Crêpes and galettes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g wheat flour
• 4 eggs
• 50 g sugar
• 500 ml milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 250 g flour (blé noir buckwheat flour)
• 25 g wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 pinch of salt
• 250 ml water
• Butter for the pan

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

When preparing crêpes and galettes, it’s less about following the recipes correctly than about having the right equipment. First, you need a decent crêpe pan. A cast-iron crêpe pan (e.g., from Le Creuset) has proven to be a good choice. Pans with a Teflon coating are less suitable. While they won’t stick to the pan, they won’t allow the batter to stick well; more on that later. You’ll also need a “squeegee” to spread the batter in the pan. This can be a “T” made of round sticks, but it can also be something that looks like a roulette wheel. Third, you’ll need a “wooden sword” with a blade about 3 cm wide and about 30 cm long. (See recipe pictures.) Crêpes: For the crêpes, mix the wheat flour, sugar, milk, and a pinch of salt into a not-too-thick, smooth batter. Lightly brush the pan with butter (about 1/4 tsp) and preheat it on the stove (on a scale of 1-9, about level 6-7). Pour the batter into the center of the pan with a ladle. (For a 24 cm pan, you’ll need about 50 ml. No more, otherwise the crêpe will be too thick!) Immediately spread the batter evenly in the pan with a squeegee, using a twisting and pulling motion. This must be done quickly, and you rarely get a second attempt because the batter immediately thickens. I use the wooden spatula to loosen the edge of the crêpe, slide it underneath, and turn it over. Bake for another 1-2 minutes, and the first crêpe is ready. Spread as desired, fold it in half, and serve. If you add too much butter to the pan (or even with Teflon pans), the batter will slide around in the pan, making it difficult to spread evenly. Once buttered, you should be able to easily cook 4-5 crêpes in a pan before adding more butter. The simplest version is eaten with salted butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Alternatively, you can spread the crêpes with jam, Nutella, or similar spreads. Galette: Galettes are the savory version of crêpes. They consist of buckwheat flour, a little wheat flour, eggs, a pinch of salt, and water. They are prepared in the same way as crêpes. Galettes can be topped with ham, fried eggs, creamed mushrooms, etc. There are even people from a European island who fill galettes with sauerkraut and sausages! The classic drink to accompany crêpes and galettes is cider (apple wine).