My mother is a professional Breton crêpe maker, and according to her, the issue you had with the "low hydration" dough is that it's not actually a dough; it's what's called a "pâton," or a "pre-dough." In essence, it's the way the dough is made for *storage* in the shop; it's taken out and diluted with water to reach the desired hydration shortly before cooking. I believe the reason is space-efficiency. Thank you for making this video, I think it'll be very helpful for American friends to give them a broader look at French crepes, and especially the all-important savory galette! I eat far more of those than sweet crepes these days, lmao.
Yeah I agree with this comment, in professional creperies, dough is stored at low hydration to develop taste and texture, the remaining water is added right before cooking
Ok so I made this today, and my crepes turned out a lot darker (rye bread) and tasted pretty bitter. They took a while to get anywhere near crisp. The flour was pretty old. Anybody else?
Additionally, the storage with less water leaves less room for organisms to survive inside the dough thus reducing the rate at which it gets bad and also the rate at which it starts to get moldy. Water is the biggest enemy of making food durable, if you dehydrate your food completely it can last forever. Though that is, unfortunately, quite expensive and requires a specialized rehydration process.
I totally second this. For my own recipe I initially include just enough beer and water to get a compact homogenous dough ball, It's much easier to store in the fridge then portion and re-lequify to a batter state with additional water (and eventually milk) right before cooking.
So honestly, I want more of these. This format, (The history, the differences between what we understand a galette to be, the guest, trial and error etc..). It amazing. Not to mention that I loved the editing, of course your narration, as well as the music chosen. Honestly, I want more and more of these. Well done Sir!
@@EthanChlebowski Yeah definitely agree, absolutely adore food history and it pairs well with your stellar research and experimentation. For the guest part, it felt a little much to also fit it in a video like this as it was a very small part now (could even be a two parter, one with alex chatting about french food and one deep dive and experimentation) All in all, awesome content and don't mind some longer video's to break up the pace 👌
Agreed! Learning about the ingredients, the history and seeing you trailing side by side recipes (like you did with the old school hot sauce episode) were some of my favorite video formats..
Hey Ethan. I am french subscriber. When speaking about "crepe" it means made of wheat flour, when "galette" is made out of buckwheat. It is mainly like this in Brittany. But in the rest of the country, people usually speak about "crêpe salée" or "salted crepe" to refer to galette sarrasin (it's a common confusion, and Brittany people hate that point and they go completely crazy when they hear this out). Hope you enjoy your seat here! Keep going mate 🔥
Not exactly to be fair the rule { wheat/sugary : crêpe , buckwheat/salted : galette } is valid only in half of Brittany while the other half calls both crêpes.... but if we were to enter in every nuance of local appellations and recipes this will become a wikipedia page. And god help us if we bring the conversation on the field of butter vs lard...
Wrong. Salted crêpes are not galettes. Salted crêpe is crêpe without sugar in the dough so you can add salted ingredients like ham on it. Galettes are buckwheat crêpes (crêpes de sarrasin) as opposed to flour crêpes (crêpes de froment).
@@Kuonluw Yes. In French people divide things into sucré (sweet) and salé (salty). The correct translation into English is sucré = sweet and salé = savory. I’m an American expat living in France since 2003.
Though nearly an 18-minute video, the pace of it breezed by in what felt to be half the time. Informative, interesting, and fun. Surprise guest. Much enjoyment. Thanks.
By TH-cam's terms of service for commenters, I am hereby required to post an over-the-top reply to seeing one of my favorite foodtubers comment on another of my favorite foodtubers video - you guys REALLY need to do a video togeth...Oh wait 😳
Regarding authenticity: as a French Canadian with Bretagne roots, I grew up eating galette de sarasin as a child in North America as something a bit special while growing up. It was passed on through family rather than through the supermarket. So this video resonated quite nicely. Thank you for making and sharing it.
I love your passion for galettes. I recently came across a French style cafe in Tokyo where I live and it was probably my second time to have a galette and now I’m so obsessed. I can eat that every day for the rest of my life.
The Crêperie is probably the most fun casual way to enjoy food in France, along with a Brasserie or Café. The cider, the communal tables, the reasonable prices and excellent food make it very cozy. So glad you and Alex connected.
Swirling tip: get the pan hotter than cooking temperature, take it in one hand and pour a ladle of batter in; then swirl the pan around in the air to spread the batter evenly in the pan, and only then set it back on (medium) fire. The first couple of crepes/galettes will help you size up how much batter you want to use for your pan size. Also, fire is definitely superior to induction/electric for crepes/galettes. Batter is normally only salt + black flour + water; adding an egg will give some more colours, replacing a little of the black flour for normal flour will make it a little more elastic and less likely to break (will be easier to cook). Replacing a little of the water for some milk will make it more hearty, but the strong flavour of the black flour will be lessened. edit: the wooden tool is mostly unnecessary when cooking in a pan tbh, it's very useful for a billig. Pan swirling technique is all your need.
as for the cooking implements, I find that it's not really the stove that counts, but the pan. I was using a cheap "crepe" pan, non-stick, and my crepes were never really good, I had to make them too think for them to not end up crispy and breakable. I switched to an iron crepe pan, from De Buyer, and now my crepes are perfect. And my stove is an absolutely shitty electric stove (I'm not even sure you can buy them new in France anymore)
I am so grateful that you share to the world the Art of Galette making ! Im from Britanny myself, I make these to myself so often that im genuinelly surprised when people know a little about crêpes but nothing about galettes ! You did an amazing job showing them off Ethan ! Thank you
Loved this video. We eat these in Québec as well, with one mill producing buckwheat flour since 1762. Note that buckwheat flour should be consumed fairly quickly, as it can turn bitter. I make these when I go camping using a flat crepe pan. They are amazing with deep amber 100% maple syrup and a little salted butter.
Fascinating! I love your new format of going someplace and finding "normal" dishes that the world should know. This looks like a great work from home lunch option.
Just a fun fact. There is indeed a connection between Brittany and Britain, with Brittany being a region settled by Brythonic Celtic peoples (like the welsh) in France and thus inheriting the name the land of the Britons! You can still today hear Breton being spoken in this region. Great video Ethan!
Some tips for a low-hydration galette! -Let it rest at least 1h -Whip it hard before use, it's better when aerated -Use at Billig at 220-240°C (425-465°F) -Make sure that Billig is well oiled and clean
Hi there Ethan, a long time subscriber here. I’m a professional galette maker myself. There are some points in the video that are maybe inaccurate : There are two families of galettes: lower Brittany and higher Brittany, the third one is a Paton, that you ferment over night before diluting it, by adding another volume of liquid. The second point is that fermentation time is really important for high Brittany batter, it’s basically 1vol of flour + 1 vol of water + some fat (leave overnight) then add another vol of water and beat the dough thoroughly. You can eventually skip the fermentation step if you add an egg to the batter, but you will lose some complexity. Third point is the color, the galettes should be much darker in color to develop complex aroma and cook out the raw taste, but for this you need higher heat. Voilà , Hope that helps. Ping me if you have other questions and enjoy the rest of your stay in France
I have a question for you @bousinante. Im addicted to Gallettes and i got myself a real nice carbon steel crepe pan (De Buyer). But its really hard i think to control the temperature. The pan gets so hot that the batter immediately jumps (i think its the Leidenfrost effect). Is this common? Should i just decrese the heat of the pan when i pour the batter?
@@Larkeshet you have to heat up your pan with some fat, then poor the batter in OUTSIDE of the heat and put your pan back onto the heat :D Hope this helps you ! Same thing when you make crêpes in a pan ;)
@@Larkeshet Hey! I'm not who you asked but when we do galettes in my family, we heat the pan, use a little oil and spread it around with a paper towel, then pour the batter. I don't know how how the pan is though, but it's a regular Tefal (Amazon says the model is b3011072).
@@Larkeshet you should control the heat of the hob to get a nice rythm going, the temperature should be enough to get butter sizzling but not browning enough. As for the fat, we traditionally use lard, but a neutral oil would work too. Just ensure you got your pan covered well. Cheers
Clearly one of your best videos thus far ! I really like the structure, it feels like an essay which i really enjoy ! It reminds me of some of the videos My name is Andong, Adam Ragusea or Alex make, with all the science/history in the beginning and the experimentation after, of course with your style. I love the added length, i feel like 2 parts would be a bit less appealing tho. Overall, I really liked the production ! Oh and and of course I have to recomend you go try some real "Aligot" here in France ! It maybe one of the least reproducable dish outside of france since Fresh Tome is really (really) hard to come by, especially in the US. It goes super well with an Andouillette tho i undestand this sausages aren't to everyone's taste haha !
