Galette Complete

Ingredients

• 250g buckwheat flour (farine de ble noir)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 egg, for the batter
• 500ml cold water, plus 100ml to loosen
• 60g salted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 4 slices good cooked ham
• 150g Emmental, grated
• 4 eggs, for the filling
• Black pepper

Before you cook

• Whisk the buckwheat flour and salt together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
• Crack in the egg and pour in a third of the water, whisking from the centre outwards to make a thick smooth paste with no lumps.
• Whisk in the rest of the water in two more additions until the batter is the consistency of single cream.
• Beat the batter hard for a full minute to work and aerate it.
• Cover the bowl and leave the batter to rest at room temperature for at least two hours.
• Grate the Emmental and tear each slice of ham roughly in half.

Steps

1. Stir the melted butter into the rested batter and loosen it with a little extra water if it has thickened.
2. Set a wide flat crepe pan or a heavy non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water skitters across it.
3. Wipe the pan with a piece of kitchen paper dipped in butter.
4. Pour in a small ladle of batter and immediately swirl the pan, or spread it thin with a wooden spreader.
5. Cook the galette for ninety seconds until the surface has dried and the edges lift away from the pan.
6. Flip the galette and give it thirty seconds on the second side.
7. Turn it back over so the first side is face down again.
8. Scatter a quarter of the grated Emmental across the middle of the galette.
9. Lay two pieces of ham over the cheese, spreading them into a rough square in the centre.
10. Crack an egg into the middle of the ham and break the white gently with a fork so it spreads, leaving the yolk whole.
11. Cook for two to three minutes until the white has just set and the yolk is still liquid.
12. Fold the four sides of the galette inwards over the filling to make a square, leaving the yolk exposed in the middle.
13. Grind over a little black pepper, slide the galette onto a warm plate, and serve immediately.
14. Butter the pan again and repeat with the remaining batter and filling.