French manufacturer of professional kitchen equipment since 1947
French manufacturer of professional kitchen equipment since 1947
When the Basques first came into contact with maize from America, it was quickly turned into taloas. Its primary role was to serve as bread on Basque farms. The rest was dipped in milk and eaten for dinner.
After being somewhat forgotten over the course of the 20th century due to the success of wheat bread, the taloa gradually made its way back into eating habits.
To make taloas, only a few ingredients are needed: 400g of maize flour, 200g of wheat flour, around 300ml of lukewarm water (depending on the flour) and a pinch of salt. You are bound to have them to hand!
Start by mixing the flours and the salt in a mixing bowl. After making a well, gradually add the water and mix by hand to obtain a smooth dough. Now shape it into a ball and leave to rest for a few minutes.
Preheat one of our Roller Grill planchas or crêpe machines and, in the meantime, prepare your filling.
Divide the dough into several equal portions and roll them out with a rolling pin to obtain a galette around 5 mm thick.
Taloas are cooked on a plancha.
Remember to oil the cooking plate before placing your crêpes on it.
Leave to cook for 3 or 4 minutes, turn the crêpe over and add the filling. Once the cheese has fully melted, fold the taloa in half and enjoy!
Taloas can be eaten on their own or with a filling such as: lomo, xistora (a red sausage with Espelette pepper), ventrèche (xingar), ewe’s milk cheese and even chocolate for those with a sweet tooth!
Taloas are generally served with a good beer or some wine.
Taloas are quite different from French crêpes in terms of their composition, but also their accompaniments.
Taloas are made with maize flour, whereas French crêpes contain wheat flour. What is more, taloas are eaten with savoury fillings, while French crêpes are enjoyed with sweet ones.
Taloas can be cooked on a well-oiled plancha or crêpe machine.
You can find taloas in various restaurants or make them yourself using the recipe given a little earlier in this article.
You can buy the ingredients to cook delicious taloas in supermarkets, or find them ready-made in shops or on specialist websites.
For duck taloas, here is what you need: 1 duck breast or fillet, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, a little chopped chives, Espelette pepper, salt, 1 fresh or tinned pepper, 400g of ewe’s milk tomme cheese, and olive oil.
You can cook your taloas on a professional plancha or a crêpe machine that has been well greased beforehand.
It is entirely possible to make gluten-free taloas by replacing the wheat flour with maize flour.
Taloas without maize flour are a bit like an ocean without water. So, as you will have gathered, they simply do not exist!