Man, I commend you for this in-depth work on the "galette Bretonne". You really do justice to this simple, humble and delicious staple of the culinary tradition of Brittany. I used to live in Rennes (now in Australia...) and I can tell you that your close-ups made me nostalgic of the legendary "galette-saucisse" that you get while buying your groceries at the local market. Love your videos. Great work!
I appreciate how science-y this channel has been for quite some time now, but it seems it’s somehow gone deeper and deeper recently without sacrificing the simplicity of your explanations and making it easy to understand for someone who may not know a single fact about what you’re talking about. It’s a balance that you’ve nailed and I’ve definitely taken many notes for my own content creation style. We appreciate you Ethan ✊
So I've got to bring up another buckwheat pancake - French Acadian Ployes. Found in eastern Canada and northern Maine, originating among folks of French heritage, it's made typically of about a 50/50 blend of buckwheat and wheat flours, and cooked only on one side, often in an ungreased skillet or on the top of a wood stove. The "top" gets all bubbly, almost like a small Injera. They'll be served buttered, perhaps with maple syrup or brown sugar, or perhaps with cretons, a long-simmered and cooked down spread made of pork and onions and spices.
It's crazy just how good food can get when you stop injecting loads of sugar into everything, especially when you turn it into a savory dish instead. Such an important part of french cuisine, baking/traditional recipes, completely overlooked because of how sweetened everything has become for mass consumption. A good comparison is how the public was manipulated into thinking cereal and such is "breakfast"
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I wonder how it tastes with some sugar and honey... 🤔
So true and also true that here in America at least, NO ONE should eat any of that cereal as they have put real iron filings in it which will hurt you. Get a magnet and see for yourself.
I wasn’t expecting a history component in this video but much enjoyed! Edit: I liked this video style. A lot going on, but it’s all cones together nicely. The switches kept my attention. I prefer one longer video than pt1&2
Best thing you've made in a while. Cultural, informative, interesting, yet a seemingly simple enough dish that I actually want to try. This is exactly the kind of content I was hoping to see from your France trip, well done.
If you want something a lot more history-oriented while still showcasing a home cook recipe, Max Miller has a delightful series called Tasting History! I love Max and Ethan for both formats!
If you have a gas cooker, one alternative to a full Billig is to buy a cast iron crepe pan that you put directly on the stove. Works pretty well for galette. People from Brittany also eat (not much anymore) a stew with boiled buckwheat called Kig ha farz... That recipe can put your digestive system to the test! French regional recipe to try before leaving France (you can find restaurants making them in Paris) : - cassoulet, flammenkuche, pissaladière, tartiflette, welsh and many more
I don't know your channel since a long time, but when I learn that you live now in Paris, I thought "man, he must do a collab with Alex" and there it is! As a Breton, I'm very proud to see our dish featured in your video! I'm usually making galettes almost every other week. My personal recipe : 330g of buckwheat flour (a third of a 1kg bag) 750g of water 1 egg Salt Pepper And my favorite ingredients is ham, grated emmental and homemade red onion jam. You can also make sweet galettes, the mix is amazing, like salted butter caramel with apples. And if you have some galettes leftovers (I agree it's rare), you can transform them into galette crisps by cutting them in small squares, rubbing them in oil and salt, cook them on a sheet in the oven at 240°C. The crunchiness is amazing and the taste too. (If you're lazy, you can find some at the supermarket 😄) And yes, I agree with you, the Mont Saint Michel is Breton, Normandy has stolen it from us!
i do these every week since i discovered that few months ago , with egg meat and cheese pepper they are full healthy but you can do lot of version like goat cheese + honey or sour cream tomato roquette or whatever you want and you can also made them in sweet version at the end , honney almond , bananas sweet whipped cream + melted chocolate or nutella +chestnut cream. I m french i follow you since 6 months (and i started from 0 in kitchen ) i progressed a lot with you and how you explain a method and techniques more than recipes , love to see you sharing one of the best but not the most knowed recipe of my culture , and i can see how much you did dive in our cuisine during your trip, love from France
all the video is great but just saying there (in france we usally are movig the pan when we don t have the perfect tools its easier than applying it with a spoon or other thing and you can have some thin galette like that
I love this video from the talk about the history to the batter types to the recipe demo. Thanks for sharing. There's nothing better for brunch than a savory buckwheat crepe!
I'm actually working in a crêperie as a waiter, and I must say that your infos on galettes are spot on! Here at the restaurant we use a buckwheat, water and eggs type of batter. The boss always insists on the fact that you can't make a good galette if you don't have a billig or either some sort of large, thick and flat iron surface to be able to consistently and quickly blast a lot of heat into the batter. Typically you should run your stove between 260°C and 280°C to get that nice crisp and a quite runny batter to be able to spread it before it cooks through. Oh and if you're gonna use the raclette be sure to wet it first so it doesn't stick to the batter. At home just heat your thickest iron skillet as much as you can and instead of using the wooden raclette just twist the pan in a swift swirling motion while pouring in the center of it, that will spread the batter nice and thin without the hastle of pulling with the raclette. And a galette plain with 1/2 salted butter is called a "Kraz".
I just realized that I've been eating buckwheat crepes all my life. We have something called "ragi dosa" in India. I make dosas all the time and I just spread it in the pan with a ladle, I didn't even know most people need to use a wooden stick to spread it. Thanks for the video, will definitely try stuffing stuff other than aloo masala and onion in there next time
Ragi is finger millet, which is very different from buckwheat. Although both are gluten free and have a nutty earthy taste. Buckwheat in multiple languages in India is called 'Kuttu', and I believe its consumed a lot during fasting.
Great video-- loved this format with the history and regional variation, a couple field trips and expert guests, potential issues for the home cook, and then a quick tutorial for your iterated version at the end. As a viewer I feel very well equiped to try this out.
As long as you always maintain the time stamps so I can skip the fluff when I actually get into the kitchen and need a refresher, I love the highly informative videos like this.
I definitely loved this video! I think that learning the history of where recipes come from is just as important as learning how to prepare the dish. It's super cool that you paired up with Alex. My kids and I are coming to Paris for the first time in July. Keep the French food tutorials coming and thank you!
The fact that you went all the way down to history and regional differences is so great. Coming from lower Brittany I'm glad you prefer the "good" recipe over the upper Brittany one 😌 For sure more people should know about galette, it's so delicious
I'm french and I learned to make galette through this video. I've been making them once or twice a month, everytime having leftover galette for quick meal lunch as I work from home. My finnish girlfriend loves them, it's been her favorite food-discovery last year. You explain things very well, I thought making galette was a complex endeavour but it turns out I was wrong, at least not the way you explained it! So merci beaucoup Ethan :)
Being from Brittany as well as being a fan of your channel and Alex's, I really had to write a little something. I did not see a galette episode coming to be honest. Indeed, if galettes are mouthwatering, there not necessarily the sexiest dish, which makes me even more delighted and proud that you're sharing about them and spreading the sarrasin love. If you wanna go for a Galette Saucisse when in Rennes, give me a jingle.
I am a french from Bretagne and my quest in life is to find the best galette complete. Like a pizza margarita, it's the galette in its purest form imo. I have been to close to 100 creperie so far and my top 3 is something like this : - one homemade galette that was so good I couldn't recreate it - The only creperie in Plancoet : 'La Pâte à Crêpes', tiny and staffed by two old ladies - A creperie in historic Vannes : Crêperie saint guenhael Tell me where was your best galette complete, I'll add it to the list ! Best galette vidéo by an english speaking ytber Ethan, bravo!
As someone with celiacs (gluten free diet) I absolutely love these buckwheat galettes and when I visited Paris I ate them daily. Thank you for giving them some more exposure!
Galettes! That takes me back. I love these guys. My staple during my time in Nantes was a potato-leek-egg galette. It's pretty close to being the perfect lunch.
Hey Ethan, I always love when you explain the science of cooking, so this format fits you well too. Especially if it's about some unknown dish (I'm European, but I haven't heard about it before). My favorite part is when you go through the learning process yourself, it shows what mistakes I'll probably do too and it gives me confidence that I could prepare it.
N'oublie pas que les français qui on colonisés le Québec provenaient de la Normandie et Brittanie, bref le nord de la Fance. Encore aujourd'hui leur accent est relativement similair à l'ancien accent Québécois (genre avant les années 80s).
I really dig the format. Closer to documentary style. I wouldn't toss pure recipe videos out with the bathwater, but being able to throw these longer vids definitely adds a lot of value to the channel/brand.
