Buckwheat Galettes with Mushroom & Spinach — A Breton Dinner That’s Accidentally Gluten-Free

The Bretons have been making savoury buckwheat crepes — they call them galettes — for the better part of a thousand years, and the entire thing is accidentally gluten-free. Buckwheat is a seed, not a wheat (despite the name), so the dish doesn’t sit in the “alternative” gluten-free category. It sits squarely in the “this is the actual original” category. Which is the framing I want anyone cooking gluten-free at home to start with.

A proper Breton galette is lacy, dark, slightly bitter, and folded into a square with the filling visible in the middle. The fillings are simple — egg, cheese, ham being the classic; in our place it’s mushrooms, spinach and a fried egg. Vegan version: lose the egg and the cheese, double the mushrooms. Either way, this is one of the most satisfying gluten-free dinners I know, and the batter takes five minutes to make.

The flour — which buckwheat, and why it matters

Buckwheat flour comes light and dark. The light stuff is buckwheat with the hull removed before milling — milder flavour, paler colour, weaker structure. The dark stuff has the hull in — earthier, almost grassy, holds together better in a hot pan.

For galettes you want the dark kind. McKenzie’s at Coles is mid-range; the proper dark buckwheat flour from Honest to Goodness or Pukara at Harris Farm is better. About $5 for 500 g, which is enough for forty galettes.

The other ingredient that matters: the batter has to rest. Overnight, ideally. The buckwheat takes time to hydrate, and the resting hour is what turns gritty batter into smooth, pourable crepe-mix. This is the same point I made about the basic rice flour crepes — non-wheat flours all need time to hydrate. Don’t skip the rest.

The batter (makes 6 galettes)

• 200 g dark buckwheat flour
• 1 egg (or 2 tablespoons of psyllium-husk gel — 1 tsp husk in 3 tbsp water — for the vegan version)
• 400 ml water
• 100 ml milk (or oat milk, or plant milk of choice)
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil, plus more for the pan

Whisk everything together until smooth. The batter will look thinner than you’d expect — that’s correct. Rest covered in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The next day it’ll have thickened slightly and the flour will have fully hydrated.

The mushroom + spinach filling

• 300 g mixed mushrooms (Swiss browns + a few shiitake from Harris Farm)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• Sprig of thyme
• 250 g baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Splash of dry white wine
• Salt and pepper

Slice the mushrooms thick. Heat the oil in a wide pan over high heat — really high. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and don’t touch them for 3 minutes. Toss, cook 2 more minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, cook 60 seconds. Deglaze with the wine. Add the spinach by handfuls and let it wilt. Season. Set aside.

Cooking the galettes

1. Heat a 25 cm non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. The pan has to be hot — not “medium hot”, actually hot. Wipe the surface with a piece of kitchen paper dipped in oil.
2. Pour in ⅓ of a cup of batter. Swirl immediately to spread it thin. The galette should bubble straight away.
3. Cook 2 minutes. The edges should lift away from the pan when it’s ready. Don’t try to flip too early — buckwheat galettes are fragile until the bottom is properly set.
4. Flip with a wide spatula. While the second side cooks (about 90 seconds), spoon a generous tablespoon of mushroom mixture into the middle. If you eat eggs, crack one onto the galette beside the mushrooms. Sprinkle with grated cheese if you eat it.
5. Once the egg white is set (about 2 minutes), fold the four sides of the galette in to form a square with the egg visible in the middle. Slide onto a plate. Serve immediately.

The drink

The Bretons drink dry cider with galettes. The Aussie equivalent is something like the Hills Cider Co. dry — it’s bone-dry, slightly acidic, and cuts through the rich, earthy flavour of buckwheat in a way that nothing else does. It also has the bonus of being gluten-free. (Beer, for the avoidance of doubt, is not.)

What goes wrong

• Galette tears when flipped: batter wasn’t rested long enough, or the pan wasn’t hot enough.
• Galette is gritty: batter wasn’t rested long enough. Always overnight.
• First galette is a write-off: always is. Cook’s snack.
• Filling makes the galette soggy: the mushrooms were too wet. Cook them on high heat until the pan is dry before adding spinach.

One more thing

Coeliac Australia’s guidance on cross-contamination is non-trivial. Buckwheat flour itself is gluten-free, but mills that also process wheat can contaminate it. Check the label — McKenzie’s marks their dedicated gluten-free range clearly. The other small thing: dust your work surface with rice flour rather than wheat flour if you’re going to roll any of the pancakes thin.

If you’re cooking through the gluten-free playbook, this is the dinner that proves you don’t have to settle. It’s not a “gluten-free version” of anything. It’s a complete dish from a tradition that never needed wheat in the first place. Make it once, get the batter resting overnight in your fridge as a habit, and Wednesday-night dinner is sorted for as long as you want it to be.

— Jess