French Recipes

Galette complète

Four thin Breton buckwheat galettes filled with one egg, 50 g cooked ham and 35 g Emmental each, then folded around a visible fully set centre.

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Galette complète — shown in close-up
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 24 minutes
Total 164 minutes
Yield 4 filled galettes
Ingredients ↓
Introduction and overview

Galette complète: Breton buckwheat galette with ham, egg and cheese

A galette complète is a savoury Breton buckwheat galette whose familiar filling is restrained and specific: ham, egg and cheese. The base here uses 100% buckwheat flour with water and salt, rests for two hours, then cooks as a thin 28 cm round. It is not a sweet wheat crêpe and it is not a potato galette despite sharing the broad word galette.

Consistency depends on portioning. Exactly 180 g of rested batter are spread for each round, giving four galettes with comparable thickness and cooking time. The base is allowed to release and become lightly crisp before the filling goes on; loading ham, cheese and egg too early traps steam and makes it harder to keep a distinct buckwheat surface.

This safety-conscious version cooks the egg fully. Each galette receives one chilled egg and remains on the pan until white and yolk are set and the centre reaches 71 °C. A runny-yolk presentation can be made only with an explicitly pasteurised egg basis and would require a separate, consistently written safety specification.

Success points

Success points

  • Weigh 180 g batter per galette so the four 28 cm rounds have consistent thickness.
  • Cook the base before filling, then reduce the heat enough to set the egg fully without burning the buckwheat edges.
Ingredients

Ingredients

Buckwheat batter

  • 240 g buckwheat flour — 100% buckwheat
  • 480 ml cold water
  • 4 g fine salt

Cooking and filling

  • 25 g unsalted butter — for the griddle
  • 220 g shell eggs — 4 eggs of about 55 g each, refrigerated
  • 200 g cooked ham — 4 slices of 50 g, refrigerated
  • 140 g Emmental cheese — grated
Method

Method

Batter

  1. Mix the batter. Whisk the 240 g buckwheat flour and 4 g salt with the 480 ml cold water until smooth. The batter is fluid and homogeneous with no dry pockets of buckwheat flour.

  2. Rest the batter. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 2 hours at 4 °C. The batter is fully hydrated and slightly more cohesive while remaining pourable.

  3. Portion the fillings. Prepare four 50 g slices of cooked ham, four 35 g portions of grated Emmental and four chilled eggs. Four 50 g ham portions, four 35 g cheese portions and four chilled eggs are ready for immediate use.

Griddle cooking

  1. Cook the four complètes. For each galette, lightly butter the 28 cm pan, spread exactly 180 g batter into a thin round and cook until the base releases and the underside is lightly crisp. Add one 50 g ham slice, 35 g Emmental and one egg. Reduce to medium heat, cook until the ham is hot, cheese melted and the egg is fully set to 71 °C, then fold four sides inward around the centre. Repeat for four galettes, allowing about 6 minutes each and 24 minutes total. Each base releases cleanly and is lightly crisp; the ham is hot, the cheese is melted, and each egg white and yolk are fully set with the egg centre reaching 71 °C.

Serving, storage and planning

Practical

Serving, storage and planning

Organise the four filling sets before the first galette goes into the pan, but keep the ham and eggs at 4 °C until they are needed. Cook and serve one by one so the first base is not left softening under filling while later rounds are still being spread.

Serving, storage and planning

Galette complète is best straight from the griddle. If a cooked one must be held, cool it promptly, refrigerate at 4 °C or below within 2 hours and reheat until uniformly hot. Expect the reheated egg to be firmer and the buckwheat base less crisp.

Serving, storage and planning

Buckwheat itself is naturally gluten-free, but that fact is not enough for a finished-dish claim. Flour certification, ham and cheese labels, butter handling and a griddle free from wheat cross-contact would all need control before the dish could be labelled gluten-free.

Troubleshooting

If the base is thick and leathery, too much batter was used or it was not spread quickly enough. Weigh 180 g and spread immediately over the 28 cm surface.

Troubleshooting

If the buckwheat edge darkens while the egg is still soft, reduce the heat after adding the filling. The base needs initial heat for release, but the egg needs gentler time to reach 71 °C without scorching the galette.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size1 of 4 galettes
  • Calories525 kcal
  • Carbohydrate47 g
  • Protein34 g
  • Fat23 g
  • Fibre6 g
  • Sodium1200 mg
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Allergen: Egg.

Allergen: Milk from Emmental.

Allergen: No gluten-containing ingredient is intentionally added, but no gluten-free claim is made because certification and equipment control are not part of this recipe.

Safety: Keep shell eggs and cooked ham at 4 °C or below before use and prevent cross-contamination.

Safety: Cook the filling egg until both white and yolk are fully set and the centre reaches 71 °C.

Safety: Refrigerate any cooked leftover within 2 hours at 4 °C or below.

Safety: Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, but no gluten-free claim is made unless ingredients and griddle are controlled against gluten cross-contact.

FAQ

FAQ

Does the batter need an egg?

Not in this version. The batter is buckwheat flour, water and salt; the egg belongs to the filling, one per galette.

Is galette complète gluten-free?

No claim is made here. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, but certified ingredients and controlled equipment are required before making that claim for the finished dish.

Closing

Closing

  • Result — a thin lightly crisp buckwheat galette wrapped around hot ham, melted Emmental and a fully set egg.
  • Decisive technique — weigh the batter, crisp the base before filling, then lower the heat enough to cook the egg safely without burning the edges.
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