The History of Galettes and Crêpes

Galettes - Breton pancakes made of buckwheat flour are probably one of the oldest dishes in the world. Galettes were eaten instead of bread, and baked on a hot, flat stone, which in Breton is called ‘jalet’- this is also where the name of the actual dish came from. Buckwheat flour comes from Asia, from there it spread to Russia and Oriental countries. Afterwards, it was brought from the Middle East to France by the crusaders. Due to its origin and its dark colour, buckwheat flour was called in French ‘sarrasin’ or blé noir-  the black grain.

The Galette, according to the legend, was introduced by the last duchess of Brittany, Anne de Bretagne in the 15th century.
Soon it gained popularity among the people, and as it was not baked in the same way as bread, it was tax and duty free.

In the following centuries, Crêpes gained popularity, because they were made of wheat, and therefore they were made at lower cost.

Nowadays, ‘sweet’ Crêpes are normally served as dessert and ‘salty’ Galettes as the main course, with mushrooms, sausages, vegetables, fish and salad, for instance.

‘Bon appétit’