Sourdough Crepes with Ricotta & Jam – Recipe!

Crepes are one of those things that we mostly enjoy while dining out, or when we are on vacation.  The smooth cream-colored batter is swirled upon an iron griddle to form a wafer thin pancake, and magnificently cooked until pale brown.  These French-inspired treats can be filled with the most wonderful ingredients from savory to sweet, and using a sourdough starter in a crepe batter, can add to the delicate flavor and utilize starter discard.

Sourdough Starter is something I have been preaching about way before the pandemic because it’s so versatile to use in place of dry or fresh yeast.  Granted feeding a starter can sometimes be a tedious task, but if you use it often, and it replaces other yeast altogether, you’ll find it’s really worth the effort.  I have a sourdough starter recipe, here on my blog with step-by-step instructions on how to build one – it doesn’t take much to get going.

Crepes are a pretty fun food to make, especially after you get past the first one.  It’s similar to cutting a pie, the first slice is the challenge, and after that, it’s smooth sailing.  Filling crepes with fresh ricotta or even yogurt, with jam and berries is the way to serve these delicate treats.  You could go savory with crepes, but I think for breakfast or brunch a sweeter version is always a favorite.  Homemade jam makes these crepes extra-special and my Strawberry-Rose Jam is pretty simple to prepare and makes a nice filling along with ricotta, but store-bought jam can do a nice job as well.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons sourdough starter

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted + more cooking

1/2 cup good jam

2/3 cup ricotta cheese or plain yogurt

1 cup fresh berries

1/4 cup powdered sugar

oil

(Makes 12-14 Crepes)

To Prepare:

1. Mix sourdough starter, 1 1/3 cups flour and 1 cup room temperature water in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest room temperature overnight.
2. In the morning, add the remaining 2/3 cup flour to the sourdough mixture, stir.  Add eggs, milk, sugar, baking soda, salt and melted butter, whisk until smooth.
3. In a medium non-stick or crepe pan, add 1 teaspoon oil and place over medium heat.  Rub oil evenly around pan with paper towel to coat lightly.  Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan and swirl into a 9 inch circle.  Cook on first side for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly pale brown, flip and cook other side.  Remove crepe and place on plate, coat top of crepe with butter.
4. Repeat making crepes until all batter is gone, remembering to coat each crepe with butter, in between.
5. Fill each crepe with 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese and 1 tablespoon of jam.  Fold each crepe into quarters and top with berries and powdered sugar.  Enjoy!