Breton cuisine is more simple and understated than much of the rest of the country’s cuisine. Many of the best products from this region are shipped off to Paris to be served in the finest restaurants, while those who toil for them enjoy a more rustic cuisine at home. Galettes and crêpes are two similar canvases made to be enjoyed with some of the local fare.
Ingredients
For Making the Galette Batter
- 10 oz Buckwheat Flour
- 10 oz All-Purpose (A.P.) Flour
- 2 tsp Salt
- 12 oz Milk
- 16 oz Water (more or less may be needed)
- 4 oz Melted Butter
For Cooking and Filling the Galettes
- 2 oz Vegetable Oil
- Galette Batter
- 6 oz Butter
- 12 Eggs
- 12 oz Gruyère Cheese, grated
- 18 oz Ham, sliced very thin
How to Make It
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For Making the Galette Batter
- Sift the flours into a bowl large enough to comfortably hold all of the ingredients, and add the salt to the bowl. Mix to combine, and then make a well in the center of the flour.
- Using a wooden spoon, add half of the milk to the well in the flour and stir to combine it with the fl our. Make a stiff dough/paste with no lumps (add more milk, if needed), and set this dough/paste aside for 20 minutes to rest.
- Transfer the dough/paste to a mixer and, using a paddle attachment, gradually add the remaining milk to the dough, with the machine running on a low speed.
- Once all of the milk has been incorporated into the dough, add enough water to the dough again with the machine running to make a batter the thickness of crêpe batter or a thin pancake batter.
- Once the batter is the right consistency, add the melted butter; mix just until it disappears.
- Set the batter aside until you are ready to cook the galettes. For Cooking and Filling the Galettes
- Preheat a 9-inch crêpe pan or griddle to 375°F (if using a crêpe pan, you will need to adjust the flame to hold this temperature, which is determined by testing the batter and noting the behavior of the oil).
- Once the griddle is hot, wipe it with the vegetable oil using a clean cloth or towel.
- Once the griddle is prepared, pour 4 oz of the galette batter onto the griddle and immediately spread it into a thin circle using a wooden rake or other tool.
- Cook the galette until just browned on the bottom, and then quickly turn it over using a spatula.
- As soon as it is turned over, place a ½-oz pat of butter on the galette and break one egg over one end of the galette, spreading it out; top the egg with 1 oz of the grated Gruyère cheese and 1.5 oz of the thinly sliced ham.
- Cook the galette until the egg white begins to cook from the heat conducting through the galette.
- Once the egg begins to cook, fold the half that the egg is not on, and flip. Cook for an additional minute, and then remove the galette from the griddle and serve.
- Repeat steps 2–7 with the remaining galette batter and prepared fillings to make 12 total galettes (if using a large griddle, multiple galettes can be made at the same time, space permitting).
