There is no need for excuses to prepare crêpes at any time of the year, although we like to take advantage of specific festivals, as the French do in La Candelaria, or honoring Galicians and Asturians with pancakes and frixuelos in Carnival. Whatever your favorite version, we don’t want a drop to go to waste of dough nor a single cooked crêpe, if we have any left over.
Preparing the basic dough for traditional crêpes, or variants such as the Breton galette or more nutritious versions such as oatmeal crêpes, is very simple and fast. Although it is always worth taking the opportunity to prepare a good quantity and have leftovers on purpose for another day, or we can even leave it ready in advance. Then there is nothing left but to heat the pan or iron and cook them in a moment.
Also remember that, if you are going to prepare a large quantity, you can keep them warm until serving time by placing them one on top of the other as you cook them, covering them with a large plate or with plastic wrap, or keeping them inside a hot oven with residual heat.
How to preserve raw dough
we already know that let rest Between 30 minutes and an hour the crêpe dough helps to achieve perfect results, but we can even go further ahead and leave it ready a few hours before or the day before. Or double quantities and have an extra portion for another day -you have to take advantage-.
At room temperature. This first option only leaves us a short margin of manoeuvre, unless it catches us in the middle of a cold wave and we can have it at a maximum of 5 ºC. It should always be covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, away from sources of heat and direct light, and it should never remain unrefrigerated for more than an hour. In summer, and in warmer climates, we should not leave it for more than 20-30 minutes when temperatures are very high.
In the fridge. Also tightly covered, freshly whipped raw dough can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. Avoid the door so that it does not suffer constant temperature changes and take it out about 30 minutes before cooking the crêpes, to temper the dough a bit. Also remember to stir it a little with some rods to homogenize it.
In the freezer. If you do not plan to cook more crêpes in the following days, it is best to freeze the dough directly as soon as you have it ready or you have finished and you have enough left over for a few more servings. Pour into a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid or zip-lock freezer bags with as much air as possible. If you have made a lot of it, it is better to separate it into different portions, so that you do not have leftovers again later. Write down the content and the date, and remember to use it in a maximum of three months. To defrost it, it is better to take it out to the fridge the day before.
How to preserve cooked crêpes or pancakes
Although some people like leftover crêpes to dry out a bit, leaving the edges crispy -we know of several cases-, the ideal is to maintain that texture tender, flexible and juicy. Nothing to waste them; they can be stored relatively well for several days.
In the fridge. To take them hours later, the next morning or within a maximum period of three days, the easiest thing to do is to wrap the plate or dish where we have the leftover cold crêpes with plastic wrap, turning it several times and pressing as much as possible so that no more enters. air. You can reheat them in the microwave on medium-low power, in a residual heat oven, or by grilling with a little melted butter.
In the freezer. Freezing crêpes gives good results if done right. Wait until they have cooled completely and carefully wrap each unit in plastic wrap or separate them with sheets of non-stick baking paper. Then store all of them overlapping in a zip-lock freezer bag, or in a suitable container, preferably without folding them. Take them out of the freezer the day before you want to eat them, only the units you need, leaving them in the least cold part of the fridge.
If you have a vacuum packaging machine, both short and long term, with special bagsTake advantage of it to preserve both the dough and the crêpes in better conditions and for longer.
FoodSaver VS1192X – Cordless and Portable Food Vacuum Sealer with Charging Dock, 1 Fresh Container and 5 Zipper Fresh Bags
Photos | Freepik – KamranAydinov – KitzD66 – Hans
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