Crêpes

Sweet or savoury, as a snack or a whole meal!

An emblem of Brittany, a crêpe is the favourite snack of many locals and visitors, popular at market stalls and at village events. The combination of ingredients makes them lighter and crisper than pancakes, and they an easily be eaten plain or cold, savoury or sweet.

In Finistère, savoury pancakes are made with buckwheat (sarrasin) and they'll be listed as crêpes de blé noir - further north in Brittany, savoury crêpes are called galettes. The sweet crêpes (crêpes de froment) arrived rather later in history because the froment flour was finer and therefore reserved for special occasions and festivities. 

A perfect crêpe is very thin, the batter spread rapidly on the crêpe hotplate called a bilig so that it cooks rapidly, becoming lightly crispy around the edges and softer in the centre. They are often garnished, now, and the most popular version is a complète: ham, egg and cheese.

As is often the case, this dish that began as a poor person's food has become something of a modern delicacy, with inventive and original fillings to choose from. Don't just have a cheese crêpe - if you have the chance, venture into new taste sensations with onions in muscadet, creamed leeks, blue cheese and walnut or goat's cheese with grated apple and fig preserve...

Crêperies gourmandes

As you travel around Finistère look out for the label crêperie gourmande, a quality mark developed by the Brittany Tourism Board that recognises certain standards.

Go into a crêperie gourmande and you can expect quality ingredients, crêpes made on the premises, local and regional produce and an authentic taste experience.

Here is the list

Sweet crêpes : the recipe

250 g of plain flour
1 tablespoon of olive oil (or melted butter)
1/2 liter of milk
2 eggs
A pinch of salt
Some vanilla sugar

Make a well in the flour. Add in the oil, salt, the eggs and a drop of milk. Mix together and add the milk until the batter gets smoother. Add the vanilla sugar.

You can leave the batter to 'rest' for an hour, or you can begin immediately to make your crêpes.