Galettes

This is an ongoing debate with a co worker and myself: what is a galette? I've looked it up in the Food Lover's Companion and the Chef's Companion, and they both have my definition in it. According to this definition, it must have a crust to be a galette. My colleague says that's the PASTRY definition, and that there's another type of galette that's layered, without a crust. Also, by this definition, would a pizza or tarte tatin qualify as a galette??? If you have any ideas on this, especially those with a book source, please respond.

By W.DeBord on Thursday, May 25, 2000 - 08:26 am: Edit

What about a potatoe galette, it doesn't have a pastry bottom. I can't tell you a page number but I'm sure any professional chef cookbook must list a potato galette.

I've seen pizzas' listed/written as galettes, but never noticed a tarte tatin listed as a galette.

Again this goes back to many different discusions we had about the loose use of names. Any one can call anything what ever they want since no one polices these confusions.

By ramodeo on Thursday, May 25, 2000 - 05:34 pm: Edit

I always thought the most important, defining characteristic of a galette was being flat and round. Maybe it is one of those words that's mostly a descriptive, and it was applied to food item a long time ago. Now everyone's lost track of that original application, and it's been applied to lots of things with one or two similar characteristics to the original thing (i.e. other things that are flat or round or hace a crust or have a filling or are baked....)

Perhaps if someone can comment on the origin of the word or it's root in French?