The Best Sourdough Crepes Recipe (Discard) 

Delicate, tender crepes with crispy edges, these Sourdough Crepes are made with simple ingredients already found in your pantry. Serve them with sweet or savory toppings for a quick and easy breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Breakfast around here has been delightfully filled with everything sourdough. My almost one-year-old daughter isn’t the biggest fan of eggs or oatmeal, hopefully someday, but she sure loves gobbling up some of my fluffy sourdough pancakes or a slice of a Dutch Baby pancake.

I mean can you blame her? Who wouldn’t choose maple syrup-covered pancakes over scrambled eggs?

Though I can never tire of sourdough discard pancakes or homemade sourdough bagels, I was looking to add some other sourdough recipes to our morning breakfast rotation. My leftover sourdough starter, or discard, has been growing with all of my sourdough experiments lately, and I was looking for another delicious way to enjoy it.

If you don’t have your own sourdough starter of your own yet, what are you waiting for? I have a beginner’s guide that will take you step-by-step on how to make an active sourdough starter from scratch in just one week!

Then I thought, why not try a sourdough crepes recipe? What a simple, but incredibly delicious recipe! The sourdough crepes were so light and delicate, but strong enough to be packed full of chocolatey hazelnut spread and sliced strawberries.

Homemade Sourdough Discard Crepes have quickly turned into a favorite way to use up any extra sourdough starter we might have and my daughter surely isn’t complaining!

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What are Crepes?

Crepes are French-style pancakes. Unlike American pancakes that use leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda to help them rise and become fluffy, a crepe is a very thin pancake.

These delicate, golden brown crepes are perfect for rolling up an array of sweet fillings for a delicious breakfast or savoring fillings for a satisfying and light snack, lunch, or dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Crepe Recipe:

Quick

This sourdough crepe batter is zipped up in seconds and cooked in minutes – could you ask for a more quick breakfast? Perfect for busy mornings!

No-waste

Sourdough crepes are made with sourdough discard, making this a great way to use up any sourdough starter discard that you might have in the fridge.

Versatile

Homemade crepes are a perfect meal for any time of the day! Top with fresh fruit, chocolate ganache, or homemade whipped cream for a delectable breakfast or dessert, or roll with roasted vegetables and melted cheese for a flavorful snack, lunch, or dinner.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour: Though Julia Child says instant flour, or cake flour, is the best flour for a crepe, all-purpose flour is just fine for this recipe. I used King Arthur Organic All-Purpose flour.

Eggs: Eggs give the crepe batter structure and help them not to tear.

Milk: I use whole milk for a rich and creamy flavor, but feel free to swap it with your preferred milk or milk substitute.

Sourdough Starter Discard: I found that 24-48 hours old discard worked best for this recipe. Any discard that was older than two days had a pretty overpowering sourdough flavor. You can make the crepe batter the night before and allow it to ferment overnight in the fridge for an additional sourdough tang, but I noticed that the crepes tore more easily. Making it the same day is my preferred method.

Sugar – Cane sugar, demerara sugar, or white sugar are all great options to give the sourdough crepe batter a little bit of sweetness. Omit if you are preparing savory crepes.

Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract is my favorite. If you are preparing savory crepes, you can omit this.

Salt – To offset the sugar and give flavor to the batter.

Butter– To enhance the crepe batter and bring a beautiful golden color to the French-style pancake.

Supplies

Mixing Bowls

Measuring cups and spoons

Nonstick pan or cast iron skillet (you can use a crepe pan if you have it, but it is not necessary!)

Whisk, Immersion Blender, or a Blender – I loved using my immersion blender for this recipe! It was so quick to mix my crepe batter (all in one bowl!) and the cleanup was minimal.

How to Make This Sourdough Crepe Recipe:

In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients with an immersion blender or a whisk until smooth (about 15-20 seconds). Another quick option would be to place all of the ingredients into a blender and mix until the sourdough crepe batter has no lumps of flour.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour. This allows the gluten to develop so the crepes won’t tear.

