Eggy Gluten-free Crepes

May 20, 2024

These crepes are savory and delicious despite being gluten and dairy free. While you could substitute wheat flour and dairy milk, I really like how the mildness of the rice flour doesn’t interfere with the taste of the the egg.

Tools

• 8" non-stick frying pan (NO LARGER! This pairs with the measuring cup)
• 1/4 cup (~75 ml) measuring cup (for pouring batter into pan)
• silicone spatula (for flipping)
• stove-top
• mixing bowl
• whisk (or fork)

Ingredients: Crepe batter

This recipe is almost a 2:1 ratio of wet to dry ingredients. Makes 6-7 crepes.

Wet

• 2 large eggs (~75 ml), shells removed
• 3/4 cups (~200 ml) oat milk (best with fatty/creamy milk)
• 2 tablespoon (~35 ml) flavorful oil (peanut, olive, cocoanut)
• 1 tablespoon (~18 ml or glug) vanilla (real or fake)

~330 ml total

Dry

• 1 tablespoon (18 ml) sugar
  • alternatively, this recipe recommends 3 tablespoons if making desert crepes
• 1 teaspoon (6 ml) salt
• 2/3 cups (150 ml) rice flour
  • glutenous rice flour should work too

~175 ml total

While cooking

• margarine (for checking pan temperature and adding a hint of “buttery” flavour)

Instructions: Crepe batter

The batter can be prepared in advanced, but should be used within 1-2 days.

1. Combine wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla), whisking until combined
2. Add salt and sugar, whisking until dissolved
3. Add flour, whisk until there are no lumps
   • This step might be easier if you only add half the flour, whisking until combined, then the other half
   • If you’re not in a hurry, you can let the batter rest in the fridge. Give it a good mixing after taking it out. This will further eliminate any lumps
   • IMPORTANT: Always mix the batter before use!

Instructions: Pan frying the crepes

1. Preheat pan at medium heat (or reduce to medium once heated), using a knob of margarine to check. Once melted, the pan is ready.
   • Like with cooking eggs, Crepes can cook and set using residual heat of the pan, so don’t leave them unattended!
2. Fill the measuring cup with crepe batter.
   • It’s okay if the cup isn’t full, but we are going to need about 1/4th a cup of batter to cover the pan
   • In a pinch, you can use 4 tablespoons instead of 1/4th cup, but the batter will begin setting quickly so you may not get ideal pan coverage
3. Grip the pan with one hand, and the measuring cup with the other
4. Pour the batter from the measuring cup into the center of the pan, lifting and angling the pan to help distribute the batter all across the pan surface. Once covered, lay the plan back on the stove-top burner.
   • The residual heat of the pan will begin setting the crepe, so tilt the pan as quickly as you are comfortable to cover the surface with batter
5. Watch the edges of the crepe for hints of browning. This should take no more than a minute (often less).
6. Using the silicone spatula, gently touch the crepe edges to release it from the pan. Slide the spatula under the crepe, and flip, laying the flipped crepe flat in the pan.
   • It’s okay if you don’t perfectly flip. Use the spatula (or your fingers if you’re confident you wont burn yourself) to unwrap any folds from your flip. The crepe will be sturdier now, so it should be able to take some tugging.
7. Let sit for 30-60 seconds, then remove crepe from the pan.
8. Repeat from step 2 until batter is used up.
   • While cooking the pan may get warmer. You can always add another knob of margarine to gauge how warm the pan is. The quicker it melts and starts bubbling, the quicker the batter will set.

Ways to enjoy Crepes

I wanted these to be good even without toppings. My reference recipes called for less salt, and after tasting I changed that.

That said, to most people Crepes are about the toppings and fillings.

Sweet Crepes

• A spoon-full of vanilla greek yogurt, blueberries, sprinkled with icing sugar
• Sliced almonds and melted chocolate
• Sprinkled with a mixture of icing sugar and cinnamon

Savory Crepes

The best crepe I’ve ever had was a savory crepe from a French deserts place in the market downtown. It’s a large super-thin crepe prepared fresh, filled with chicken, bacon, and mushrooms, then topped with a creamy bechamel sauce.

To recreate that, I’d like to try making a bechamel with margarine (or cocoanut oil), glutenous rice flour, and either oat or almond milk. I often add nutmeg to my bechamel, so I suspect “going nutty” should yield a nice dairy-free alternative.

Notes to self

• I love vanilla, but so far I’ve only eaten these as sweet crepes. I’m not sure how the vanilla affects the savory flavor.
• See if glutenous rice flour does anything interesting. Internet people say that glutenous rice flour tends to be sticker, with a similar effect to gluten without being gluten.
• I avoided it, but many recipes call for added water. I was concerned about watering down the flavours, but admittedly my crepes ended up rather thick (2 mm). I’m not sure if that was because my heat was too high (thus they set fast), or if the batter wasn’t thin enough.
  • Tangentially I’m slightly concerned about my salt to other ingredient ratio. Adding a tiny bit of water would ensure my recommendation of 1 teaspoon (instead of 1/2) isn’t too salty.
  • Oat milk can be a little pricy, so its worth testing how more (250ml) or less (150ml) plus water affects the flavour.
  • Merely adding 2-3 tablespoons (35ml-55ml) of water brings the ratio of wet to dry ingredients to 2:1
    • 2 tablespoons if vanilla is used, 3 if it is not