My mother and grandmother made Polish crepes (“nalesniki”) always from white flour, eggs, and water. My mom said that if you bring a guy home, and want to impress him, whip up some nalesniki. Just roll them up with sugar and cinnamon.
I absolutely loved this style of video. Getting to learn the historical aspect and the context of buckwheat alongside of your journey of learning to make it and then a recipe was amazing! I hope you make many more videos in this style. It was like 360 degree video, all encompassing!
Hey Ethan, I'm French, please note that the Mont Saint Michel that you show at 1:42 actually belongs to Normandy (you can check on Wikipedia). But people from Brittany pretend it belongs to them because they are stupid.
Well thank you very much for this episode. I'm french and like Alex said we usually buy them pre-made at the groceries store. I know what I'm gonna cook this weekend!
These are usually eaten alongside hard cider served in a bowl (another specialty of Brittany). One of my favorite food, simple yet hard to master. Another specialty from Brittany you have to try out is Salidou, a salted caramel spread (goes great on crêpes or galettes).
This is the video I come here for, new food, information, history, techniques and science and entertainment. You're awesome man and deserve your success.
This was an awesome video - loved the format and style and all the info included - when I came back from staying in Paris for a few months - the galette was my number one thing to try and make for the family. Wish I had your video sooner - I probably made six types of batter to figure out what was gonna work. Awesome channel awesome content
Galettes de sarrasin are such a staple around here that it's almost surprising to me that it seems to be generally unknown in the US. We even have an entire festival dedicated to buckwheat crepes around here. Le Festival de la Galette de Sarrasin in Louiseville (Québec, Canada) in the fall. Buckwheat is also good for pasta, bread, pizza and even cakes.
It's not unknown in West Virginia! It's moved *very* far away from the origins, at this point they're a cross between pancakes and crepes and called "buckwheat cakes", but we have our own buckwheat festival in the fall as well :)
Ethan- love the video, including the background info. More like this, please!!! For those of us who are too old/settled to say "eff it" and move to France, we love living vicariously through you and learning about new flavors and cultures, and the stories that go along with them. Keep up the good work!
Ethan: I used to live near a place that did a flavor combination I think you'd dig. Buckwheat crepe with Chinese fermented black beans, tofu, Thai basil, peanut sauce, scallions.
Its really fascinating to see something so similar but in a completely different cuisine on the other side of the globe !!! Really amazing video, so informative and I just love french cuisine. Also I am from north India and I have seen my mother making literally "Kuttu (Buckwheat) Chilla(sort of crispy crepe)" since childhood and in India many people fast before festivals and the practice of eating these have been there for centuries during these festivals where most of the food is made from buckwheat to celebrate. This is a go-to dish that most moms prepare to eat after fasting. Firstly it looks very similar and batter used is similar to the low hydration consistency of yours but with just buckwheat, oil, pinch of salt and water. The finished product though looks golden brown with crisp, bubbled surface and is very thin. Its eaten with sauted vegetables and potato dishes.
You may find the British North Staffordshire Oatcake quite interesting. When I saw the galette I thought it was an oatcake! North Staffs Oatcakes are essentially crepes (pancakes) made with oatmeal and yeast. I’d highly recommend you look into them, as the toppings are identical to that of the galettes in your video. Oatcakes are also a very regional thing, most Brits will think an oatcake is a Scottish cookie (biscuit) until you get to the counties surrounding Staffordshire.
Interesting to know! I will try to see if I can find a recipe. I think that crepes / pancakes / dosa etc are an universal thing -> you have this in every culture.
I absolutely love your videos! The history, the technique, and the science as well as the botched attempts all help in entertaining and educating me as well as improving my cooking. You probably are my favorite home cook and I want you to know I appreciate the research and the accuracy behind your videos! From one nerd to another I tip my hat to you.
Duuude, it's so obvious how much effort you put into this video. From researching the history and experimenting with the styles to setting off time to do the collaboration with Alex and even taking a cooking class, I can't even imagine just how much time was spent from beginning to end. Awesome work! As for improvements, since you asked for it, I personally wouldn't mind that you cut out the history part and went straight to the different styles in terms of how they differ in ingredients and proportions. As a viewer, it makes no difference since you're kind enough to annotate the video, which makes it really easy to skip it, but since I know that all the other parts already take an insane amount of work to do, it would be a shame if it added unnecessary stress because of the extra effort put into researching, filming, and editing. I think that most people are here for the cooking parts, so in my opinion, it wouldn't be a great loss. By the way, I love the music choices you've started making. The kinda "heist" music that plays when you break down a recipe fits perfectly, and it really grabs my attention.
Hey Ethan, I think this style of video with a lot more backstory and all is much more entertaining and interesting to me personally. Really loved this one and can’t wait for more!
Hey Ethan as a britton I find myself competent to explain the different definitions. FIrst you have what Brittons call 'crêpe' wich is made out of wheat flour served traditionnaly with sweet stuff on it (and nothing else that sweet taste otherwise you're gonna ending ruining the dish !). Then you have the 'galette' wich is the High Brittany (the Eastern part of the region) dish, supposed to be thick and made out of buckwheat. It's the one you're gonna use to make a 'galette saucisse' (wich is nowadays a stadium food for all Rennes football team fans). Last but not least the 'crêpe de sarrasin' wich is also made out of buckwheat. Yet it is verry thin and generally made in the Western part of the region. Best way to eat it is with andouille (wich is made out of pork hose) egg and cheese. Even in Brittany we have arguments about the right way to make it and because I don't wan't to start this debate (I'm pretty sure that some guy from Finistère is gonna ending up saying that he's the only true britton in the room if this debate starts) I'm not gonna say wich one is the best (but actually galette >>> crêpe)
Love to see Alex here! I wont make most of your recipes due to my diet choices. I still watch all of them. The technique and inspection is so amazing and inspiring in your videos! Always brings me joy! 😊😊 thanks for the amazing content!
I loved this video and it's my favourite style you've ever done. For me, the informational and historical content is just as important as the recipe itself
Great video, Ethan! I especially like the inclusion of a little history and of course the team up with Alex. One thing: do you have any plans do cover more plant-based recipes?
Great video on so many front. As a French I am always surprised Galette Bretonne aren't one of the most known French dishes. (BTW: don't call those a "crèpe" in front of a Britton. It's a galette, ok? Crèpes are exclusively the sweet rolls). The most important point : THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS UNSALTED BUTTER IN GALETTE COOKING. This especially shows if you ate them in an actual place in Bretagne but I'd bet that was the case of many you found in Paris. Give the crust that extra savor. Also kills you slowly, but who cares. Now I am exagerating it a bit but I just found those that much better when eaten in Bretagne and all of my investigation pointed to: (way) more salted butter. At least give it a try :P They're quite hard to make on the bilig (which is very occasionnaly found at homes here, but still is rare because... m² price in Paris, you know...). People who took the class report something like a 2h formation to be able to do it properly. Overall I found it easier to have Breton friends =) Last bit of advice: topping quality matter. Especially the cheese - make sure it's not the supermarket one. It's true that emmental is extremely common in galette, even in Bretagne, which I find a cool exemple of "French mix" as those two comes from very distant places within France. Good ham is great too, just make sure you have it sliced thin IMO. Oh and good eggs. Big difference too. Last but not least: usually eaten with a "bolée" (bowl) of Cider. Organic ones if you find it.
Loved the way you introduced the history of the food and explained the cultural difference. In Australia, we call the galette ‘savoury crepes’ or just ‘crepes’ even if buckwheat is used (at healthy food-type of cafes).
So for me, a Galette has always been a pastry dough free formed with savory or sweet fillings. I have honestly never seen a buckwheat Galette until this video, which is wild to me. I've made thousands of Galettes, and always with pastry dough. Now I need this one.
If the pastery dough has no sugar, it's fine. I tried buckwheat and did not care for it. Basic crepe batter recipe on serious eats is an allarounder and the way it's traditionally made in eastern europe as well.
If anyone ever finds themselves in the Atlanta/North Georgia region I'd highly recommend visiting The Galloping Galette... This type of buckwheat galette is their specialty and they're unbelievably delicious!
I personally loved this format. I’m pretty old-school with my cooking shows, so getting a bit of history is refreshing. I like getting the technique, trial and error is a nice addition, and of course a special guest star is fun. I’m so glad you’re getting to travel again. This cooking show/food journalism type thing seems really you, and I dig it. I can’t wait to see what you discover and make next!
