After I wrote about the healthy way to treat your grains last week, I thought I should post a recipe featuring an easy, creative way to deal with whole grains. Whole Grain Crepes definitely fit the bill.
For these crepes, you start with whole spelt or wheat berries (rather than whole wheat flour), soak them, then puree the softened grains into a fabulous batter. And yes, the first few tries flipping a crepe can be frustrating, but make sure your pan is completely up to temperature and the edges of the batter will cook as you pour it in the pan rather than microscopically filling the pores of the pan, which causes the sticking. You may still have to loosen the edges to flip it, but it will make flipping significantly easier.
Whole Grain Crepes
1 cup spelt or whole wheat berries
1 cup whole milk (preferably raw)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons melted butter, olive oil, or coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon or other favorite spices (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Soak grain berries in the milk for 6-10 hours at room temperature. Pour the berries and milk together into a blender and process for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, honey, butter, salt, and cinnamon. Blend well for another minute. Allow to sit for one hour. Add baking powder, then blend again. Add a bit more milk if needed, as you want a fairly thin batter.
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat for several minutes until fully hot. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the pan, then pour 1/4 cup batter in the middle of the pan and swirl it to create a large circle. Cook until the crepe just begins to brown, then using a spatula and your fingers, quickly loosen the edges of the crepe and flip it over to cook the other side. Typically the first crepe is a total write-off, so don’t be discouraged.
Reserve finished crepes under a dish towel to keep them warm, then serve. Here are a few ideas:
- as a sweet breakfast with maple syrup, yogurt, and fruit
- savory, with sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and ham
- with ice cream and chocolate for a lovely dessert
There are as many fillings for crepes as there are crepe cooks, so feel free to use the crepe as your personal blank canvas to add in your family’s favorite foods.
Need Grain-Free Crepes?
If you’re wanting to avoid grains altogether, even soaking won’t mitigate the starches enough to make them digestible. In that case, be sure to check out Real Food Forager’s Going Grain-Free online class. She’s got multiple crepe recipes, plus more than 150 other recipes and 80 video tutorials as part of the course.
About Kresha
Kresha is the mother of three young children, the wife of one incredibly good man, an opera singer, a cloth diapering instructor, and an avid researcher. She and her husband share a passion for living life thoughtfully and intentionally in response to God's grace in their lives and she loves to share good meals (and good wine) around a very large table.
Would it not be even better (and perhaps healthier) to use keifer to soak the grains? I am in the Heathy Whole Grains cooking class w/ Ann Marie Michaels (and she soaks in keifer.)
Absolutely you can soak in kefir. You just need something acidic in order to mitigate the anti-nutrients. You could add whey, add a squeeze of lime juice, use kefir, use buttermilk, use yogurt (although that would make the batter rather thick)… pretty much any acidic food will suffice.
Since the probiotic benefits will be lost in cooking, you’re just looking to break down the phytic acid and other anti-nutrients. Beyond that, it’s up to your taste buds – if you like the tang of milk kefir, definitely use it!
Thanks – I just soaked in the 1/2 done knifer (on the counter 12 hours intend of the 24 I need in my kitchen) for another 9 hours and had to grind in the food processor as I don’t have a hand blender – still pretty chunky, but I think it will work.
Those were the best – pancakes, not thin enough for crepes but NO REGRETS – just delicious!
I’m so glad! Thank you so much for posting to let us know how the recipe worked for you.
I made these this morning and they were delicious! I used spelt berries and some slightly soured raw milk. I also subbed 2 tablespoons of applesauce for the honey. Served with some peach syrup, my family raved!