Crepes: photo and video recipe for making the neutral dough (and some delicious inspiration)

How to make crepes: sweet or savory, the one of French origin is a tasty recipe for all palates.

Ready for an amazing recipe? Today we are preparing homemade crepes, a tasty snack loved by everyone that can be easily prepared with a few small precautions. Did you know that crepe batter is neutral and suitable for both savory and sweet ingredients? Yes, that's right: the dough we recommend is therefore suitable for both savory and sweet crepes. Once ready you can fill them with the ingredients you like most.

In short, without further ado, let's go straight to the kitchen to make some wonderful crepes: the basic recipe, the procedure and all the ingredients for the crepes will no longer have any secrets for you (even with our video recipe ).

• Crepe dough
• Savory crepes
• Fill sweet crepes
• Crepes all variations
  • without milk
  • without butter
  • vegan
  • gluten free
  • in the bottle
  • with the Thermomix
• Origin and history

How to make crepes: basic recipe

1. Take a large bowl and beat the eggs with a pinch of salt with a whisk. Add the milk slowly and mix continuously until the ingredients are perfectly blended.

2. At this point the flour comes into play. For a perfect crepe dough, add it a little at a time, sifting it carefully, so as not to cause any lumps to form. Incorporate everything well. A tip: don't beat the mixture too much, otherwise you will incorporate too much air and during cooking bubbles will form which will cause the crepes to curl!
3. Once the batter is ready, leave it in the fridge to rest for half an hour, covered with a sheet of cling film.

4. Once the necessary time has passed, take it back and heat some butter in a pan.

5. For each crepe, cook a ladle of dough: pour it into the already hot pan, spread it evenly by rotating it and leave to cook for about 1 minute on each side .

6. Continue until the batter is finished: enjoy your meal!

How to prepare crepes: recipes for savory crepes

As you may have understood, rather than dough we are talking about the filling of savory crepes. In short, once you have your little pancakes, all you have to do is stuff them. But how? Here there is nothing else to do but unleash your imagination, even if you have to do it… methodically! The secret of a perfect crepe, in fact, is balance, and the advice we give you is to alternate ingredients of different consistencies but with complementary flavours .

• Using a soft, spreadable and creamy cheese is certainly an excellent start: philadelphia (which goes great with salmon and chives), or stracchino, perfect to combine with any cured meat or cold cuts (we love the classic ham and cheese crepes ) or fish as in salmon crepes .
• If you want to go classic then we recommend opting for mushroom crepes , perfect for special occasions.
• Finally, remember the seasonings (salt, oil and pepper above all) and to add some greenery: rocket, chives, parsley and other aromatic herbs will give an extra edge to your creations !

For a savory recipe, however, here are the ricotta and spinach crepes . Truly irresistible and original !

Sweet crepes recipe: ideas and suggestions

A simpler matter for sweet crepes, delicious and fun to prepare: hazelnut cream, seasonal fruit, jam, peanut butter and any topping you like, from caramel to vanilla. Here, your tastes and your level of gluttony reign supreme!

If you want to try sweet crepes, we recommend the most classic of all, namely Nutella crepes . Any advice? Fill the inside with a spreadable cream or jam and pieces of fruit (perhaps a sliced ​​banana or diced strawberries) and then once the crepe is closed, finish with icing sugar and a topping to decorate!

For something more elaborate, however, we recommend you try the crepes suzette : flambé, alcoholic and truly delicious !

Some tasty variations

And who suffers from intolerances ? Who's looking for some alternative preparation methods? Don't worry: we have all the variations you could want for you!

Crepes without milk

Preparing crepes without milk , in case you are allergic to dairy products, it is possible and all you need to do is replace the ingredient with a vegetable drink, in case you then want to fill them with sweet or fruit toppings. If, however, the idea is to enjoy a savory dish, then you can also replace the milk with water !

Crepes without butter

Even easier if we want light crepes without butter . In fact, these ingredients are only used to cook pancakes in a pan. If you want a lighter version, just use some oil, just enough to keep the crepes from sticking to the pan!

Vegan crepes

Vegan crepes ? It can be done! Even if it seems absurd to think of this dish without eggs, in reality with alternative ingredients you can create a delicious and perfect dough for those following a vegan diet.

The ingredients? 150 g of 00 flour , 230 ml of soy milk, 70 ml of water and 2 tablespoons of oil to cook the mixture in a pan: simplicity and practicality for an amazing result!

Gluten-free crepes

Here is a space dedicated to our celiac friends: gluten-free crepes . Why deprive yourself of this dessert if you are gluten intolerant ? In fact, the crepes only contain flour which is unsuitable for those suffering from celiac disease , and therefore it will be sufficient to replace it with a gluten-free flour.

Rice flour is certainly the most suitable, but you can really use any type: furthermore, based on your choices, not only will the consistency but also the color of the pancakes change. Try with teff or buckwheat flour, the doses are the same!

Bottled crepes recipe

In this case no change of ingredients or particular variations, but just a preparation method… definitely fun ! Take all the ingredients and, using a funnel, pour them into an empty one-litre plastic bottle.

Close with the cap and shake everything vigorously: in just a few minutes you will obtain a homogeneous mixture without having to dirty bowls and bowls !

Thermomix crepes recipe

For Thermomix crepes , what changes is the preparation. Place eggs, milk, salt and sifted flour in the Thermomix jug and mix at speed. 5 for 45 seconds. Once you have the batter, let it rest for half an hour and then proceed with the classic pan cooking, using butter or oil depending on your needs !

Origin and history

The term derives from the Latin crispus , meaning curled. But are they called crêpes or crespelle? From this doubt it is easy to understand its troubled history. In reality the two preparations are the same with two different nomenclatures, one in French and the other in Italian.

Although the French claim the origin of crêpes, these thin pancakes made from flour and eggs were first made in 5th century Rome . It was the then Pope Gelasius who commissioned them to cooks to feed the pilgrims who arrived in the Holy City from France.

What is certain is that it was our cousins ​​from beyond the Alps who made it a truly national dish. In the Middle Ages they were offered as gifts by sharecroppers to their masters and sometimes, instead of milk, water and wine were used. Then consider that Candlemas Day, corresponding to the arrival of the pilgrims in Rome, was renamed Le jour des crêpes , i.e. the day of the crêpes. They are a symbol of friendship and good omen and there is the custom, every time you turn one in the pan, to make a wish.

More or less similar recipes are found in many gastronomic cultures inside and outside Europe. Among the most famous we remember:

• Pancakes : the most famous pancakes of all, thick and served with maple syrup;
• Palacinka (Hungary): similar to the French crêpe, it can be sweet or savory and is filled with jam, ricotta, meat or other ingredients;
• Kaiserschmarrn (Austria): a kind of soft, thick crepe, cut into pieces and served with icing sugar and jam;
• Blinis (Russia): Small leavened crepes, often served with caviar or smoked salmon.
• Cryspe (England): prepared only with egg white;
• Galette (Brittany): made from thin buckwheat flour and often filled with eggs and lard.

In Italy, however, we have scrippelle (served in broth), miacce, necci made from chestnut flour and other regional meanings that are more or less similar to each other.

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Savory crepes in the air fryer