Hi Ethan. As a french crêpe maker i find your video very well made, especially on the history and the context you put in. Of course making a galette in a pan at home is hardly going to be as good as on a bilig. Maybe a large carbon steel skillet would give better result. Few thing that may help in my opinion: -Let the dough rest for two nights: it will dramatically improve the color and crispiness. -heat the pan to around 450 dregres f -the amount of fat in the pan before you put the dough in has to be low, otherwise the dough will fry and not sear. Frying the dough will not give it color. I would recommend using a few drops of oil in the pan and then wipe it with a towel. -while searing: Brush the galette with a brush and melted butter until shiny and let sear until crispy. Then (put the egg and spread the white if there is one) add topings. - fold the edges and add butter on it.
It didn't feel like a long 17+min-video. I was glued. The editing was good and each part of the presentation ( history, the three dough recipes, the stuff with Alex the Giant😊 [ French ] ) was not TMI. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, Ethan, for this useful masterclass. Now, to buckwheat flour search....
This was fantastic. I never think of crepes for dinner, but they're not that difficult to make, and they're so flexible that you can serve them with things that you have in your kitchen. The crepe complete is my fav. And ALEX! What FUN! Great seeing you guys together.
And another comment; buckwheat galettes crossed the atlantic with French settlers in Acadia and Canada. It's the slightly thicker version and, being Canadian, we eat them at breakfast with eggs, bacon and tons of maple syrup (or molasses for a more urban/working-class version). There's a buckwheat galette festival every year in Québec.
Am I the only one facing issues with egg-free recipe? Is it really just water and buckwheat flour? When I mixed up water and flour in 2:1 proportion, the batter was actually more viscous than Ethan's low-hydration one :/ So, I added more water, so that the batter is closer to crepe viscosity, but when I tried to cook, it turned to a complete mess - it sticked to my non-stick pan, had really huge holes in it (because of water evaporation) and didn't feel like crepe at all - I couldn't even take it out from the pan, it was just a buckwheat mess on top of the thin layer that sticked badly to the pan. I tried making these with two different kinds of buckwheat flour from different producers, but result remains the same, which leads me to a conclusion that either we have some different type of buckwheat flour in Ukraine or (more likely) I'm doing something wrong. Thanks in advance for your answers! P.S.: every recipe on the internet calls for at least some egg inside the batter...
What an awesome video. I am french and from Brittany, but living in the US for 32 years. I have made crepes for friends and family over here to their delight and wanted to make galettes for a while. On a recent trip back home, I picked up a couple of large crepieres and some farine de ble noir (buckwheat flour). Your video was the perfect intro and instructional help I was looking for and answered many of the questions I had. Now I need a bilig...!
Ethan, big faux-pas with the illustration for Brittany. Mont St-Michel is NOT (and never was) in Brittany but in Normandie and you showed it even several times. This is as if you said Edinburg Castle is in England. Yeah, that wrong, really.
Mont Saint Michel was part of the Kingdom of Dumnonia from 709 to 849. The kingdom of Dumnonia was then incorporated in the larger kingdom of Brittany. The Mont St Michel only came under the influence of the duchy of Normandy in 1009. It is only in 1030 that Normandy gained full territorial control over the monastery. So yes, there used to be a time when the Mont St Michel was in Brittany.
As a new subscriber I am binging your videos. I cannot believe that this is only the third video and it is about my beloved buckwheat pancakes with such a good explanation and recipes! Out of 3 videos I have watched 2 were outstanding! (The one I was not impressed by was about something I have known for ages and I didn't learn anything new, but the quality was great anyway.) I do love this channel.
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In Québec the traditional galette de sarrasin is a thick batter, cooked in a cast iron pan or griddle using lard. It’s ladled thick and cooks like a ton of brick because it’s only flour and water and it was a lumberjack meal, accompanied by molasses and baked beans. For myself, I like the UB style better because it’s super easy to make and the lack of wheat flour or eggs protects it against burning and sticking. You can fry these bad boys hard and they’ll never burn. Also, I found that resting the batter (when it’s only flour and water) actually helps with browning and texture, probably because the starches are better hydrated. I let mine rest on the counter overnight and it sometimes even starts getting a bit sour from its natural yeasts, like sourdough. Finally, these thing are awesome with anything Slavic-tasting because that’s what blinis are.
Thanks for making this video! As far as I know, no part of my family is French. But my grandpa who passed away 2 years ago used to make these for me when I would stay at his house in Western PA! Maple syrup is a big thing in this area (we have maple syrup festivals and stuff when the syrup runs) and buckwheat pancakes are somewhat common around here, but my grandpa always made the best. His were always super thin and crispy exactly like this video!! I never knew that anyone else in the world made "buckwheat pancakes" like my grandpa. He would usually eat his with eggs and I would put peanut butter and maple syrup on mine. Thanks for making this.. it's nice to remember breakfast with my grandpa. 🥲
This is probably my favorite video of yours. The format was great. Having a guest on and breaking up the different types of content with some dialog in between really kept it fresh and engaging.
To give my honest two cents I‘ve been binging your videos the past few weeks and I quite enjoyed that you got into the science of a dish and then how to make it at home without talking too long about something else. I know a lot of other channels do the history and stuff but I liked about your videos, that I don‘t have to sit through a history lesson just to know how to make something. But whatever you decide to do I‘ll keep watching because to me you‘ve easily become one of the best cooking channels for home cooks since you always consider what kind of equipment the normal home cook has or factor in other important elements e.g. what the best option of storing is!
My favourite video to date. I wouldn't want every video to be this length/format, but as a feature. it's easily your best (and dare I say, the best on youtube). If there was any doubt, the music choice clinched it. Bravo. A new level of educational food video that is so enthralling it dominates the food entertainment realm as well.
After finding cheap buckweat flour yesterday I made this with the 2:1 water flour ratio from your recipe on a crepe maker. The batter started out thin but after letting it rest for 45mins it was more viscous than the low hydration in the video. Added a bit more water and just used the viscous batter. First one failed, torn to pieces, but all others turned out great and thin with the help of a crepe spreader. A bit elaborate but tasty!
My mother is a professional Breton crêpe maker, and according to her, the issue you had with the "low hydration" dough is that it's not actually a dough; it's what's called a "pâton," or a "pre-dough." In essence, it's the way the dough is made for *storage* in the shop; it's taken out and diluted with water to reach the desired hydration shortly before cooking. I believe the reason is space-efficiency.
Thank you for making this video, I think it'll be very helpful for American friends to give them a broader look at French crepes, and especially the all-important savory galette! I eat far more of those than sweet crepes these days, lmao.
Thanks for sharing this, great to hear about ppl sharing their expertise!
Yeah I agree with this comment, in professional creperies, dough is stored at low hydration to develop taste and texture, the remaining water is added right before cooking
Ok so I made this today, and my crepes turned out a lot darker (rye bread) and tasted pretty bitter. They took a while to get anywhere near crisp. The flour was pretty old. Anybody else?
Additionally, the storage with less water leaves less room for organisms to survive inside the dough thus reducing the rate at which it gets bad and also the rate at which it starts to get moldy. Water is the biggest enemy of making food durable, if you dehydrate your food completely it can last forever. Though that is, unfortunately, quite expensive and requires a specialized rehydration process.
I totally second this. For my own recipe I initially include just enough beer and water to get a compact homogenous dough ball, It's much easier to store in the fridge then portion and re-lequify to a batter state with additional water (and eventually milk) right before cooking.
So honestly, I want more of these. This format, (The history, the differences between what we understand a galette to be, the guest, trial and error etc..). It amazing. Not to mention that I loved the editing, of course your narration, as well as the music chosen.
Honestly, I want more and more of these. Well done Sir!
Thanks! I definitely plan on doing more like this in the future.
@@EthanChlebowski I loved it too, a big fan of your videos!
@@EthanChlebowski Yeah definitely agree, absolutely adore food history and it pairs well with your stellar research and experimentation. For the guest part, it felt a little much to also fit it in a video like this as it was a very small part now (could even be a two parter, one with alex chatting about french food and one deep dive and experimentation) All in all, awesome content and don't mind some longer video's to break up the pace 👌
Agree. Great vid. Even seeing and admitting to the height difference was fun. You are a bit like Tom Cruise (in a good way).
Agreed! Learning about the ingredients, the history and seeing you trailing side by side recipes (like you did with the old school hot sauce episode) were some of my favorite video formats..
