Galettes Bretonnes (Savoury Pancakes)
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 25 minutes 
Total Time 40 minutes 
Servings 4Ingredients
For the galette batter
- 250 gr buckwheat flour
- 1 egg
- 500 ml water cold
- 20 g unsalted butter plus extra for the pan
- 1 pinch salt
For the filling
- 12 plant based ham
- 120 gr Gruyère cheese or Emmental
- 4 egg
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 handful chives
- 120 gr baby spinach optional
Instructions
1. Prepare the batter
- Pour your buckwheat flour and salt into a large bowl. Crack your egg into the middle, then whisk with roughly half the water. Once the mixture is smooth, add the remaining water gradually. Pour in the melted butter and whisk well. Let your batter rest, covered, for at least 1 hour.
2. Bake the galettes
- Heat your pan on medium-high and lightly grease it with butter. Give the batter a quick whisk then ladle a generous amount into the pan, swirl until evenly coated.
3. Fill your galette
- Once the top looks set and the edges begin to lift, lay on 1 slice of vegetarian ham and, if using, a sprinkle of spinach. Crack an egg in the middle, season with black pepper, sprinkle your cheese (leaving the yolk showing) and cover with a lid. The lid really does the magic here, helping the egg white set and the cheese melt. If you're unsure, you can also fry your eggs separately and slide them on top of your pancake.
4. Fold your galette
- Fold in the edges of the galette so you have a neat square or diamond with the yolk visible. Leave for a further minute if you fancy your egg set, or plate up right away for a runny centre.
5. Serve
- Repeat with the remaining batter and filling. Serve immediately, piping hot with fresh chives on top!
Notes
- Resting the batter makes a world of difference to texture and taste. It gives the flour time to hydrate so you’ll get those signature lacy galette edges.
- The first pancake is always a touch suspect, so don’t despair! A well-heated pan and confident swirl get you a gorgeous, thin galette worthy of a French crêperie.
About this recipe
I didn’t grew up North, but we did eat these savoury pancakes at home more than in crêperies. Saturday lunches with the kitchen smelling of buckwheat and butter, and always the same filling: ham, Emmental, egg. My mother made them without any fuss and without a recipe, the way you do when something is just part of your normal week. These days I use vegetarian ham, but I still cook the egg the same way, cracked straight onto the galette as it finishes in the pan, the white just set and the yolk still soft.
Where these savoury pancakes comes from
Buckwheat isn’t originally French, it actually came from Asia and arrived in Brittany via the Crusades in the 12th century. It took hold quickly because it’s a tough, resilient plant that doesn’t need rich soil or much attention, and Brittany’s thin, acidic land that was never great for wheat was actually perfect for it. So buckwheat pancakes became the staple food of Breton farmers for centuries, eaten like bread, sometimes crumbled into a bowl of cider or buttermilk, without any filling at all. By 1850, there were 130 “galettières” recorded in Rennes alone.
The fillings came much later. Since the 1950s, the galettes bretonnes has become the base for a main course served in crêperies, with the “galette complète,” meaning ham, grated Emmental, and an egg cooked directly on the galette, becoming the classic. So the version we all know and love today is actually quite modern. The buckwheat pancake itself is ancient, the cheesy eggy filling is not.
People like to say the traditional square galette, with a golden yolk shining in the middle, mirrors the Breton flag: black, white, and gold. I can’t swear that’s true, but I happily believe it!
Galette vs crêpe, what is actually the difference?
They come from the same region but they’re really not the same thing. A crêpe is made with wheat flour, milk, and eggs, delicate and lacy, and usually served sweet, or flambéed Grand Marnier for crêpes Suzette. You find them everywhere in France.
A galette is its more serious sibling. Made from buckwheat flour, water, and salt, sometimes with an egg, it gives you a darker, earthier, crisp-edged pancake that belongs firmly on the savoury side. The buckwheat gives a flavour of toasted hazelnut that wheat never quite reaches, and buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, which makes a traditional breton galette recipe a good option when you’re cooking for people who avoid wheat. And where a crêpe wants jam or chocolate, these savoury buckwheat pancakes want savory fillings like cheeses, potatoes, vegetables, fish and meats (for the ones that aren’t vegetarian).
Why the batter needs to rest
The batter itself is simple and it needs time to rest. Resting lets the flour hydrate fully and the batter relax, so it spreads thinly, colours evenly, and cooks into a galette with the right texture and those lacy, slightly crisp edges. An hour minimum, but if you can leave it overnight in the fridge, that’s even better.
How to cook Galettes bretonnes
You need something wide and flat that heats evenly, not a deep frying pan. The traditional Breton tool is a “bilig,” a flat cast iron griddle that goes back to at least the 15th century, designed to get very hot and stay that way so the batter sizzles the moment it hits the surface and cooks to those crispy edges. At home, a good cast iron crêpe pan does the same job. Even heat, no hot spots, and it will last for decades, which is the French attitude to good kitchen tools.
Pancake Fillings Savory
Once you’ve got the basic breton galette recipe nailed, the pancake fillings are endless. Smoked salmon and crème fraîche, goat’s cheese and walnuts, mushrooms with thyme, spinach and a fried egg. But start with the classic: ham, cheese, egg, folded into a neat square. It has lasted this long in Brittany for a reason!
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