Also Galette de sarrasin, Galette de blé noir, Crêpe de blé noir, Buckwheat galette
A thin, lacy buckwheat pancake folded square around ham, grated cheese and an egg left runny in the middle.
What makes it galette complète
Buckwheat flour, water and salt — no sugar, often no egg in the batter.
Cooked thin and crisp-edged on a very hot billig.
Ham, cheese and an egg, with the sides folded in to leave the yolk showing.
Where it comes from
Buckwheat — blé noir, black wheat — was the grain of poor Breton soil, and pancakes of it were everyday food. In Upper Brittany, round Rennes and Saint-Malo, they're called galettes; in the west they're often crêpes de blé noir, and people argue over which is right.
The complète, with ham, cheese and egg, is the standard of every crêperie now, though it's a fairly modern filling. Older galettes were eaten plain with butter, or wrapped round a sausage at the market.
How it varies
Galette-saucisse
Rennes' street food: a grilled pork sausage rolled in a cold galette.
Andouille
Filled with slices of Guémené andouille, sometimes with mustard.