Galettes

Thin savory pancakes. I might have a thing. I've been experimenting recently with a wide variety of savory pancake-like accompaniments. It's been kind of a worldly adventure. Some worked really well: Socca, a garbanzo flatbread native to southern France and Banh Xeo, a Vietnamese savory cake made from rice flour and coconut milk, being my favorites.  Other attempts didn't fare as well, namely Injera, a fermented Ethiopian bread made from teff flour, and Dosa, a wafer thin crepe of rice and fermented lentils popular in Southern India.  There is a big world out there of inherently gluten free and vegan alternatives to the traditional French wheat and egg crepe.  My understanding is that a galette is essentially a crepe made with solely buckwheat flour.  I personally love the flavor of buckwheat flour, but at times am hesitant to use it since it can be heavy and dense. Chickpea flour on the other hand has a mild, albeit slightly bitter taste but is ideal for creating a light, airy, or crispy product - it's quickly becoming a mainstay for me in my baking endeavors.

So when I had the urge to make savory crepes this morning I tried out a blend to see how it'd fare and - as my friend Liz would say - BLAMO!  I think this mix might be the best of the savory pancakesque products I've made so far!  Here's how it all went down.

1/4 c buckwheat flour
1/4 c chickpea dba garbanzo aka gram flour
1 t corn starch
smidgen salt
1/2 T olive oil
1/2 c + 2 T almond milk

This was exactly enough to make four equally sized galettes, which is not much batter - so I mixed it in a liquid measuring cup so it was ultimately easier to pour.  I made these in a hot cast iron skillet, and increasingly find that not using oil at all results in the least sticking, burning, and smoking out your dinner guests. You do you. But pour 1/4 c of batter on your cooking surface then spread it thin in a circular motion until its 8+" in diameter, taking care not to rip what's cooking in the process. Less difficult than it sounds.  Once it's sufficiently bubbled (less than 2 mins for me) give it a quick flip and it's pretty much ready to go - to be stuffed with innards or stuffed in your mouth, your choice.