Spelt Buttermilk Crêpes

Dreamy, thin batter with crispy corners...dressed in sweet loveliness and rolled into a dainty, delicious cigar. Every time I inhale the beauty that is the crêpe, I am left grinning like a five-year old on Christmas morning.

The bubbly Hannah reminded me a few weekends ago that my life was seriously lacking in crêpes. This was demonstrably true. Could it be possible that it had been an entire year since I had made crêpes? Well, yes, precisely 364 days. Unacceptable, Heidi.

Sunday morning I decided to create my own crêpe recipe. I do adore traditional, pliable crêpes, they have brought me much joy in life. However on this day I wanted something a little different.

I tend to find regular crêpes, though divine, don't fill me up. And so for this breakfast I wanted to use more wholesome flours to get in more nutrients, including fibre. Wholemeal flours are my favourite for this reason, and I use them wherever I can. Spelt is great as it contains less gluten than regular flour, so gluten-sensitive individuals can enjoy it (note that it is not gluten-free, so those with coeliac disease cannot eat spelt).

I also needed to re-work my traditional recipe as I was out of milk (oh!)...and so I used buttermilk.

Seriously, who has buttermilk but not milk in their fridge? I do...

Makes 6 Crêpes

Notes: these crêpes are a little lumpy, giving them a roti-like appearance. I like to call that rustic, it sits a little better, more forgiving than 'lumpy'. It's important to note that they will not drape across the pan like regular crêpes do, in that lovely flowing fashion. They are more like a pancake in the sense that you need to spread the batter thinly yourself. I truly adored these crêpes. They were thin yet had substance to them.

This recipe requires a Hand Blender and 1 hour of refrigeration time.

Ingredients
1/3 cup Rolled Oats
3/4 cup Wholemeal Spelt Flour
2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
A pinch of Salt
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Buttermilk Butter, for cooking
Lemon, Sugar and Jam for serving.

Method
1. Blend the Rolled Oats in a Hand Blender until it resembles a semi-fine flour
2. Add the oat flour and spelt flour to a large mixing bowl, along with the sugar and salt. Stir to combine.
3. Make a well in the centre of the mixing bowls and add the eggs. Beat the eggs with a fork.
4. Add the vanilla extract and buttermilk and fold through.
5. Cover the bowl with gladwrap and refrigerate for an hour.
6. After an hour, take your batter out of the fridge and heat a non-stick pan over low heat (ideally you will have a couple of pans going at once, so as to cook the crêpes faster). Grease the pan generously with low-fat dairy spread.
7. Check that the pan is hot (flick some drops of water on the pan, if it's ready the water will dance). When hot, add a ladle of mixture and spread out so it creates a fairly thin and even circle. 8. Cook for a few minutes, until browned on the bottom, then flip and cook on the other side. When golden brown on both sides, transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
9. Repeat until all crêpes are cook.
10. Serve with lemon and sugar, maple syrup or jam (or whatever your heart desires).

.....

I like my crêpes with Lemon, Sugar and Berries. A dash of Pure Maple Syrup is also lovely.