Recipe

Sourdough Crêpes Make an Easy and Delicious Entrée or Dessert

You will make these quick treats often.

Traditional French crêpes like these can be made using sourdough discard. Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

As a teenager, I discovered the delight of crêpes quite accidentally. Occasionally, I would thumb through Mom’s gigantic yellow-covered cookbook that was her recipe Bible. Sometimes I’d choose a spot and open the book at random. One day it opened to “Traditional French Crêpes.”

Skimming through the recipe, I realized it was pretty simple. But I didn’t have anything that resembled a crêpe pan. Grandma came up behind me and, reading over my shoulder, read my mind. “You don’t need one,” she said, pointing to the picture.

That was all the encouragement I needed. After that, I made them every chance I got. Our family’s supply of various jellies and quickly whisked whipped-cream became my go-to fillings. I even bought a small mesh strainer to use for dusting with powdered sugar.

During my college years, Dad was posted to Heidelburg, Germany, and we visited Paris during one summer break. I finally ate authentic French crêpes. They had a delightful lemony filling. If you follow my writing here, you know I love lemon-anything.

During this pandemic, I created a sourdough starter, because I couldn’t find bread or yeast on my store’s shelves. Since then I have looked for ways to use the discard that results from each feeding. Recently, I remembered those sweet treats and decided to figure out how to make them with the discard.

If you haven’t created your own sourdough starter, try my easy method.

Sourdough Crêpes Recipe

I usually make sweet crêpes but savory ones are great for a quick main entrée. This recipe can make either version. It makes 8 to 10 crêpes.

Ingredients

½ c. (120 g.) sourdough discard
½ tsp. (3 g.) kosher salt
2 eggs
1 ½ c. (375 g.) milk
3 tbsp. (42 g.) butter, melted
¾ c. (106 g.) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp (28 g.) vegetable oil or butter (for cooking)