Hey Ethan. I am french subscriber. When speaking about "crepe" it means made of wheat flour, when "galette" is made out of buckwheat. It is mainly like this in Brittany. But in the rest of the country, people usually speak about "crêpe salée" or "salted crepe" to refer to galette sarrasin (it's a common confusion, and Brittany people hate that point and they go completely crazy when they hear this out). Hope you enjoy your seat here! Keep going mate 🔥
Not exactly to be fair the rule { wheat/sugary : crêpe , buckwheat/salted : galette } is valid only in half of Brittany while the other half calls both crêpes.... but if we were to enter in every nuance of local appellations and recipes this will become a wikipedia page.
And god help us if we bring the conversation on the field of butter vs lard...
chocolatine
😎🍿
Wrong. Salted crêpes are not galettes. Salted crêpe is crêpe without sugar in the dough so you can add salted ingredients like ham on it. Galettes are buckwheat crêpes (crêpes de sarrasin) as opposed to flour crêpes (crêpes de froment).
@@Kuonluw Yes. In French people divide things into sucré (sweet) and salé (salty). The correct translation into English is sucré = sweet and salé = savory. I’m an American expat living in France since 2003.
@@uncouple vas chiez
Though nearly an 18-minute video, the pace of it breezed by in what felt to be half the time. Informative, interesting, and fun. Surprise guest. Much enjoyment. Thanks.
Loved every crispy minute of this!
Ultimate collaboration, andong ethan and alex? Can only imagine :)
By TH-cam's terms of service for commenters, I am hereby required to post an over-the-top reply to seeing one of my favorite foodtubers comment on another of my favorite foodtubers video - you guys REALLY need to do a video togeth...Oh wait 😳
Andong come to Paris to meet those guys and do a series of videos, one on each of your channels!
TIL there's such thing as a French jianbing
@@Blegueni Andong and I filmed a video in Berlin that will be coming out on my channel is a few weeks!
Trigger warning for Normands... Opening sequence about Brittany with an aerial shot of Mont Saint Michel... just perfect XD
I died inside lmao
Haha yeah I have Norman and Breton friends and I always find their interactions over Mont St Michel hilarious 🤣
Regarding authenticity: as a French Canadian with Bretagne roots, I grew up eating galette de sarasin as a child in North America as something a bit special while growing up. It was passed on through family rather than through the supermarket. So this video resonated quite nicely. Thank you for making and sharing it.
I love your passion for galettes. I recently came across a French style cafe in Tokyo where I live and it was probably my second time to have a galette and now I’m so obsessed. I can eat that every day for the rest of my life.
The Crêperie is probably the most fun casual way to enjoy food in France, along with a Brasserie or Café. The cider, the communal tables, the reasonable prices and excellent food make it very cozy. So glad you and Alex connected.
Swirling tip: get the pan hotter than cooking temperature, take it in one hand and pour a ladle of batter in; then swirl the pan around in the air to spread the batter evenly in the pan, and only then set it back on (medium) fire. The first couple of crepes/galettes will help you size up how much batter you want to use for your pan size. Also, fire is definitely superior to induction/electric for crepes/galettes.
Batter is normally only salt + black flour + water; adding an egg will give some more colours, replacing a little of the black flour for normal flour will make it a little more elastic and less likely to break (will be easier to cook). Replacing a little of the water for some milk will make it more hearty, but the strong flavour of the black flour will be lessened.
edit: the wooden tool is mostly unnecessary when cooking in a pan tbh, it's very useful for a billig. Pan swirling technique is all your need.
as for the cooking implements, I find that it's not really the stove that counts, but the pan. I was using a cheap "crepe" pan, non-stick, and my crepes were never really good, I had to make them too think for them to not end up crispy and breakable. I switched to an iron crepe pan, from De Buyer, and now my crepes are perfect. And my stove is an absolutely shitty electric stove (I'm not even sure you can buy them new in France anymore)
+1 for the batter, only salt + black flour + water. Almost all of the crêperies don't add egg in it.
I am so grateful that you share to the world the Art of Galette making ! Im from Britanny myself, I make these to myself so often that im genuinelly surprised when people know a little about crêpes but nothing about galettes !
You did an amazing job showing them off Ethan ! Thank you
Loved this video. We eat these in Québec as well, with one mill producing buckwheat flour since 1762. Note that buckwheat flour should be consumed fairly quickly, as it can turn bitter. I make these when I go camping using a flat crepe pan. They are amazing with deep amber 100% maple syrup and a little salted butter.
Fascinating! I love your new format of going someplace and finding "normal" dishes that the world should know. This looks like a great work from home lunch option.
Once you have a plate of those precooked ones in the fridge it becomes a 5 minute lunch!
It is indeed 😄
Cook them on a Sunday night and you have at least a week of 5min great lunches when working at home.
I have done it so many times 😄
@@Blegueni i bet you do, Le Guenic. ;)
It really is just a staple food here, it feels weird just how unknown it is compared to the sweet version
Phenomenal video, loved the full dive approach!
Just a fun fact. There is indeed a connection between Brittany and Britain, with Brittany being a region settled by Brythonic Celtic peoples (like the welsh) in France and thus inheriting the name the land of the Britons! You can still today hear Breton being spoken in this region. Great video Ethan!
til !
Some tips for a low-hydration galette!
-Let it rest at least 1h
-Whip it hard before use, it's better when aerated
-Use at Billig at 220-240°C (425-465°F)
-Make sure that Billig is well oiled and clean
Hi there Ethan, a long time subscriber here. I’m a professional galette maker myself. There are some points in the video that are maybe inaccurate :
There are two families of galettes: lower Brittany and higher Brittany, the third one is a Paton, that you ferment over night before diluting it, by adding another volume of liquid.
The second point is that fermentation time is really important for high Brittany batter, it’s basically 1vol of flour + 1 vol of water + some fat (leave overnight) then add another vol of water and beat the dough thoroughly. You can eventually skip the fermentation step if you add an egg to the batter, but you will lose some complexity.
Third point is the color, the galettes should be much darker in color to develop complex aroma and cook out the raw taste, but for this you need higher heat. Voilà , Hope that helps. Ping me if you have other questions and enjoy the rest of your stay in France
I have a question for you @bousinante. Im addicted to Gallettes and i got myself a real nice carbon steel crepe pan (De Buyer).
But its really hard i think to control the temperature. The pan gets so hot that the batter immediately jumps (i think its the Leidenfrost effect). Is this common? Should i just decrese the heat of the pan when i pour the batter?
@@Larkeshet you have to heat up your pan with some fat, then poor the batter in OUTSIDE of the heat and put your pan back onto the heat :D Hope this helps you !
Same thing when you make crêpes in a pan ;)
@@Larkeshet Hey! I'm not who you asked but when we do galettes in my family, we heat the pan, use a little oil and spread it around with a paper towel, then pour the batter. I don't know how how the pan is though, but it's a regular Tefal (Amazon says the model is b3011072).
@@cyriod7712 it makes sense! That carbon steel can get blazing hot. Think its just too much :)
@@Larkeshet you should control the heat of the hob to get a nice rythm going, the temperature should be enough to get butter sizzling but not browning enough. As for the fat, we traditionally use lard, but a neutral oil would work too. Just ensure you got your pan covered well. Cheers
All is well in the world now. Ethan + Alex need a travel food show stat!
add in mr Andong and we have the three musketeers of good food videos
Clearly one of your best videos thus far ! I really like the structure, it feels like an essay which i really enjoy ! It reminds me of some of the videos My name is Andong, Adam Ragusea or Alex make, with all the science/history in the beginning and the experimentation after, of course with your style. I love the added length, i feel like 2 parts would be a bit less appealing tho.
Overall, I really liked the production ! Oh and and of course I have to recomend you go try some real "Aligot" here in France ! It maybe one of the least reproducable dish outside of france since Fresh Tome is really (really) hard to come by, especially in the US. It goes super well with an Andouillette tho i undestand this sausages aren't to everyone's taste haha !
Man, I commend you for this in-depth work on the "galette Bretonne". You really do justice to this simple, humble and delicious staple of the culinary tradition of Brittany.
I used to live in Rennes (now in Australia...) and I can tell you that your close-ups made me nostalgic of the legendary "galette-saucisse" that you get while buying your groceries at the local market.
Love your videos. Great work!
I appreciate how science-y this channel has been for quite some time now, but it seems it’s somehow gone deeper and deeper recently without sacrificing the simplicity of your explanations and making it easy to understand for someone who may not know a single fact about what you’re talking about. It’s a balance that you’ve nailed and I’ve definitely taken many notes for my own content creation style. We appreciate you Ethan ✊
What a great lesson. I’ve always wanted to refine my galettes-making (because they are SO good) and you’ve covered it all! Thank you!
