A crêpe is a type of very thin pancake, that can be served unfilled, with only a sprinkling of confectioners sugar, or with sweet or savoury filling.

 
In their native region of Brittany, France, crêpes are made with wheat flour. Those made with buckwheat flour (photo #2) are called galettes*. In the U.S., you can use either term.

Buckwheat crêpes are a gluten-free alternative to a traditional crêpe. A common galette filling in France is ham and cheese with a sunny-side-up egg on top.

Play with the ingredients and make yourself a breakfast galette filled with the types of eggs, cheese and breakfast meat you prefer. You can also use combinations of:

 
Galettes are just one type of buckwheat pancake. Blini are smaller and thicker, buckwheat pancakes, often served with caviar and sour cream. Here’s a photo.
 
 
RECIPE: BUCKWHEAT CRÊPES (GALETTES)

This recipe for galettes is from King Arthur Flour. Prep time is 20-35 minutes, cook time is 20-25 minutes.

You can halve the recipe if you need five or fewer servings.

Ingredients For 10-12 Crêpes

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the crêpe batter: Combine all the ingredients except water in a blender, and blend until smooth.

2. COVER the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. When you’re ready to make the crêpes…

3. THIN the batter with water, using less water for thicker crêpes and more water for thinner ones.

4. PREHEAT a crêpe pan or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter, oil, or pan spray. Pour in enough batter to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Swirling the pan as you pour the batter will help ensure an even coating.

5. COOK the crêpe for 1 to 2 minutes on the first side, until it’s golden and lifts from the pan easily. Flip it over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.

6. TOP with 2 tablespoons of grated Swiss cheese and a thin slice of ham. Cook until the cheese is melted and the underside is browned. In a separate pan, fry an egg to desired doneness. Place the egg in the center of the crêpe, sprinkle with herbs, then fold the edges towards the center to make a square.

[1] A breakfast crepe (photo and recipe courtesy King Arthur Flour).

[2] Plain crêpes with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar. Here’s the recipe from Lauren’s Latest.

[3] A rolled crêpe. Here’s the recipe from Let The Baking Begin.

While the crepês won’t keep—a stack of unfilled crêpes will start to adhere to each other—you can follow up the ham-and-egg crepes dessert crepes, filled with jam, fruit, ice cream, etc.
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*Two pastry types are also called galette. First is a crusty flat cake (an inch or two high), such as an Epiphany Cake (galette des rois). The term is also given to a French pastry similar to a tart or a pie. Created in the days when most people lacked pie pans, the pie filling is placed atop the pastry dough on a work surface, and the dough edges are turned up to create an edge. Here’s a photo.