Have you tried a French buckwheat galette? These thin salted pancakes are a delightful mixture of buckwheat flour (or French sarrasin or blé noir). Also known as buckwheat crepes, these tasty snacks are delicious, easy to make and full of fiber. You can top them with a variety of different ingredients including cheese, egg, ham, mushrooms and more!

Table of Contents

French buckwheat galette ingredients

Buckwheat flour
Eggs
Browned butter (known in French beurre noisette)

One of the best things about living in Paris is the French cuisine. A buckwheat galette is the savory cousin of the sweet French dessert crepe. I’ve been living in Paris for 15 years now and I still can’t get enough of all the tasty French food. This is such a simple and tasty gourmet dish. You can enjoy this buckwheat galette filled with any of your favorite ingredients or on its own for a simple snack.

What is the difference between a buckwheat galette and a crepe?

Galettes are typically eaten with savoury ingredients. Crepes are generally enjoyed with sweet fillings, such as chocolate, caramel or jam. In France, we typically eat galettes at lunch or dinner and enjoy a crepe for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or dessert.

Prepare your buckwheat galette with your favorite ingredients! Here are some ideas

The classic “complète” : ham, emmental cheese and a poached egg on top
Sausage galette (also known as a galette saucisse, a traditional French recipe from the Brittany region)
Goat cheese, walnuts, poached pears and honey
Raclette cheese and sauteed, spicy potatoes
Potatoes and cheese
Smoked salmon, cream and chives
Mushrooms and cream, also known as a galette forestière (or forest galette)

A galette is often served with a lovely side salad in a small bowl. We made this sweet little salad to go with our galettes : baby spinach, walnuts, yellow tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese and Dijon mustard, sea salt and olive oil vinaigrette.

You can enjoy your buckwheat galette as

a healthy breakfast
a tasty lunch
an easy dinner
as a quick snack (galettes are one of our favorite French snacks!)

Tips to make the perfect buckwheat galettes

Make sure your crepe pan is very hot perfect you begin making your galettes.
Use a large ladle to drop the exact amount of batter necessary to make an authentic buckwheat galette.
If you have the time – follow the traditional French instructions and prepare your galette mixture the night before you plan to use it and leave to set (Hugo learned to make them this way growing up on the French coast). However, if you are in a pinch for time, go ahead and use it immediately.

You may need…

It is easier to make galettes if you use a crepe pan.We use the Le Creuset crepe pan and it is one of our favorite pieces in our Le Creuset collection.

Take a look at this video to see how French galettes are made and to discover the traditional French galette saucisse in action

Have you tried a French buckwheat galette from Brittany? What are your favorite galette ingredients?

Enjoy your French galettes! If you make this recipe, tag @ahedgehoginthekitchen and use the hashtag #ahedgehoginthekitchen

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Best buckwheat galette

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Author: Alix and Hugo
Total Time: 12 mins
Yield: 10–12 galettes 1x

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Description

Simple and delicious buckwheat galette recipe from Brittany, France. Makes traditional French galettes (also known as buckwheat galettes), perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups of buckwheat flour
2 eggs
2 cups of cold water
40 g (1 1/2 oz) of browned butter
1 tsp salt

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Instructions

Prepare the browned butter (or butter “noisette”). (Heat butter in a frying pan on high heat. The butter will melt, bubble and begin to caramelize. As soon as the butter starts to caramelize remove from heat and voilà! – your butter “noisette” is ready!
Put aside to cool and for use later in the recipe.
Mix flour, salt and eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. (We use our Kitchenaid.)
In a separate bowl, beat the water and the butter.
Incorporate the liquid mixture into the dry mixture.
Mix for 5 minutes on high speed until smooth (without lumps).
Refrigerate overnight.
Use a crepe pan to make the galettes.
Splash the crepe pan with a small amount of olive oil. Use a paper towel to cover the crepe pan with olive oil while also removing any excess oil. (You want a very thin layer of olive oil on the pan, otherwise, your galettes will be too greasy!)
Heat on very high heat (the highest heat available).
When the pan is very high, fill a laddle and pour the mixture onto the crepe pan.
Using the crepe rake (sold with the crepe pan), smooth the mixture over the crepe pan.
If you don’t have a crepe rake, you can also move the pan from side to side until the mixture has covered the entire pan.
Use a metal spatula to check the color of the cooking side of the crepe. When it is golden brown, use the spatula to turn it over.
Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Notes

We use our Kitchenaid for nearly all of our recipes but any strong, stand mixer will do!
To make your gorgeous galettes, you will need a crepe pan. Our crepe pan is part of our below Le Creuset collection.
It is also easier to use a crepe batter spreader to make galettes.
Let us know if you have any questions! 🙂

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 2 mins
Category: Lunch or dinner
Cuisine: French (Brittany)

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First published May 6, 2018. Last updated May 28, 2021 with more information, additional tips, and better readability.

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