So I've got to bring up another buckwheat pancake - French Acadian Ployes. Found in eastern Canada and northern Maine, originating among folks of French heritage, it's made typically of about a 50/50 blend of buckwheat and wheat flours, and cooked only on one side, often in an ungreased skillet or on the top of a wood stove. The "top" gets all bubbly, almost like a small Injera. They'll be served buttered, perhaps with maple syrup or brown sugar, or perhaps with cretons, a long-simmered and cooked down spread made of pork and onions and spices.
It's crazy just how good food can get when you stop injecting loads of sugar into everything, especially when you turn it into a savory dish instead. Such an important part of french cuisine, baking/traditional recipes, completely overlooked because of how sweetened everything has become for mass consumption.
A good comparison is how the public was manipulated into thinking cereal and such is "breakfast"
I wonder how it tastes with some sugar and honey... 🤔
Forreal. I could've been eating proper food for breakfeast, growing up 💀
So true and also true that here in America at least, NO ONE should eat any of that cereal as they have put real iron filings in it which will hurt you. Get a magnet and see for yourself.
My favorite types of galette is with goat cheese, nuts and honey ^^ @
I wasn’t expecting a history component in this video but much enjoyed! Edit: I liked this video style. A lot going on, but it’s all cones together nicely. The switches kept my attention. I prefer one longer video than pt1&2
Best thing you've made in a while. Cultural, informative, interesting, yet a seemingly simple enough dish that I actually want to try.
This is exactly the kind of content I was hoping to see from your France trip, well done.
If you want something a lot more history-oriented while still showcasing a home cook recipe, Max Miller has a delightful series called Tasting History! I love Max and Ethan for both formats!
If you have a gas cooker, one alternative to a full Billig is to buy a cast iron crepe pan that you put directly on the stove. Works pretty well for galette.
People from Brittany also eat (not much anymore) a stew with boiled buckwheat called Kig ha farz... That recipe can put your digestive system to the test!
French regional recipe to try before leaving France (you can find restaurants making them in Paris) :
- cassoulet, flammenkuche, pissaladière, tartiflette, welsh and many more
I don't know your channel since a long time, but when I learn that you live now in Paris, I thought "man, he must do a collab with Alex" and there it is!
As a Breton, I'm very proud to see our dish featured in your video!
I'm usually making galettes almost every other week.
My personal recipe :
330g of buckwheat flour (a third of a 1kg bag)
750g of water
1 egg
Salt
Pepper
And my favorite ingredients is ham, grated emmental and homemade red onion jam.
You can also make sweet galettes, the mix is amazing, like salted butter caramel with apples.
And if you have some galettes leftovers (I agree it's rare), you can transform them into galette crisps by cutting them in small squares, rubbing them in oil and salt, cook them on a sheet in the oven at 240°C.
The crunchiness is amazing and the taste too.
(If you're lazy, you can find some at the supermarket 😄)
And yes, I agree with you, the Mont Saint Michel is Breton, Normandy has stolen it from us!
i do these every week since i discovered that few months ago , with egg meat and cheese pepper they are full healthy but you can do lot of version like goat cheese + honey or sour cream tomato roquette or whatever you want and you can also made them in sweet version at the end , honney almond , bananas sweet whipped cream + melted chocolate or nutella +chestnut cream. I m french i follow you since 6 months (and i started from 0 in kitchen ) i progressed a lot with you and how you explain a method and techniques more than recipes , love to see you sharing one of the best but not the most knowed recipe of my culture , and i can see how much you did dive in our cuisine during your trip, love from France
It might be my wacky Canadian high school French education, but I feel like his pronunciation has gotten a bit better. Do you agree?
Egg meat is my favorite meat!
all the video is great but just saying there (in france we usally are movig the pan when we don t have the perfect tools its easier than applying it with a spoon or other thing and you can have some thin galette like that
I love this video from the talk about the history to the batter types to the recipe demo. Thanks for sharing. There's nothing better for brunch than a savory buckwheat crepe!
The oh so subtle correction by Alex on the pronunciation of croissant is everything to me 😝
That really stood out to me as well ^^
Alex was mispronouncing English words the entire video
Don't think he was trying to correct anything. That's just his accent.
@@TrumanPaul you do realize that "croissant" is the only said word Alex can not mispronounce?
11:13
I'm actually working in a crêperie as a waiter, and I must say that your infos on galettes are spot on! Here at the restaurant we use a buckwheat, water and eggs type of batter. The boss always insists on the fact that you can't make a good galette if you don't have a billig or either some sort of large, thick and flat iron surface to be able to consistently and quickly blast a lot of heat into the batter. Typically you should run your stove between 260°C and 280°C to get that nice crisp and a quite runny batter to be able to spread it before it cooks through. Oh and if you're gonna use the raclette be sure to wet it first so it doesn't stick to the batter. At home just heat your thickest iron skillet as much as you can and instead of using the wooden raclette just twist the pan in a swift swirling motion while pouring in the center of it, that will spread the batter nice and thin without the hastle of pulling with the raclette. And a galette plain with 1/2 salted butter is called a "Kraz".
I just realized that I've been eating buckwheat crepes all my life. We have something called "ragi dosa" in India. I make dosas all the time and I just spread it in the pan with a ladle, I didn't even know most people need to use a wooden stick to spread it.
Thanks for the video, will definitely try stuffing stuff other than aloo masala and onion in there next time
Ragi is finger millet, which is very different from buckwheat. Although both are gluten free and have a nutty earthy taste.
Buckwheat in multiple languages in India is called 'Kuttu', and I believe its consumed a lot during fasting.
Ragi is not buckwheat
This is by far your best video. History, culture, food science, technique. Collaboration. Just fantastic.
@11:10 I love how Alex subtlety but immediately tries to correct Ethan’s American pronunciation of “croissant” 😂
The "t" is mute. Americans americanize everything... Bread, butter, cheese haha
Great video-- loved this format with the history and regional variation, a couple field trips and expert guests, potential issues for the home cook, and then a quick tutorial for your iterated version at the end. As a viewer I feel very well equiped to try this out.
That was 18mins? Time flies! Love the collab with Alex, he's a huge inspiration to me as well. Big fan of his book also.
As long as you always maintain the time stamps so I can skip the fluff when I actually get into the kitchen and need a refresher, I love the highly informative videos like this.
I definitely loved this video! I think that learning the history of where recipes come from is just as important as learning how to prepare the dish. It's super cool that you paired up with Alex.
My kids and I are coming to Paris for the first time in July. Keep the French food tutorials coming and thank you!
The fact that you went all the way down to history and regional differences is so great. Coming from lower Brittany I'm glad you prefer the "good" recipe over the upper Brittany one 😌
For sure more people should know about galette, it's so delicious
maaaan you illustrated britanny with some footage of the Mont st Michel in Normandy !!!
ethan thats like saying the statue of liberty is in washington dc
I'm french and I learned to make galette through this video. I've been making them once or twice a month, everytime having leftover galette for quick meal lunch as I work from home. My finnish girlfriend loves them, it's been her favorite food-discovery last year. You explain things very well, I thought making galette was a complex endeavour but it turns out I was wrong, at least not the way you explained it! So merci beaucoup Ethan :)
Being from Brittany as well as being a fan of your channel and Alex's, I really had to write a little something. I did not see a galette episode coming to be honest. Indeed, if galettes are mouthwatering, there not necessarily the sexiest dish, which makes me even more delighted and proud that you're sharing about them and spreading the sarrasin love. If you wanna go for a Galette Saucisse when in Rennes, give me a jingle.
Renne market, galette with ham and cheese. Great food memory
I lived in Chateaubriant and would get these at market every Wednesday. Ham/cheese. Just outside Bretagne in Pays de la Loire.
I love this style of video, where you meld cooking with history. More, please!
I am a french from Bretagne and my quest in life is to find the best galette complete. Like a pizza margarita, it's the galette in its purest form imo. I have been to close to 100 creperie so far and my top 3 is something like this :
- one homemade galette that was so good I couldn't recreate it
- The only creperie in Plancoet : 'La Pâte à Crêpes', tiny and staffed by two old ladies
- A creperie in historic Vannes : Crêperie saint guenhael
Tell me where was your best galette complete, I'll add it to the list !
Best galette vidéo by an english speaking ytber Ethan, bravo!
Va à la crêperie de Plounevez Porzay (à côté de Douarnenez). Une des meilleures crêperies où je suis allez
@@francoisguyot7209 je note merci !
