World’s Best Crepes
These are the World’s Best Crepes in one recipe. These are the best I’ve ever tried and the secret is in sourdough discard. They look amazing and taste even better. Oh, and the most important thing – these crepes are very easy to make! See for yourself.
What makes these crepes truly special is the incredible flavor and texture created by the sourdough discard. Even though the discard is not used here for fermentation, it adds a subtle depth of flavor, slight tanginess, and wonderful richness that takes these crepes far beyond ordinary recipes. The result is delicate, tender crepes with beautifully thin edges, light texture, and incredible flavor in every bite.
One of the things I love most about this recipe is how approachable and reliable it is. The batter comes together quickly with simple ingredients, and once the pan is properly heated, the crepes cook in just minutes. They are soft, flexible, and easy to fold or roll without tearing, making them perfect for both sweet and savory fillings.
The texture is absolutely beautiful — thin and delicate while still soft and slightly buttery. The edges become lightly golden and lacy, creating that classic crepe appearance that always feels elegant and impressive. Whether served for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or even dinner, these crepes always feel special while still being incredibly simple to prepare.
Another reason these crepes are so wonderful is their versatility. For sweet versions, they pair perfectly with Nutella, fresh berries, bananas, whipped cream, jam, caramel, cream cheese, or a simple dusting of powdered sugar. For savory fillings, you can use cheese, ham, mushrooms, smoked salmon, spinach, eggs, or roasted vegetables. The mild sourdough flavor works beautifully in both directions.
Using sourdough discard also makes this recipe an excellent way to reduce waste while creating something everyone genuinely loves. Instead of throwing discard away, you transform it into delicate homemade crepes that taste far more complex and flavorful than traditional versions.
One of my favorite moments is watching the batter spread thinly across the hot pan and seeing the crepes develop those beautiful golden spots as they cook. Fresh from the pan, they smell buttery, slightly tangy, and absolutely irresistible.
These crepes are also perfect for family breakfasts because everyone can customize their own fillings and toppings. Kids especially love them with fruit and chocolate spreads, while adults often enjoy more elegant savory combinations.
Another great advantage of these crepes is that the batter can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated overnight, which actually improves the flavor and texture even more. This makes them perfect for busy mornings, brunch gatherings, or holiday breakfasts when you want something impressive without extra stress. The batter stays smooth and easy to work with, and the crepes cook beautifully every single time. Whether folded, rolled, stacked into a crepe cake, or filled with your favorite ingredients, they always look elegant and taste absolutely incredible. Simple, versatile, and packed with flavor, these crepes are truly a recipe worth keeping forever.
Once you try these sourdough discard crepes, it becomes very difficult to go back to regular crepe recipes again. They are soft, flavorful, delicate, and incredibly easy to make — exactly the kind of recipe that quickly becomes a family favorite and gets requested over and over again.
Ingredients
Dough
- 500g sourdough discard
- 500g milk
- 3 eggs
- 70g sugar
- 80g all purpose flour
- 25g oil without flavor
- 8g baking soda
- 8g salt
Directions
- Mix all ingredients together until no lumps remain together.
- Let rest the dough 15 min.
- Preheat the a nonstick pan until very hot.
- Using ladle pour crepe mixture to create thin layer, covering the whole surface of pan. Fry for 30-45 sec on each side.
- Spread some butter on top.
Enjoy 😉
World’s Best Crepes
Ingredients
- 500 g Sourdough discard
- 500 g Milk
- 3 Large eggs
- 70 g Sugar
- 80 g All-purpose flour
- 25 g Oil (Neutral flavor, like canola or avocado)
- 8 g Baking soda
- 8 g Salt
- Unsalted butter (Reserved strictly for brushing the pan and hot tops)
Equipment
- Ladle
- Nonstick Frying Pan or Crepe Pan
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the 500g of sourdough discard, 500g of milk, 3 large eggs, 70g of sugar, 80g of all-purpose flour, 25g of neutral oil, 8g of baking soda, and 8g of salt.
- Whisk all the ingredients together vigorously until a completely smooth, thin, pourable batter forms and absolutely no flour lumps remain.
- Cover the bowl loosely and let the batter rest undisturbed on your counter for 15 minutes. This allows the starches to hydrate fully and relaxes the gluten so the crepes turn out incredibly tender.
- Place your nonstick pan or crepe skillet over medium-high heat and let it get very hot. Use a pastry brush to coat the surface with a thin layer of butter.
- Using a ladle, scoop up a portion of the mixture and pour it directly into the center of the hot pan. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter into a thin, even layer covering the entire bottom surface.
- Fry undisturbed for 30 to 45 seconds until the edges look dry, start to curl up slightly, and tiny bubbles form.
- Use a thin spatula to gently flip the crepe over to the opposite side and cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds until light golden spots appear.
- Slide the finished crepe onto a plate and immediately rub a little cold butter across the hot surface. Repeat the process for the remaining batter, stacking the buttery crepes directly on top of each other to keep them soft and pliable. Serve with fresh fruit, Nutella, or jam!
Nutrition
Notes
- The Acid-Neutralizing Soda Trick: The inclusion of 8g of baking soda serves a highly technical role in this formula. Sourdough discard that has been sitting in a refrigerator jar naturally builds up a sharp, sour acid profile. The baking soda reacts instantly with those organic acids, neutralizing any harsh sour notes and turning the batter into a beautifully balanced, smooth, and sweet-milky profile.
