Breakfast food is normally a Celiac’s nightmare. There are eggs, oatmeal, and some yogurts, but most of the American classics are off the easy list. Gluten-free breakfast diners are hard to find, the pre-made stuff from the store tends to taste like cardboard, and most take a while to whip up yourself. That’s why I decided to take a look away from the American breakfast and learn something from the French. Crepes are quick to make, easy to store and even easier to make gluten free, so let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
For one bowl –
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. butter (NOT margarine)
For another bowl –
½ Cup of milk (separate into two ¼ cups) (if you’re lactose intolerant I would use water before soymilk)
¼ Cup of Gluten-free flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Dash of salt
Toppings –
Jams
Powder Sugar
Honey
Chocolate
Fresh fruit
Savory items like mushrooms, cheese, spinach, etc.
Pretty much anything you want
Let’s start:
Take your butter and melt it in the microwave. Now, that it’s melted, it’s the right consistency, but way too hot for us to add it to our next ingredient: the eggs. So stick it in the freezer for a quick minute to cool down.
Next, whisk your eggs, until nice and smooth. Then take your cool or warm butter from the freezer (if still hot, give it another minute) and slowly drizzle it into the eggs. This part is possible with two, but really needs three hands, so if you have a cutie with you, have them help you out.
Once that’s done, put your egg mixture off to the side and in another bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of your milk and flour. NOTICE: that’s only half of the milk that’s in the ingredients! If you’re not gluten-free, the recipe is still the same with regular flour. This should form a bit of a paste. Then add your sugar, vanilla, and salt. At this point, do a quick taste test to see if you want to add more sugar or not. Don’t go too crazy though or else the crepes end up kind of brittle.
Next, whisk in the egg mixture you set on the side. At this point you need to pay attention to the consistency of the batter and slowly add the other ¼ cup of milk. You want the final consistency to be thin, but not watery. Think the consistency of a thick soup like pumpkin soup or clam chowder. You may not need the whole ¼ cup, or you may need more. If yours accidentally gets too thin, just add more flour until it’s the right thickness.
On medium heat, melt enough butter to thinly coat the bottom of your pan. Once that’s good to go, whisk your batter and ladle enough into the pan to barely coat the bottom. You want to make sure you whisk the batter every time before you ladle it out because the gluten-free flour tends to separate out to the bottom.
Wait until the top gets waxy or you see the crepe start to bubble and then flip it.
The crepes are thin so this part can be tricky. If you’ve mastered the impressive chef flip, go for it. If not, some easier ways to flip it are to roll it over with a spatula or stick the spatula underneath the crepe and use it to flip it.
Once you see it get waxy, add your toppings and then fold it up in the pan and slide it on your plate. If you’re going for something simpler like powdered sugar or honey, wait until the crepe starts to bubble and then flip it onto your plate. Once it’s cooled a bit, roll it up and sprinkle your topping on.
Just a warning: I’m not sure why, but the first crepe always turns out terrible. It’s not you, it’s the pan. The positive? The ugly crepe still tastes great! If you keep struggling with flipping the crepes, try lowering the temperature, putting more butter in the pan, or making the crepes thicker so they’re harder to tear.
If you want to save any for leftovers, just slide them onto a cookie cooling rack. Once they’re cool, lay them flat on a plate with a piece of wax or parchment paper between each one. If you’re going for the toppings on top instead of inside, you can just roll them all up as you finish instead of putting them on the cooling racks. These are surprisingly simple to make ahead for breakfast for the week or to eat on the go.
This recipe makes about ten crepes; that depends though on how big and thick they are. Did anyone else have a “that’s what she said moment”? No? Just me? That’s alright, enjoy your breakfast while I crack myself up.