Everything you need to know about the French galette (2024)

FAQs

What is the French galette? ›

The website joyofbaking.com defines the term galette as "a French term signifying a flat round cake that can be either sweet or savory and while [recipes can use] puff pastry as a base, they can also be made from risen doughs like brioche, or with a sweet pastry crust."

For this recipe, we use puff pastry to keep things super easy! What are the three different types of galette? The three most common types of galette are galette Breton, galette de rois, and fruit galette.

A galette is a term used in French cuisine for various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes. One notable type is the galette des Rois ('King cake') eaten on the day of Epiphany. In Quebec, the term galette is usually applied to pastries best described as large cookies.

Slaves were freed for a day, and a “king” was selected at random from among them to rule over the festival. Later on, during the Middle Ages, a French group of Benedictines filled puff pastry with almond frangipane to celebrate the Three Kings' visit to the Savior. Thus, the Galette des Rois was born.

You may well ask. The trick here is that hidden somewhere within the galette is the féve - the literal translation being a bean - for some lucky recipient to find. If they find it in their slice, they can claim the golden crown which is always provided along with a galette des rois, as in the photograph above.

With the arrival of January comes a national obsession with the galette des rois – the “king cake.”

The word 'galette' comes from the Norman word 'gale', meaning flat cake, and is often used in French cuisine to talk about cakes that don't require a tin, although it can also refer to round, flat cakes and the cheesy Breton galettes described below.

Crostata is an Italian term, and galette is French; however, by definition, you can use these terms interchangeably. They're referring to the same, easy and distinctly elegant dessert. By whichever name, this free-form pastry is always a great choice when you find yourself with a bounty of peak season produce.

The simple answer is that a galette is a savoury crêpe. Galettes are made with buckwheat flour instead of usual flour varieties. This gives them a slightly stronger flavour than a normal crêpe or pancake and also means they're gluten free.

The galette itself is simple: puff pastry covering a disc of damp frangipane, hidden within which is a china bean or charm; the person who gets this charm becomes king for the day and is crowned with the gold-paper crown which comes automatically with the cake as sold in French pâtisseries.

How do you eat French galette? ›

Savory galettes are best served at room temperature or slightly warm. They can be enjoyed on their own as a light meal or paired with a side salad for a more substantial dish.

In France, the slightly more restrained Galette des Rois is enjoyed on January 6th in celebration of the Epiphany, said to mark the arrival of the Three Kings in Bethlehem. Families come together on or around this date to share their galette, into which is baked a small ceramic baby charm (the “fève”).

1. : a flat round cake of pastry often topped with fruit. 2. : a food prepared and served in the shape of a flat round cake. a galette of potatoes.

Whereas pies are baked in a sloped pie pan, often with a top crust or open with crimped edges, galettes are freeform, and baked right on a baking sheet. The edges of the galette are folded over the center filling, leaving a wide opening from which the filling can be seen.