Buckwheat Crêpes

If you’ve ever had crêpes in France-especially in Brittany-you’ll probably recognize the earthy, gray-brown color and husky flavor of these crêpes, which are called galettes de sarrasin, made from buckwheat flour. In France, you’ll most often see 12-in/30.5-cm crêpes made with a special flat griddle and wooden spreader, but for our purposes, we’re keeping the size to 8 in/20 cm. They’re much easier to make at home and easier to use in all of the recipes. But if you want to play around at home, you can use this batter to make a few platter-size crêpes by making them in a skillet with a 12-in/30.5-cm interior diameter.

Buckwheat isn’t a grain, per se, but rather a seed from a plant that’s related to rhubarb, of all things. It’s gluten-free, and that absence of gluten means the batter can be slightly tricky to work with. It makes crêpes that are slightly less tender than ones made from wheat flour. Here I blend the buckwheat flour with all-purpose flour. To make a pure buckwheat crêpe, use 1½ cups /190 g buckwheat flour, or make a gluten-free blended crêpe using ½ cup/75 g white rice flour instead of the all-purpose.

Makes fifteen to eighteen 8-in/20-cm crêpes (depending on how many you mess up at first!)

1½ to 2 cups/360 to 480 ml whole milk

4 large eggs

½ tsp kosher salt

1 cup/130 g buckwheat flour

½ cup/65 g all-purpose flour

4 tbsp/55 g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan

Put 1½ cups/360 ml of the milk, the eggs, and salt into a blender. Whiz for a few seconds to blend everything together. Remove the lid and add the buckwheat and all-purpose flours. Cover and blend until very smooth, about 20 seconds. Remove the lid, pour in the butter, cover, and whiz until combined, 10 seconds more.

Transfer the batter to a large glass measuring cup with a spout (or a bowl that’s large enough to easily dip a ¼-cup/60-ml measuring cup into). Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 24 hours. (If resting for more than 30 minutes, store in the fridge.) When you’re ready to make the crêpes, test the batter’s consistency: it should be as thick as heavy cream but not as thick as pancake batter. If it feels too thick, whisk in up to ½ cup/120 ml of the remaining milk.

Heat an 8-in/20-cm crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle upon contact. Using a folded paper towel, spread about ½ tsp butter around the interior of the pan. The butter should sizzle upon contact but not instantly turn brown. You don’t want the pan to be so hot that the butter burns.

Pour about ¼ cup/60 ml of the batter into the center of the pan, and at the same time lift the pan from the heat, tilting and turning it in all directions so the batter spreads evenly across the bottom of the pan in a thin circle. If the crêpe has any holes in it, quickly add a few drops of batter to fill them in. Or, if you have too much batter and the crêpe looks too thick, immediately pour the excess back into the measuring cup or bowl of batter. You can always trim off the “tail” that’s left behind later.

Cook the crêpe until the edges begin to dry and lift from the sides of the pan, and the bottom is nicely browned, about 1 minute. To check for color, use a table knife, slim offset spatula, or your fingers to lift up an edge of the crêpe and look underneath. When the first side is ready, use the knife, spatula, or your fingers to lift the crêpe and quickly flip it over. Smooth out any folded edges or pleats, and then cook until the center is firm and the second side is browned, too, about 20 seconds more. The first side is almost always much prettier and more evenly browned (in these recipes, we’ll call that the presentation side), while the second side tends to be more spotty.

Slide the crêpe from the pan onto a large plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat and wiping the pan with more butter as you cook. You can stack the crêpes on the plate as they’re done. If you’re going to store them in the freezer, lay pieces of waxed or parchment paper between them so they don’t stick together. To keep in the fridge, just stack them neatly; no need for the paper separators. (Keep the stacks small if you usually cook for a few people, or make the stack larger if you find yourself cooking for a crowd most nights.) The crêpes will soften as they cool.

To store, wrap the stack in plastic wrap, and then slide it into a large zip-top freezer bag. The crêpes will keep in the fridge like this for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.

To thaw, let the stack sit at room temperature until the crêpes are pliable, about an hour, then peel them apart and proceed with your recipe.