Goofy Galettes

Growing up, crepes were a big breakfast treat. Being Americans, we made them with white flour, eggs, milk, and a touch of vanilla. Better suited for fruit fillings or a smear of jam than the savory variety a creperie will serve for lunch or dinner. Also, we used a skillet rather than a crepe griddle; so they were fairly small by comparison to the ones served singly as an entree.

After going gluten-free, we learned about the galette, a traditional Breton crepe made with buckwheat flour.  The nutty flavor provides an excellent foundation for a wide range of savory fillings, and a decent contrast to fruit fillings.

The first time I tried cooking them, they came out very respectable, and tasty. But I set the recipe aside to re-try and touch up before posting. This time around (Easter Brunch), I couldn't find the workable recipe, and grabbed one quickly off the internet.  The tricky part? Properly converting the grams of buckwheat to an American measure. Tricky mainly because each source we checked provided a somewhat different answer. As a result, they started too thin, then became too thick when I over-adjusted for the flour, then approached right after adding more milk. All the fiddling threw the delicate egg-flour-liquid (calls for both warm water and milk, plus melted butter), and required extra whisking, without proper resting time before cooking.  As a result, they came out of the skillet a bit thick and a touch dry, with a tendency to crack at the fold lines after filling. So the next time, I plan to start with a pre-translated and tested recipe in all-American measures, and try it one more time before posting.

On the up-side, the overall taste with the fillings (broiled asparagus, caramelized onions, sauteed chard, sausages, a fresh apple compote, lemon curd, and sauteed mushrooms - plus hollandaise) was quite pleasing.  Once the skillet tempered properly, not a one was wasted.