The Trick To Foolproof Crepes Every Time

Often described as thin pancakes, crepes are known for their simplicity. Depending on what type of filling you put in them, they can be either sweet or savory, enjoyed for dessert or for breakfast — or really any time you might feel like having one. Generally speaking, there aren't many steps to making crepes. Preparing the batter and cooking the treat is the hardest part of the recipe (and remember that the first and often misshapen crepe that comes out of the pan doesn't count). Otherwise, developing the recipe further is usually just a matter of grabbing a jar of Nutella, caramelizing some pineapple, or cutting up a batch of strawberries for a tasty filling.

As No Recipes shared, crepes are easy to master because they aren't at all technically challenging. But if you want to take your crepe game to the next level, there is one trick you should always follow: refrigerate the batter at least one hour before you start cooking. 

It's all got to do with gluten. This protein found in many cereal grains links up and strengthens when flour and water are combined. Agitating this mixture and developing strong gluten bonds is ideal for relatively dense baked goods like bread and pizza dough, but it's not at all right for more delicate crepes. Therefore to make your crepes as light and fluffy as possible, it's important to let your batter rest. This key step relaxes the gluten and produces a better, more tender final product.

But there is another reason you should refridgerate your crepe batter.

Even if you carefully follow a crepe recipe step by step, you may still end up with a unsightly lumpy batter. As York Dispatch explains, these lumps are a result of the batter being undermixed. When the ingredients for crepes aren't fully incorporated, that typically means that not enough gluten has formed. And while too much gluten development can mean tough crepes, too little can make for a pretty sad, lumpy batter. So, how are you supposed to get just the right amount of gluten development for delicious, perfectly textured crepes?

To troubleshoot this, York Dispatch recommends using a blender, then letting the batter rest in the refrigerator, ideally overnight. This allows the batter to rest and reabsorb some of the liquid, while also allowing the gluten formed during mixing to relax. Not only does this trick reduce lumps, but it also eliminates air bubbles. A crepe without either of these, that has rested long enough for the gluten to relax, will have a more favorable consistency once cooked light and airy yet unlikely to tear. If you're loading up on fillings, that's exactly what you need.

When is comes to making good crepes, a little bit of patience goes a long way.