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1
Dissolve the fresh yeast in a small quantity of the measured eggs, then combine with the flour, remaining eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Work the mixture to a rough dough. Add the softened butter in stages, kneading until the dough is smooth, cohesive, and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
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2
Cover the dough and leave it to rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. The dough is ready when it has at least doubled in volume and feels light and airy when pressed gently with a fingertip. Alternatively, after this first rise, retard the dough overnight at 4 °C; cold fermentation develops flavour and renders the dough markedly easier to stretch.
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3
Place a baking stone or heavy baking sheet in the oven and heat to 230–240 °C. Lightly flour a second baking sheet. Tip the risen dough onto it and, using the palms and fingertips, press and stretch it by hand into an irregular circle approximately 5 mm thick. Do not use a rolling pin: the pin compresses the air structure and the lightness of the interior is lost. This step is where the dish lives or dies — a dough stretched by hand retains an open crumb; one flattened by a pin does not recover it.
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4
Press fingertips firmly across the entire surface to create dimples, as one would with focaccia. Stir the 80 g caster sugar into the crème fraîche and spread the mixture generously over the dough, allowing it to pool in the dimples. Scatter the small pieces of butter across the surface. If using lemon zest, grate it directly onto the cream at this stage.
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5
Slide the baking sheet onto the preheated stone or lower shelf. Bake at 230–240 °C for 12 to 15 minutes. The galette is done when the cream-and-sugar topping has melted to a golden, toffee-like glaze with slight bubbling at the edges, the underside is crisp and deeply coloured, and the surface shows patches of caramelization rather than raw cream.
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6
Remove from the oven and serve warm, cut into irregular wedges, within 30 minutes of baking. The texture at its best is a paradox: a shattering caramelized top, a soft brioche interior, and a thin, almost cracker-like base.