Julia Child's Key Ingredient For The Easiest Possible Crepes

The iconic Julia Child had plenty of culinary tips that made it possible to make chef-approved meals and dishes for even the humblest of home cooks. When it came to baked goods, Julia Child had a temperature trick to make soufflés rise properly, but the chef and cookbook author also had a tip to easily make crepes. Considering she's credited for bringing French cuisine to the United States, it makes sense that she would have a surefire way to make crepes easily, and the one special ingredient is simply instant flour.

Also known as Wondra Flour, instant flour works like magic because it's finer than all-purpose flour and therefore dissolves in liquids almost instantly (hence the name). Child used the flour in her crepe suzette recipe, which she shared in one of her cooking shows. In her demonstration, she uses a cup of instant flour, which she says is ideal because of its ability to blend with the other ingredients instantly. It's important is because it will quicken the process since it doesn't need to rest as long as batter made with all-purpose flour would. Plus, it will ensure the batter isn't lumpy, which is essential for the thin French-style pancakes. You also won't have to whisk or blend for as long as you would with other flours.

You can use instant flour in basically any crepe recipe, and we have some inspiration if you need help. Start with our easy crepe recipe that allows you to customize it with whatever sweet or savory toppings or fillings you want. For a sweet touch, try a pineapple dulce de leche version that makes four servings in under an hour. A savory version of the dish that will still benefit from instant flour is this chicken and mushroom crepe that's finished with a garnish of fresh chives.

Whatever crepe recipe you choose, be mindful that a little instant flour goes a long way since it's fine, so you might be able to reduce the amount of flour by 25%. You can always add more if you don't achieve the right consistency at first. You can whisk it together in a glass bowl like Julia Child does, or combine the flour and other ingredients in a blender to make it even easier. When you need to cook ahead of time, here's how Julia Child kept premade crepes moist with wax paper.