Crêpes
Thin French Pancakes
A crêpe should be thin enough to see the pattern of a plate through and soft enough to fold in four. The batter is nothing more than flour, eggs, milk and a little melted butter, but it needs time to rest before it will spread properly.
The French chef's recipe read uses 250 g of flour, six eggs, 600 ml of milk and 60 g of melted butter for six people, with a little water and optional sugar and rum, and rests the batter for half an hour to an hour so that the flour absorbs the liquid and the bubbles subside.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 pinches of fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp caster sugar (optional, for sweet crêpes)
- 6 medium eggs
- 600 ml whole milk
- 60 g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan
- 4 tbsp water
- Sugar and lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Make the batter Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and make a well. Break in the eggs and whisk from the centre, drawing in the flour, adding the milk a little at a time until the batter is smooth and as thin as single cream. Whisk in the melted butter and the water.
- Rest Cover and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stir before using; if it has thickened, add a spoonful of water.
- Cook Heat the pan over a medium-high heat and wipe it with a little butter. Pour in a small ladle of batter, tilting the pan at once so that it covers the base in a thin film. Cook for about 1 minute, until the edges are lacy and the underside is golden, then turn and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Stack and serve Stack the crêpes on a warm plate as you go. Serve sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon, folded in four.
The first crêpe is nearly always a failure. It seasons the pan.
A thin batter makes thin crêpes. If they are thick, add more milk.