Though this recipe doesn’t use an active starter and doesn’t require a long fermentation process, you can make the crepe batter the night before and let the batter ferment overnight.

The batter will be quite thin compared to a pancake batter. You’re looking for a consistency similar to heavy cream.

Cook

Place a non-stick skillet or cast iron pan on medium-low heat to medium heat. Melt a bit of butter and spread it evenly in the preheated pan.  You want your pan to be lightly greased. Too much butter will prevent the batter from sticking when you turn the pan.

For a 10-inch pan, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center and immediately turn the non-stick frying pan in a circular motion to spread the crepe batter into a thin layer. Another way would be to pour the batter with a ladle and use the back of the ladle to spread thinly on the bottom of the pan. Choose your favorite method!

8-in frying pan: Less than 1/4 cup of batter

10-inch frying pan: 1/4 cup of batter

12-inch frying pan: Overflowing 1/4 cup of batter

Cook for 1-2 minutes on the first side or until the edges of the crepe turn crispy. Using a spatula, gently release the edges from the pan and carefully flip the crepe. Cook for an additional minute on the second side. Repeat the same process with the remaining batter.

Most likely your first crepe with not be perfect. Getting the timing just right and having the finesse to flip the sourdough crepes may take a few practice rounds. Luckily, even if the first few crepes tear they are still just as delicious. Just roll them up and nobody will suspect a thing!

How to Serve:

Sweet crepes or savory crepes, this sourdough crêpe recipe is perfect for your choice of fillings and favorite toppings! I’ve included a list below of our favorite sweet and savory fillings/toppings.

Sweet fillings:

• Maple Syrup and Powdered Sugar
• Whipped Cream
• Nutella
• Peanut Butter
• Fresh Berries
• Fruit Jam
• Fruit Sauce
• Sliced Bananas and Caramel Sauce
• Crème fraîche or yogurt is a yummy substitute
• Cream Cheese Filling

Savory fillings:

• Ham and Gruyere Cheese
• Spinach, Mushroom, and Shredded Chicken with a Cream Sauce
• Scrambled Eggs, Cheddar Cheese, and Avocado
• Roasted Vegetables with Feta Cheese

How to Store / Freeze:

Store leftover sourdough crêpes by stacking one on top of another with pieces of parchment paper in between each layer. Store in a large zip-loc bag or airtight container for 2-3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a skillet on medium low heat or in the microwave for small increments until warm.

Freeze sourdough crepes in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or on the countertop until room temperature.

FAQs:

Should you fold or roll a Sourdough Crepe?

Most crepes are either served rolled over fillings or folded into triangles.

Sourdough crepes can also be rolled up tightly and topped with your favorite berry jams and sauces or chocolate drizzle.

Some also enjoy the pocket fold where they place their favorite fillings in the center of the crepe and fold the edges towards the middle. Turn the crepe over for the perfect crepe package.

Or don’t fold or roll your sourdough crepes at all! Instead, stack the crepes on top of one another to make a sourdough crepe cake and serve with sweet or savory toppings.

What is the best flour for making Sourdough Crepes?

Julia Child recommended using instant flour, closest to our cake flour because it has the least amount of gluten. Using flour like whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour may lead to a rather dense crepe. If you don’t have cake flour, all-purpose flour will work just perfectly. Just make sure to use fresh flour for the best results.

How do you keep Sourdough Crepes warm?

Cover the stacked sourdough crepes with a paper towel or tea towel on a plate to keep them warm.

Otherwise, heat the oven to 200 degrees F and place the crepes in a baking dish in the oven until ready to serve.

Happy frying!

More Sourdough Breakfast Recipes:

Cast Iron Quiche with a Sourdough Crust

Homemade Sourdough Bagels

Sourdough Blueberry Buckle