Authentic Russian Sourdough Crepes
Lush, delicious and grandmother's
All my childhood my grandmother cooked sourdough crepes - lush, fragrant, ruddy. When I smell yeast dough or batter, my memories take me to a cozy little kitchen, where my grandmother allowed me to grease hot crepes with butter. I had to keep the butter on the tip of a knife and handle it very carefully so it doesn't cut through the crepes. I remember how I stood on a chair: there was a knife with the butter in one hand, and in the other one there was a hot crepe rolled into a tube.
No matter how tasty, thin, and golden the crepes I cook at home, the taste is not at all the same. I adore these plump sourdough crepes, in which you need to put twice as much filling; I adore these large holes through which condensed milk and sour cream flow; I love this aroma that fills the whole house. These are the warm and happy memories from childhood, the moments that I really want to repeat.
In Russia, there is Maslenitsa, a jolly holiday when people cook and eat crepes and pancakes for a whole week. For a whole week, you can make a kind of sacrifice to the ancient gods with no impunity - cook crepes which symbolize the sun, because of their round shape and golden color. By the way, on the first day of these celebrations, it’s better to sleep longer than usual, because a long sleep is a good omen for a future harvest ;)
Ingredients
Crepes
- 500 g wheat flour
- 2 1/2 cup (625 ml) milk
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 2 tbsp (20 g) butter
- 2/3 tsp (4 g) salt
- 20 g fresh yeast (7 g dry yeast)
Additionally
Butter for greasing pans and crepes.
Process
Batter (first rise)
- heat 1 glass of water to 36-38ºC,
if you don’t have a thermometer, touch the water - it should be at body temperature; - if you use fresh yeast, use your fingertips to rub it and place into a deep bowl, add 1/4 cup of water until a paste is formed, then pour in the remaining water and mix,
- if you use dry yeast, pour 1 cup of warm water into a deep bowl and add yeast, wait 5-10 minutes before the yeast dissolves, no need to mix,
- add 250 grams of flour into water and stir until smooth,
- cover and put in a warm place for about an hour.
Batter (second rise)
- separate the white from the yolk and put the white in the refrigerator,
- heat 2 cups of milk to 36-38ºC,
if you don’t have a thermometer - touch the milk, it should be at body temperature; - melt 2 tablespoons of butter, if you use it,
- add 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. sugar, the yolk, 2 tbsp. vegetable or melted butter to the batter and stir until smooth,
- add 1 cup of the warm milk into the batter and stir until smooth,
- add 250 grams of flour and stir until smooth,
- gradually pour the remaining warm milk into the batter, continuing to stir,
- cover and put in a warm place for about half an hour.
Batter (third rise)
You’ll get great crepes if the batter rises at least two or three times, so if you don’t have enough time, you can skip this step.
- as soon as the batter rises (about half an hour has passed), stir the batter again,
- cover and put in a warm place for about half an hour.
Batter (fourth rise)
- as soon as the batter rises one more time (about half an hour has passed), remove the white from the refrigerator and beat it until soft peaks,
- gently stir the whipped egg white into the batter,
- cover and put in a warm place for about half an hour.
Cooking and serving
- as soon as the batter rises one more time (about half an hour has passed), put the frying pan over medium heat,
- as soon as the frying pan is warmed up, grease it with the butter, if necessary, the first crepe usually turns out to be thick, pale and unappetizing; these first crepes,
will show you how much batter should be poured into the frying pan and how long you should cook them; - it’s better to stack up the crepes on a heated plate, covering with a napkin; you can grease each crepe with the butter, or even keep them in an oven preheated to 60ºC, it’s better to serve crepes hot.
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