As someone with celiacs (gluten free diet) I absolutely love these buckwheat galettes and when I visited Paris I ate them daily. Thank you for giving them some more exposure!
Galettes! That takes me back. I love these guys. My staple during my time in Nantes was a potato-leek-egg galette. It's pretty close to being the perfect lunch.
Hey Ethan, I always love when you explain the science of cooking, so this format fits you well too. Especially if it's about some unknown dish (I'm European, but I haven't heard about it before). My favorite part is when you go through the learning process yourself, it shows what mistakes I'll probably do too and it gives me confidence that I could prepare it.
Interestingly, the "galette de sarrasin" made its way to Quebec. Here it is usually thicker, slightly sweetened and served topped with molasses.
N'oublie pas que les français qui on colonisés le Québec provenaient de la Normandie et Brittanie, bref le nord de la Fance. Encore aujourd'hui leur accent est relativement similair à l'ancien accent Québécois (genre avant les années 80s).
I really dig the format. Closer to documentary style. I wouldn't toss pure recipe videos out with the bathwater, but being able to throw these longer vids definitely adds a lot of value to the channel/brand.
My mother and grandmother made Polish crepes (“nalesniki”) always from white flour, eggs, and water. My mom said that if you bring a guy home, and want to impress him, whip up some nalesniki. Just roll them up with sugar and cinnamon.
I absolutely loved this style of video. Getting to learn the historical aspect and the context of buckwheat alongside of your journey of learning to make it and then a recipe was amazing! I hope you make many more videos in this style. It was like 360 degree video, all encompassing!
Hey Ethan, I'm French, please note that the Mont Saint Michel that you show at 1:42 actually belongs to Normandy (you can check on Wikipedia). But people from Brittany pretend it belongs to them because they are stupid.
Well thank you very much for this episode. I'm french and like Alex said we usually buy them pre-made at the groceries store. I know what I'm gonna cook this weekend!
These are usually eaten alongside hard cider served in a bowl (another specialty of Brittany). One of my favorite food, simple yet hard to master.
Another specialty from Brittany you have to try out is Salidou, a salted caramel spread (goes great on crêpes or galettes).
This is the video I come here for, new food, information, history, techniques and science and entertainment. You're awesome man and deserve your success.
This was an awesome video - loved the format and style and all the info included - when I came back from staying in Paris for a few months - the galette was my number one thing to try and make for the family. Wish I had your video sooner - I probably made six types of batter to figure out what was gonna work. Awesome channel awesome content
You are becoming a cooking historian and I love it. The quality of your videos keep skyrocketing after every upload. Love your vids man
Galettes de sarrasin are such a staple around here that it's almost surprising to me that it seems to be generally unknown in the US. We even have an entire festival dedicated to buckwheat crepes around here. Le Festival de la Galette de Sarrasin in Louiseville (Québec, Canada) in the fall. Buckwheat is also good for pasta, bread, pizza and even cakes.
It's not unknown in West Virginia! It's moved *very* far away from the origins, at this point they're a cross between pancakes and crepes and called "buckwheat cakes", but we have our own buckwheat festival in the fall as well :)
Ethan- love the video, including the background info. More like this, please!!! For those of us who are too old/settled to say "eff it" and move to France, we love living vicariously through you and learning about new flavors and cultures, and the stories that go along with them. Keep up the good work!
Ethan: I used to live near a place that did a flavor combination I think you'd dig. Buckwheat crepe with Chinese fermented black beans, tofu, Thai basil, peanut sauce, scallions.
Its really fascinating to see something so similar but in a completely different cuisine on the other side of the globe !!!
Really amazing video, so informative and I just love french cuisine. Also I am from north India and I have seen my mother making literally "Kuttu (Buckwheat) Chilla(sort of crispy crepe)" since childhood and in India many people fast before festivals and the practice of eating these have been there for centuries during these festivals where most of the food is made from buckwheat to celebrate. This is a go-to dish that most moms prepare to eat after fasting.
Firstly it looks very similar and batter used is similar to the low hydration consistency of yours but with just buckwheat, oil, pinch of salt and water. The finished product though looks golden brown with crisp, bubbled surface and is very thin. Its eaten with sauted vegetables and potato dishes.
You may find the British North Staffordshire Oatcake quite interesting.
When I saw the galette I thought it was an oatcake! North Staffs Oatcakes are essentially crepes (pancakes) made with oatmeal and yeast. I’d highly recommend you look into them, as the toppings are identical to that of the galettes in your video. Oatcakes are also a very regional thing, most Brits will think an oatcake is a Scottish cookie (biscuit) until you get to the counties surrounding Staffordshire.
Interesting to know! I will try to see if I can find a recipe. I think that crepes / pancakes / dosa etc are an universal thing -> you have this in every culture.
I've been away for some time! My boy has reached the million!!!! Also glad you are a fellow european right now. Now im gonna watch the video :D
We were all expecting a collaboration with Alex, just not for galettes bretonnes !
I absolutely love your videos! The history, the technique, and the science as well as the botched attempts all help in entertaining and educating me as well as improving my cooking. You probably are my favorite home cook and I want you to know I appreciate the research and the accuracy behind your videos! From one nerd to another I tip my hat to you.
Duuude, it's so obvious how much effort you put into this video. From researching the history and experimenting with the styles to setting off time to do the collaboration with Alex and even taking a cooking class, I can't even imagine just how much time was spent from beginning to end. Awesome work!
As for improvements, since you asked for it, I personally wouldn't mind that you cut out the history part and went straight to the different styles in terms of how they differ in ingredients and proportions. As a viewer, it makes no difference since you're kind enough to annotate the video, which makes it really easy to skip it, but since I know that all the other parts already take an insane amount of work to do, it would be a shame if it added unnecessary stress because of the extra effort put into researching, filming, and editing. I think that most people are here for the cooking parts, so in my opinion, it wouldn't be a great loss.
By the way, I love the music choices you've started making. The kinda "heist" music that plays when you break down a recipe fits perfectly, and it really grabs my attention.
Hey Ethan, I think this style of video with a lot more backstory and all is much more entertaining and interesting to me personally. Really loved this one and can’t wait for more!
Hey Ethan as a britton I find myself competent to explain the different definitions. FIrst you have what Brittons call 'crêpe' wich is made out of wheat flour served traditionnaly with sweet stuff on it (and nothing else that sweet taste otherwise you're gonna ending ruining the dish !).
Then you have the 'galette' wich is the High Brittany (the Eastern part of the region) dish, supposed to be thick and made out of buckwheat. It's the one you're gonna use to make a 'galette saucisse' (wich is nowadays a stadium food for all Rennes football team fans).
Last but not least the 'crêpe de sarrasin' wich is also made out of buckwheat. Yet it is verry thin and generally made in the Western part of the region. Best way to eat it is with andouille (wich is made out of pork hose) egg and cheese.
Even in Brittany we have arguments about the right way to make it and because I don't wan't to start this debate (I'm pretty sure that some guy from Finistère is gonna ending up saying that he's the only true britton in the room if this debate starts) I'm not gonna say wich one is the best (but actually galette >>> crêpe)
C'mon man, eating a galette is like eating a sponge.
Love to see Alex here! I wont make most of your recipes due to my diet choices. I still watch all of them. The technique and inspection is so amazing and inspiring in your videos! Always brings me joy! 😊😊 thanks for the amazing content!
Holy sh!t (pardon my french) my two fav foodtubers in a vid together why didn't i see this happening when you moved to paris >< perfection!
I loved this video and it's my favourite style you've ever done. For me, the informational and historical content is just as important as the recipe itself
Great video, Ethan! I especially like the inclusion of a little history and of course the team up with Alex. One thing: do you have any plans do cover more plant-based recipes?
I liked the length of this video it's perfect. Long enough to be detailed enough but short enough to keep one's attention span. Great information too.
Great video on so many front. As a French I am always surprised Galette Bretonne aren't one of the most known French dishes. (BTW: don't call those a "crèpe" in front of a Britton. It's a galette, ok? Crèpes are exclusively the sweet rolls).
The most important point : THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS UNSALTED BUTTER IN GALETTE COOKING. This especially shows if you ate them in an actual place in Bretagne but I'd bet that was the case of many you found in Paris. Give the crust that extra savor. Also kills you slowly, but who cares. Now I am exagerating it a bit but I just found those that much better when eaten in Bretagne and all of my investigation pointed to: (way) more salted butter. At least give it a try :P
They're quite hard to make on the bilig (which is very occasionnaly found at homes here, but still is rare because... m² price in Paris, you know...). People who took the class report something like a 2h formation to be able to do it properly. Overall I found it easier to have Breton friends =)
Last bit of advice: topping quality matter. Especially the cheese - make sure it's not the supermarket one. It's true that emmental is extremely common in galette, even in Bretagne, which I find a cool exemple of "French mix" as those two comes from very distant places within France. Good ham is great too, just make sure you have it sliced thin IMO.
