Damsel in dis Dress > wrote in
:

> I'm to scared to even *try* to make crepes. Someday
> I might screw up the courage, but for now, I just admire people
> who can pull it off.

Let's say today is the first day of the rest of your crêpe making :-) I
too was a pusillanimous neophyte in the world of cooked flatbreads,
until I found the perfect starting point and improved on it. I start
with Jehane Benoît's no fail recipe for 6 crêpes:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 large or 3 small eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp brandy or vanilla
1 tbsp melted butter (I use safflower oil)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well and break eggs into it.
Stir until well blended. Add milk gradually, beating with wire whisk
of hand beater until batter is smooth (in fact, don't worry too much
about small clumps). Add the brandy or vanilla and melted butter.

At this point she recommends letting it stand for an hour at room
temperature. My experience is that this is optional. Whether you do
or don't (or put it in the fridge overnight) doesn't make that much
difference that you should go out of your way to be that elaborate.

To cook crêpes, heat frying pan at medium heat. I usually spritz some
safflower oil on the pan before the first crêpe. Reduce heat to low
medium. Pour into the pan just enough batter to eventually cover the
bottom (one ladle full for me). Tilt the pan back and forth to spread
the batter towards the edges. When the top of the crêpes is almost
completely dry looking, flip over with a spatula and let it cook
quickly on the other side. I then roll it with two quick folds and
place it in a dish previously placed in the oven at 150F. You should
not really need to add fat to the cooking for the rest of the crêpes.

Two things. One, if you're serious about this, buy a crêpière. It's a
low edge frying pan. Too high an edge on your pan and you'll be ripping
the crêpe trying to turn it over. My crêpière is heavy carbon steel
and cost about 20$CDN and it's a magnificent tool although limited in
use. It's French manufacture and the cooking surface is 20 cm across
(almost 8 inches).

Here are some very much like mine:

http://culinary-direct.com/catalog/item/item3033.cfm

http://fantes.com/crepe.htm

Two, get a proper spatula. The one I have is thin steel which was part
of my mother's kitchen equipment. Some people use wooden ones.

http://fantes.com/crepe.htm#spatula

The reason is that crêpes are fragile (as compared to pancakes) so they
need a tool that will be flexible enough not to damage them while
reaching underneath and that will be wide and stiff enough to lift them
without tearing. With good equipment, this should not happen. With
bad equipment, nothing works right.

Also, I use safflower oil instead of butter because it is light, it is
better than butter and tastes of nothing at all.

If you find the batter is too thick, add *small* amounts of milk (no
more than 1/4 cup at a time) until you get the desired consistency.
Thickening may happen if you leave it overnight in the fridge.

One final word, I didn't get it all right the first time...or the
second... It takes some practice.

--

[...] remember when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down 'ere on Earth!

Monty Python's Universe Song