Ways for success on cast iron crepe pans without cooking spray
I get good results making crepes on non-stick pans.
It's quite easy to flip a crepe, but it's hard to get the surface to be golden. The color remains closer to white, as you see in the picture above.
On ceramic-enameled cast iron, I can get the heat considerably higher, but crepes will stick.
I see on the market cast iron pans marketed specifically for crepes, and I'm wondering whether the polymer cover from a good seasoning makes it easier to prepare a batch of crepes.
Is there a way to avoid cooking spray when preparing crepes on a cast iron pan? One reason for my failure on enameled cookware (I'm guessing) is that it's hard to add fat to the pan. Here I'd like to avoid using cooking sprays with a multitude of ingredients. I'd like to use butter only. Adding butter on the hot pan will brown (burn) the butter too quickly. Hence it's necessary to remove the pan, cool off for a few seconds, add the butter, then return to heat, which makes the process too time consuming. And even then, the butter is not a uniform coat. Using a brush, whether made from hair or from silicone, is a way to melt the brush.
The batter already has fat (butter). On non-stick, no additional fat is needed. On either of the other two, it's necessary.
Asked another way, what is the secret of making crepes on a (well-seasoned) cast iron pan?
Related:
- Does cast iron enable making crepes with no additional fat (besides that in the batter)? (that would be nice!)
- Is the Leidenfrost point relevant?
Best Answer
Enameled cast iron is indeed not as good as non-enameled, because you can't heat it as much. But it still should give you good crepes. If your butter burns, just use simple oil instead of butter - any oil will do, the more refined, the better (so the cheapest no-plant-named ones work best). It may burn to the point of getting dark brown, but you won't get the tiny coal particles you get when butter solids burn.
I'd like to use butter only.
it's hard to get the surface to be golden
These two wishes are mutually exclusive. No matter what pan material you are using, if you get the proper heat transfer rate for getting a golden crepe, butter will burn badly.
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How do you keep crepes from sticking to the pan?
Butter is ideal\u2014it will keep the crepes from sticking and add amazing flavour. Use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the pan very lightly with melted butter. Too much butter can result in greasy crepes that are crispy, dark brown and not as pliable as you'd like.Do you oil a crepe pan?
Key Steps for Better Crepes Since the butter is already in the batter for flavor, I find that it's easier to coat the pan in a neutral cooking oil such as canola or grapeseed. These oils have a much higher smoking point, making it easier to find the correct cooking temperature without burning.How do you make crepes without nonstick?
Your subsequent crepes might require much less time to cook, and the more of them you have to make, the faster you will have to flip the crepes, because the frying pan will get more and more heated up. When you cook crepes, your stainless steel skillet is always on high heat. This will minimize sticking.Do crepes stick to cast iron?
It's quite easy to flip a crepe, but it's hard to get the surface to be golden. The color remains closer to white, as you see in the picture above. On ceramic-enameled cast iron, I can get the heat considerably higher, but crepes will stick.Pancakes In Cast Iron - Quarantine Kitchen with James
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Images: Engin Akyurt, Sebastian Coman Photography, Milan, Clem Onojeghuo