In Brittany buckwheat crepes are EVERYWHERE. They’re found in restaurants, at street vendors and in every supermarket chain. As a gluten-free person traveling in France, buckwheat crepes became one of my go-to food items.
In Brittany buckwheat crepes are call galettes and are always considered a savoury food item. Crêpes on the other hand are made with wheat and are filled with sweet toppings. So if being gluten-free is important, then be sure to check for authenticity as many of the tourist-focused restaurants will mix a little wheat flour into their galette batter for a more mild flavoured crepe. Ask if the crepe is made with blé (wheat) or sarrasin (buckwheat). To make things even more confusing buckwheat can also be called blé noir (black wheat).
The galettes in Brittany are all made with just 3 ingredients: salt, water and buckwheat flour. I interviewed a street galette vendor, who explained that a 24 hour sourdough ferment was necessary to get the right flavour. However, to make a simple sourdough based buckwheat crêpe requires a well-seasoned nonstick crêpe pan with a special crêpe tool for flipping.
Homemade Buckwheat Crepes
The easiest way to make a crêpe at home is to add fat and egg to give them stability and stop them from sticking. Even homemade crêpe in France can be made with butter and eggs. So we can all enjoy the flavour of a soured buckwheat crêpe without all the special cooking tools.
PrintBuckwheat Crepes
Buckwheat crepes are traditionally gluten free, fermented and delicious! Here’s a recipe that brings the flavours of Brittany into your kitchen.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-5 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Sourdough
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
Pre-ferment
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 2 cups water (chlorine free)
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix the flour and water in a glass container and leave it somewhere warm to ferment for 24 hours. It won’t take long to become active.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Preheat a cast iron, or non-stick pan until it is hot.
- Ladle on a small amount of batter. It should be thin enough to spread into a thin layer. You don’t want it too thin as you won’t be able to flip it.
- Once it has started to bubble and dry out in the middle, flip the crêpe over and allow to cook for another few minutes.
- Fill and serve immediately.
Notes
- Traditional crêpe pans
are flat cast-iron circles with a long spatula
. I just used my cast-iron frying pan
and regular spatula
, which worked for this recipe.
- Light buckwheat flour
is nice for crêpes, however, dark buckwheat flour will give your crepes a beautiful purplish shade and an earthy flavour.
- Traditional fillings for buckwheat include: cheese, bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs. Sweet fillings are also nice. Try chocolate spread with fresh fruit and cultured whipping cream.
are flat cast-iron circles with a 
. I just used my 
and 
, which worked for this recipe.
is nice for crêpes, however, dark buckwheat flour will give your crepes a beautiful purplish shade and an earthy flavour.Keywords: dinner, dessert, traditional, galettes, gluten free, sarrasin
These are great! Any idea why these are quick to ferment, while trad white flour takes so much longer?
★★★★★
Thanks! I think it works so well because buckwheat just naturally had a sourdough starter, similar to teff and some other seeds.