The savoury buckwheat pancake that Nantes eats as everyday food thanks to its Breton half: a thin, lacy, nutty galette folded into a square around ham, egg and grated cheese, with cidre in a bolée alongside.

Buckwheat took hold across Breton smallholdings from the late middle ages because it grew where wheat would not, on thin acid soil and in a short season, and it was ground into a flour that made a batter rather than a raised loaf. That batter cooked on a flat iron plate became the galette. Nantes spent those centuries as a capital of the Duchy of Brittany, and the eating stuck even after the border moved: the city still has crêperies on more corners than bistros. The galette complète, folded square around ham, a fried egg and emmental, is the fixed point of the format, and a good crêperie uses pure blé noir with nothing but water and salt in the batter.

Where to eat Galette de sarrasin in Nantes

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Make it at home

Serves 43 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 330g buckwheat flour (farine de blé noir)
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 750ml cold water, plus more to loosen
  • 1 egg (optional, for a slightly more forgiving batter)
  • Butter for the pan
  • To fill, per galette: 1 slice of good cooked ham, 1 egg, 40g grated emmental

Method

  1. Whisk the flour and salt together, then beat in about a third of the water until you have a smooth, thick paste with no lumps. Beat hard for a minute: this is what gives the galette its stretch.
  2. Whisk in the rest of the water, and the egg if using, until the batter is the consistency of single cream. Cover and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. It will thicken as it stands, so loosen it with a splash of water before cooking.
  3. Heat a wide flat crêpe pan or a heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat until a drop of water skitters. Wipe with a butter-soaked cloth or a small knob of butter.
  4. Pour in a small ladle of batter and spread it as thin as you can with a rake or by tilting the pan fast. Cook 60 to 90 seconds until the surface dulls and the edges lift and colour.
  5. Flip. Lay the ham in the middle, crack the egg on top, scatter the cheese around it, and fold the four sides in to make a square that leaves the yolk showing. Cook another 2 minutes until the white has set and the base is crisp, then slide onto a warm plate.

Editor tip. The first galette of any batch is a test and usually a failure. Judge the pan's heat by it. Skipping the rest gives batter that tears as you spread it.

Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy.