Galettes for Two

While growing up, crepes in our household were the staple breakfast food, much more than even pancakes or waffles, so crepes hold a lot of nostalgia for me. I have been on a crepe-making odyssey for years, experimenting successfully (and failing miserably at times) with a variety of flours, fillings, and techniques... some work, some don't. But, I regularly return to the basics. Straight-up buckwheat crepes.

In France, a buckwheat crepe is called a galette and is most popular in the western & southwestern parts of the country. I teach a cooking course at Upper Arlington's Lifelong Learning with my sister, Mandy Jones, called Simply French. Our class, the Great Crepe Escape features a handful of sweet and savory recipes. This class never gets old because of the endless variations, but the ham, cheese, and egg stuffed galette is among the most popular--- second only to the 10-layer apple crepe cake with hand-whipped cream.

When invited to participate in a Crepe Challenge through the Association of Food Bloggers, in conjunction with Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs, I decided to start with a fundamental recipe. This is not my official content entry, but find it a fun way to integrate the crepe challenge into Local Foods Week here in Columbus. I picked up many of the ingredients from my friendly neighborhood family-owned market, Huffman's Market and most of the products used are organic, except the beer. 

BEER? You ask? 

A little trick I learned while living in France is to add a touch of lager to the batter, as the yeast helps the crepe to rise just a bit -- and lends flavor. This is the traditional Briton way of doing things. And the Britons DO claim to be the originators of the galette... after a few lessons from a Briton friend and fast-forward ten years, I have come up with my own tried and true recipe for buckwheat crepes. 

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
2/3 cup white, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of milk (or a mix of half-n-half and water)
1 egg- Pete and Gerry's Marans heirloom brown egg used here
1 tablespoon of soft butter
1/4 cup beer- lager or lighter brew
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon oil, for cooking


Whisk together the flours, then slowly stir in the milk, egg, butter, and beer. Once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, add the sugar and sea salt, then mix into a smooth batter.

The batter should be thicker than your traditional crepe or pancake batter, and you will manually spread it around in the crepe pan.

Ideally, you should let buckwheat crepe batter rest and chill overnight. Bring the batter to room temperature an hour or so before using it.

Over the years, I have acquired an array of official and unofficial crepe pans, although I have yet to get my hands on an electric crepe maker (is this enough of a hint for a birthday or Christmas gift ?). The authentic stainless steel crepe pan is my favorite as it makes the edges and parts of the crepe crisp up. The non-stick pan works well, but it takes a minute or two longer to make each crepe, yet it still cooks consistently. The large pancake griddle is the pan of choice for my buckwheat gallettes as I like to make them larger than the standard 8 or 9 inch crepe, so the swirling paddle helps spread the batter quickly and evenly. They all end up tasting pretty much the same, so I guess I would recommend using whatever pan works for you.

This morning's choice of filling: low-sodium ham with Muenster cheese for the husband and brie for me. I prep the ingredients while the batter is coming to room temperature.

The next pictures show the two different pans in action. The larger griddle allows for larger crepes. Just sweep the batter around in one continuous motion, keeping the paddle centered over the batter. These paddles can be purchased at Sur la Table and other kitchen stores for a few dollars.

Heat up the steel crepe pan (or griddle) on the medium heat. Add oil to the pan and, once warmed, roll the oil around to coat the pan. I can measure by eye these days, but you can pour about 3/4 cup of batter onto the griddle to make one large crepe.

The stainless steel pan is only 8 inches, so I use a different type of wood crepe paddle to spread about a half cup of batter by hand. As you can see, the crepe crisps up a little bit more in steel versus the non-stick surface of the griddle.

I keep the crepes warm in the warming drawer (or in the oven on low); then assembly-line the filling and roll them. Most of the time, I pop them back on the pan just to melt the cheese a bit...

And voila... the variations are endless. 

Filling Suggestions: Smoked salmon with lemon and dill creme fresh; goat cheese and roasted red peppers; spicy sausage and manchego cheese; Use up your fabulous leftover farmer's market ratatouille to create a "Wrap-tatouille"