ISO help/advice making crepe-like pancakes

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Temecula1

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Temecula, CA
I have a recipe from friends in Sweden for thin pancakes (like crepes) cooked on a flat iron skillet. I can't get them to cook evenly and flip them. They always tear and come apart usually undercooked. I've watched my friend cook them but I'm struggling. Any suggestions on the attached recipe? Please.

Swedish Pancakes​(On Iron Griddle)​​​​8/15/2016 Rev.

6 dl (2.5cups) milk (no cream)
2.5 dl (1 cup) flour
3 eggs
.5 tsp salt
1 Tblsp sugar
Butter

Mix all with half the milk and let sit for 15 minutes. Then add remaining milk and let stand for 5 minutes.
Coat the griddle with butter and repeat the butter between each pancake.
Pour thin layer on griddle and use spatula to lift edges up to keep edges from burning. Flip once.
Re-butter and repeat.
 
Get your self a ml measurement, I know mine fail when I try to use cups. yes I have tested the pancakes for my american friends and it need to be done in ml.

And no sugar, the batter holds better with out sugar. You only need to set it for 10 minutes and remember to whisk every time you take new batter.

Dont use over 100 ml batter, mine pancake skillet handles 50 ml batter, per pancake. Also let the surface become dull before flipping. Remember first pancake is called the chef privilege, it most often fails but you can eat it.

Oh and you cant fail with Swedish pancake, it only food you cant, why well the saying for failure is It became pancake.
 
Thank you. We were just in Orebro and watched them cook these. We even bought a new iron skillet there just so we could duplicate the recipe. I'll keep trying.
 
Thank you. We were just in Orebro and watched them cook these. We even bought a new iron skillet there just so we could duplicate the recipe. I'll keep trying.

Maybe the new skillet needs seasoning?

I don't like thick cake like pancakes but my wife does. She cooks them. She just adds a bit more milk to the batter at the end when she makes mine. They are almost crepe thin.
Since I always loved "pigs in a blanket" I have always preferred thinner pancakes.

You are oiling the skillet before adding batter? You are letting one side fully cook before turning?
If you are already doing those things, forget the new pan and try a non-stick skillet to see.
 
I have a recipe from friends in Sweden for thin pancakes (like crepes) cooked on a flat iron skillet. I can't get them to cook evenly and flip them. They always tear and come apart usually undercooked. I've watched my friend cook them but I'm struggling. Any suggestions on the attached recipe? Please.

...


I'd say have a little patience. Let it cook a little bit longer on the first side and then try to turn.


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking
 
Oh I just realised there should be 1 tablespoon of melted butter in the batter.
 
Mix your batter in the blender. It probably is tearing because the flour is not uniformly dispersed into the egg/milk.
I do mine in a 6"ns skillet. Your recipe looks a little egg heavy compared to mine but it should still cook alright. Make sure the eggs are room temp.
 
This is my crèpe recipe, I've been using it for years, it's from Leone Bosi's Italian Desserts and Pastries, a book that I've had for decades, and it never fails. Bosi was the pastry chef at the Savoy Hotel in London in his day, and his recipes are superb:

4 1/2 oz plain flour
1 3/4 oz sugar
pinch salt
2 eggs - I use 1 medium and 1 large egg
1 1/2 oz butter melted 1/2 pint of fresh milk
1 small glass cognac
1 tsp orange flower water if you're doing crèpes suzette:

I have a cast iron pancake pan for this job, i've had it for years, and it's beautifully seasoned for doing this job, as the heat spreads evenly over the bottom of the pan.
I mix all the ingredients in the food processor, and the resultant batter comes out like fairly thick cream. I should coat the back of a spoon. Let the batter stand for an hour or so before using.

I have my pan ready, I warm it up in advance. It mustn't be too hot - a medium hot heat is fine - otherwise the pancakes don't turn out well. I put a nut of butter into the pan, and it should sizzle lightly. Tilt the pan to spread the butter evenly over the surface, then pour some of the mixture evenly over the pan and swirl it around to distribute the batter over the surface, enough to make a thin film over the surface, and wait until the batter turns opaque. You can then turn the pancake over and do the other side. This will take slightly less time than the first side.

The above recipe should do about 12 crèpes, about 8 inches in diameter.

The book was published in 1972, and I've been using this recipe ever since then and it's never let me down. But you do need a pancake pan.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
Maybe the new skillet needs seasoning?

...

You are oiling the skillet before adding batter? You are letting one side fully cook before turning?
If you are already doing those things, forget the new pan and try a non-stick skillet to see.
I agree completely with this advice. In addition, I would also suggest preheating the pan before adding your oil.
 
Buy it does take several tries to get the heat right and when to flip them, too much batter makes them break, too little make them impossible to turn , it just have to be right amount.
 
The secret of pancakes is in the elasticity of the mix. You need a recipe that provides that, and that's why, in my recipe (or Leone Bosi's recipe) the amount of beaten egg counts. It gives strength and structure to the mix. It really works well, otherwise I wouldn't have posted it. Have another look, and try it. I don't think you would be disappointed.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
Yes indeed, but having looked at many recipes for Swedish pancakes, the principle is the same - you need enough eggs to bind the pancakes so that you get a result that is elastic, hence the amount of eggs. Without the eggs, the pancakes fall apart, or, if they don't, they go soggy, so the eggs are the binder. Good luck with your recipe!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
I will make pancakes on Tuesday and show you that it does work, I been making these 34 years of my life, they do work.
 
I'm always interested in other ways of doing things other than my own, and I don't consider that the way I do things is the only way to do things, and so, in friendship, I look forward to learning something from you.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde.
 
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You need a palette knife if you are going to make Swedish pancakes, a low rimmed skillet is a must, it makes life so much simpler. This grand old lady is 80 years old.

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Every skillet is unique and you need to figure out how much batter is just enough, you also need to get it up to heat and not too much butter. This is too much butter, too cold and not enough heat.

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This is just perfect heat, less then ½ teaspoon of butter per pancake, the batter has been whisked between pancakes and I have enough batter, the pancake goes dull and cooked with in 2 minutes.

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It should detached from the edge by it self, but you can use the palette knife to wiggle it loose before flipping. Flipped it only need 1 minute before it cooked unless you like really dark pancakes.

This made using the recipe from here and it is fairly standard Swedish recipe. Oh and dont lose heart, if you fail you can grease up a casserole dish, bake in the oven at 225C for 25 minutes and then it is oven pancake instead.
 
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