Crepes for Dummies

by Engl314group5 in Cooking > Breakfast

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Crepes for Dummies

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Introduction

Crepes are a delicious member of the pancake family. A crepe is pretty much an ultra thin pancake, measuring about a millimeter thick. Anything larger than this does not constitute as a proper crepe. Crepes originated in the northwest region of France, called Brittany, but are now created and consumed worldwide. Crepes can be wrapped around meat for a lunch or dinner type meal, can be eaten plain, or with fruit for a more breakfast type meal.

The purpose of this instructable is to inform and teach the reader of a new breakfast recipe that can be made with common household ingredients that they most likely already own.

Gather Ingredients

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Before you begin to make the crepes, it is in your best interest to make sure that you have all the ingredients and tools needed to cook with.

Ingredients for 1 serving:

1 Large egg

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of milk

a few spoonfuls of shortening

Tools:

a skillet

a stove or other heat source (preferably a stove)

a fork for mixing the ingredients (and eating the crepe with)

a measuring cup

a medium size mixing bowl

a spatula

The above recipes creates about 3 crepes, which is sufficient for a single serving. If a bigger result is desired, you can double the quantity of the flour, milk and vegetable oil in order to yield 6 crepes, which serves 2 people. Therefore, an ingredient list for 6 crepes is the following:

Ingredients for 2 servings:

1 Large egg

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 cup of flour

1 cup of milk

a few spoonfuls of shortening

Note: A result of 3-4 servings (9-12 crepes) requires an additional large egg.

For the purpose of this instructable, we will be creating 1 serving of 3 crepes.

Start With the Egg

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First we will want to add the egg to the mixing bowl.

We will start with the egg, tap it on the side of the mixing bowl or a similar hard surface so that it starts to crack. Now with both hands, pull open the egg at the crack so that the yolk and white fall out into the bowl, but try not to get any shell into the mixing bowl. If there is any shell in the bowl, remove it with hands or the fork. Now, take the fork and start mixing the egg around until the yolk is broken up and properly mixed in.

Caution: Salmonella poisoning is a potential health risk whenever working with raw eggs. Be sure to practice good sanitation practices by thoroughly washing your hands and any cooking utensils to minimize the risk of spreading the bacteria by touch.

Add the Flour

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In our next step we will add the flour.

Take a measuring cup and measure out a 1/2 cup of flour. This doesn't have to be exact, but try to get as close as you can. If there is any heaping over the top of the cup, you can scrap it back into the flour bag with your finger or a knife. Now add the flour to the mixing bowl. The mixing bowl should now contain a beaten egg and 1/2 cup of flour.

Add the Milk

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Now we will add the milk.

Using whichever variety of milk you want, (we used Skim milk for our presentation) measure 1/2 cup of milk in your measuring cup and pour it into the bowl containing your egg and flour. Be careful not to spill. Again, accuracy as not entirely important in cooking, being a millimeter above or below the line is good enough. You are now finished using the measuring cup.

Add the Oil

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For our final mixing step we will be adding vegetable oil.

Take a 1 tbsp and pour oil into it until it is about half full. You could also use a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, we just need some oil in the mixture. Once you have it, add it to the bowl.

Mix the Ingredients

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Now that we have all the ingredients in the bowl, we need to mix them together. Take the fork from before, or a whisk if you prefer, and toss and turn and mix all the ingredients together until they become a single tan color with a single consistency. If there are still chunks when you're done as shown in the picture, keep mixing until the chunks are gone, as seen in our last picture.

Heat the Pan

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Now that our ingredients are ready, we need to prepare the pan that will cook them. Turn on the stove to medium heat. Now get a spoonful of shortening and put it on the pan. When the pan heats up, it will melt the shortening and grease up the pan. Tilt and turn the pan so that the shortening is evenly distributed along its surface. Wait until all the shortening is melted before moving on to the next step.

Pour the Mix Onto the Pan and Begin Cooking

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Now that the pan is hot and greased, we can begin to cook the crepe. Pouring the right portion for a crepe is very important and can be tricky. Begin by slowly pouring the mix onto the pan, watch it carefully as it spreads to the edges of the pan and when it is just about 6-7 inches across, stop pouring the mix. The mix will spread out some after you have stopped pouring, so watch that. If the crepe is too thick, it will not cook correctly and may turn out to be more like a pancake, if the crepe is too wide, it will be difficult to flip with the spatula.

Cook the Crepe

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Now get the spatula ready and watch the crepe closely on the pan as it cooks. Initially you will notice that top is still a liquid batter as the bottom is getting solidified by the heat. Once the edges appear to be solidified, it is time to flip the crepe with your spatula so that the top part is now on the bottom. Repeat until the crepe is fully solid and the surfaces begin to develop some golden brown spots. Once this happens on both sides, the crepe is ready to be plated.

Repeat steps 7-9 until all the batter is used up.

Caution: Leaving a hot pan on the hot stove may cause damage to your pan. When finished cooking, move the empty pan to a burner that is not heated.

Add Toppings and Enjoy!

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Now that the crepe is finished, we can add the stuff that everyone loves, the toppings! Crepes can be used with a ton of different toppings, you can add fruit for a dessert, chicken and cheese for a full meal, or practically anything else. The crepes can be wrapped around the toppings, or the toppings can be simply placed on top of it. Since we are making this for breakfast, we added syrup and powdered sugar.

Pour some syrup on the crepe until it is to your liking, then sprinkle a small handful of powdered sugar on it. Now it is finished and ready to eat.