two ingredients together. Add buckwheat flour and other flour alternative with milk or water. Simply placing everything in a blender and blending will work as well. Consistency should be like cream,  runny.

(There are nice crepe makers that sure make the job look easy but we don’t own one. We just use what pans we have.)

• Heat up your frying pan to medium heat. Add some butter or a bit of oil and ensure that it is spread throughout your frying pan. I use a cast iron pan and it works great. Test the heat by dropping a few drops of the galette liquid into the pan and if it seems to cook quickly, then your pan is ready.

• Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter to the pan.  As soon as you've added the batter, quickly tilt your pan to ensure the batter is swirled all around in the pan in a circular motion as best you can.  I've done this for many years, and I don't always make them perfect.  It doesn't matter, we love them anyway and eat them all.  
• Cast iron retains heat, we usually flip the galette to the other side within 30 seconds.  It may take longer depending on the heat and pan you are using.  Leave for around another 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Place your galette into a holding plate and prepare your pan to make another one.  Depending on how the pan looks you may not need to add more butter or oil.  
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• What you add in them is up to you, you can add cut up fruit, make your own fruit jam, nut butters or adding some veggies like spinach with some cheese. Make up your own recipe. We like to roll ours and eat them with our hands.

Did you know that buckwheat is not a grain but a fruit seed.  It is actually related to the rhubarb and sorrel. 

Its name is supposedly derived from the Dutch word bockweit, which means "beech wheat," reflecting buckwheat's beechnut-like shape and its wheat-like characteristics. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to produce a special, strongly flavored, dark honey.  For information, please visit WHFoods

If you've tried these before or do try this recipe, come back to visit and leave us a comment.

Bon Appétit 

blessings ~ Carmen

This recipe was shared with
Simply Sugar & Gluten Free