Oh and good eggs. Big difference too.
Last but not least: usually eaten with a "bolée" (bowl) of Cider. Organic ones if you find it.
The format was awesome-a la Alton Brown. More of this please.
The moment I saw the egg and ham in a square I thought of white or Mornay sauce for a "Crepe Monsieur" or a "Monte Crepeso"... Trademark pending lol
Loved the way you introduced the history of the food and explained the cultural difference. In Australia, we call the galette ‘savoury crepes’ or just ‘crepes’ even if buckwheat is used (at healthy food-type of cafes).
So for me, a Galette has always been a pastry dough free formed with savory or sweet fillings. I have honestly never seen a buckwheat Galette until this video, which is wild to me.
I've made thousands of Galettes, and always with pastry dough. Now I need this one.
Same! It’s crazy. Literally have never seen or heard about these in the US and as soon as I had them was like yea, everyone needs to try these.
Most galettes I've had have been buckwheat, so nice with goats cheese, honey, rocket and walnuts
If the pastery dough has no sugar, it's fine. I tried buckwheat and did not care for it. Basic crepe batter recipe on serious eats is an allarounder and the way it's traditionally made in eastern europe as well.
The Breton galette is made with Buckwheat. All the ones I've found there are made with Buckwheat.
If anyone ever finds themselves in the Atlanta/North Georgia region I'd highly recommend visiting The Galloping Galette... This type of buckwheat galette is their specialty and they're unbelievably delicious!
I personally loved this format. I’m pretty old-school with my cooking shows, so getting a bit of history is refreshing. I like getting the technique, trial and error is a nice addition, and of course a special guest star is fun. I’m so glad you’re getting to travel again. This cooking show/food journalism type thing seems really you, and I dig it. I can’t wait to see what you discover and make next!
New series idea: "Does it crêpe?"
I loved seeing the pan temp in the video. I do this when making an omelette. It takes the guess work out of when the pan is ready.
Hi Ethan.
As a french crêpe maker i find your video very well made, especially on the history and the context you put in.
Of course making a galette in a pan at home is hardly going to be as good as on a bilig. Maybe a large carbon steel skillet would give better result.
Few thing that may help in my opinion:
-Let the dough rest for two nights: it will dramatically improve the color and crispiness.
-heat the pan to around 450 dregres f
-the amount of fat in the pan before you put the dough in has to be low, otherwise the dough will fry and not sear. Frying the dough will not give it color. I would recommend using a few drops of oil in the pan and then wipe it with a towel.
-while searing: Brush the galette with a brush and melted butter until shiny and let sear until crispy. Then (put the egg and spread the white if there is one) add topings.
- fold the edges and add butter on it.
It didn't feel like a long 17+min-video. I was glued. The editing was good and each part of the presentation ( history, the three dough recipes, the stuff with Alex the Giant😊 [ French ] ) was not TMI. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, Ethan, for this useful masterclass. Now, to buckwheat flour search....
How to upset the whole of Normandy:
- step 1, show a picture of the Mont Saint-Michel while speaking of Brittany.
That's it.
This was fantastic. I never think of crepes for dinner, but they're not that difficult to make, and they're so flexible that you can serve them with things that you have in your kitchen. The crepe complete is my fav. And ALEX! What FUN! Great seeing you guys together.
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And another comment; buckwheat galettes crossed the atlantic with French settlers in Acadia and Canada. It's the slightly thicker version and, being Canadian, we eat them at breakfast with eggs, bacon and tons of maple syrup (or molasses for a more urban/working-class version). There's a buckwheat galette festival every year in Québec.
Am I the only one facing issues with egg-free recipe? Is it really just water and buckwheat flour? When I mixed up water and flour in 2:1 proportion, the batter was actually more viscous than Ethan's low-hydration one :/ So, I added more water, so that the batter is closer to crepe viscosity, but when I tried to cook, it turned to a complete mess - it sticked to my non-stick pan, had really huge holes in it (because of water evaporation) and didn't feel like crepe at all - I couldn't even take it out from the pan, it was just a buckwheat mess on top of the thin layer that sticked badly to the pan. I tried making these with two different kinds of buckwheat flour from different producers, but result remains the same, which leads me to a conclusion that either we have some different type of buckwheat flour in Ukraine or (more likely) I'm doing something wrong. Thanks in advance for your answers!
P.S.: every recipe on the internet calls for at least some egg inside the batter...
What an awesome video. I am french and from Brittany, but living in the US for 32 years. I have made crepes for friends and family over here to their delight and wanted to make galettes for a while. On a recent trip back home, I picked up a couple of large crepieres and some farine de ble noir (buckwheat flour). Your video was the perfect intro and instructional help I was looking for and answered many of the questions I had. Now I need a bilig...!
Ethan, big faux-pas with the illustration for Brittany. Mont St-Michel is NOT (and never was) in Brittany but in Normandie and you showed it even several times. This is as if you said Edinburg Castle is in England. Yeah, that wrong, really.
Mont Saint Michel was part of the Kingdom of Dumnonia from 709 to 849. The kingdom of Dumnonia was then incorporated in the larger kingdom of Brittany. The Mont St Michel only came under the influence of the duchy of Normandy in 1009. It is only in 1030 that Normandy gained full territorial control over the monastery.
So yes, there used to be a time when the Mont St Michel was in Brittany.
As a new subscriber I am binging your videos. I cannot believe that this is only the third video and it is about my beloved buckwheat pancakes with such a good explanation and recipes! Out of 3 videos I have watched 2 were outstanding! (The one I was not impressed by was about something I have known for ages and I didn't learn anything new, but the quality was great anyway.) I do love this channel.
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In Québec the traditional galette de sarrasin is a thick batter, cooked in a cast iron pan or griddle using lard. It’s ladled thick and cooks like a ton of brick because it’s only flour and water and it was a lumberjack meal, accompanied by molasses and baked beans. For myself, I like the UB style better because it’s super easy to make and the lack of wheat flour or eggs protects it against burning and sticking. You can fry these bad boys hard and they’ll never burn. Also, I found that resting the batter (when it’s only flour and water) actually helps with browning and texture, probably because the starches are better hydrated. I let mine rest on the counter overnight and it sometimes even starts getting a bit sour from its natural yeasts, like sourdough. Finally, these thing are awesome with anything Slavic-tasting because that’s what blinis are.
Thanks for making this video! As far as I know, no part of my family is French. But my grandpa who passed away 2 years ago used to make these for me when I would stay at his house in Western PA! Maple syrup is a big thing in this area (we have maple syrup festivals and stuff when the syrup runs) and buckwheat pancakes are somewhat common around here, but my grandpa always made the best. His were always super thin and crispy exactly like this video!! I never knew that anyone else in the world made "buckwheat pancakes" like my grandpa. He would usually eat his with eggs and I would put peanut butter and maple syrup on mine. Thanks for making this.. it's nice to remember breakfast with my grandpa. 🥲
This is probably my favorite video of yours. The format was great. Having a guest on and breaking up the different types of content with some dialog in between really kept it fresh and engaging.
To give my honest two cents I‘ve been binging your videos the past few weeks and I quite enjoyed that you got into the science of a dish and then how to make it at home without talking too long about something else. I know a lot of other channels do the history and stuff but I liked about your videos, that I don‘t have to sit through a history lesson just to know how to make something. But whatever you decide to do I‘ll keep watching because to me you‘ve easily become one of the best cooking channels for home cooks since you always consider what kind of equipment the normal home cook has or factor in other important elements e.g. what the best option of storing is!
My favourite video to date. I wouldn't want every video to be this length/format, but as a feature. it's easily your best (and dare I say, the best on youtube).
If there was any doubt, the music choice clinched it.
Bravo. A new level of educational food video that is so enthralling it dominates the food entertainment realm as well.
After finding cheap buckweat flour yesterday I made this with the 2:1 water flour ratio from your recipe on a crepe maker. The batter started out thin but after letting it rest for 45mins it was more viscous than the low hydration in the video. Added a bit more water and just used the viscous batter. First one failed, torn to pieces, but all others turned out great and thin with the help of a crepe spreader. A bit elaborate but tasty!
HISTORY and CULTURE is the most important thing about food. Please keep this aspect for your videos.