- Collecting Your Weekly Discard Asset: This recipe is the ultimate weekend solution for managing bakery waste. You can comfortably collect your leftover sourdough starter discards in a sealed jar in your refrigerator all week long. When Saturday morning arrives, dump the chilled collection straight into your mixing bowl—there is no need to warm it up or feed it beforehand.
- The Melted Butter Modification Path: If you prefer a richer, more traditional French pastry flavor note, you can swap out the 25g of neutral cooking oil. Simply melt 25g of unsalted butter, allow it to cool down slightly so it doesn’t cook the raw eggs on contact, and whisk it directly into your liquid base during step 1.
- Swapping Milk for Cultured Buttermilk: For an exceptional breakfast variant that offers a deeper depth of flavor, you can replace the 500g of whole milk dynamic-for-dynamic with cultured dairy buttermilk. Keep in mind that buttermilk introduces more acid to the equation, which will make the baking soda bubble up more actively, resulting in an even lighter, lacier crepe edge.
Tried this recipe?
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How you create your sourdough ? Where to find it un France?
You can make your own, here is the link to how Natasha does it: https://natashasbaking.com/sourdough-starter-from-scratch-in-7-days/
Thank you, Barbara 🙏
You are welcome!
Hi!
Please ripe in in a search panel “starter in 7 days”
And it should redirect you to my method of creating sourdough starter
These were yummy! Made a half recipe this morning, because it is just my husband and me. I have made crepes without starter, many times over the years, something my mother made frequently as well. We always used melted butter in the batter, so that is what I did today, instead of using oil. Since I never used baking soda in the past, I left that out too. The half recipe made 8 crepes. I also brushed the pan with butter, after cooking each one. Will be making them again when the family comes to visit.
Barbara, thank you for your feedback!
Great idea to use melted butter. I love to add baking soda. It reacts with sourdough, and takes away all the acidity 😉
Next time I will add it and see if I prefer the difference. This is going to be a very regular breakfast. Making the crepes was very quick! Actually faster than sourdough pancakes, thought they tasted better too!
Absolutely, I feel the same. Super easy and so delicious.
My family’s favorite breakfast 🤤
Thanks for recipe 🙏🌿 I always fallow your tutorials with great pleasure ⚘🤗 may I evaluate my discard stiff levain in the same way? if yes should I increase milk? 🤔🙋♂️🇹🇷
Hi!
Yes, you can!
But it will be complicated to dissolve stiff Levain in milk.
What is the discard used here ?
What is left after you feed the levain and leave the rest in the fridge for few days or prefer table more fresh warm one ?
Hi!
I’m collecting sourdough leftovers from starter all week long in a jar in the fridge and use it on weekends for crepes
These are awesome and freeze really well, too.
I made 1/2 the recipe bc I didn’t have that much discard. Made 12 crepes.
Thank you for your feedback. They are so delicious 😋
Thanks for the qty of crepes! I was wondering if I should make a full or half batch.
Full batch is usually gone during breakfast(we have family of 4:-)))
I’ve just tried this recipe, pancakes came out just yummy,light- the best I tried so far, though i was thinking my recipe is good enough but after trying this ,i changed my mind))))will be always collecting my discard. I’ve tried also half portion as i had around 150gr of discard only
Thank you Natasha for sharing))))
Thank you so much!
I’m happy you liked it.
Tried this again and used cultured buttermilk, instead of milk. Actually gave the pancakes a nice tang.
Thank you for sharing, Barbara!
I will try it too 🙏
Hi Natasha this is injera a traditional bread from East Africa. I thought it would be important to provide that context in your post.
Although similar in appearance, Injera is traditionally made with only fermented teff flour and water and not dairy and eggs.
Yes, injera is completely different recipe. Thank you!
Thank you Natasha!
It is the one! The crepe recipe I will always be using from now on. I have tried dozens of recipes and I was always slightly disappointed. I made this recipe 3 times last week and me and my whole family including the cat loved the crepes.
I adjusted the amount of baking soda 3/4-1 tsp. One time I put slightly more sourdough discard (650g) and the crepes still turned out perfect. Thank you once again! My search for the prefect recipe is finally over ❤️
Olga, thank you so much for your kind feedback!
I’m really glad you and your family liked the crepes ❤️
Made these and they were devoured by my family! Thank you :))
Thank you 🙏
Hi, Natasha! If I do not make a bread, but would like to make a crepes, how to make a 500 gr of starter ? Is it dependent on the amount of flour? I’m new to it, but your recipes are so delicious, wanted to make some too.
I’m the same… Waiting for her reply…
What type of flour works best? Can you use 100% buckwheat flour?
Finally made them
Added 2 eggs to 200 Gm discard from the counter in the morning
And half oh everything else and put them in fridge until the night
Right before making I added fresh ripe starter about 100 ml and added the baking soda
Waited 15 min and made them
Kids loved them
That’s great to hear! It’s always a win when the kids love what you make. Keep experimenting and enjoying the process!
Hi, would this work with other flours like whole wheat, spelt or rye?
OMG , this is awesome , specially in that hurry days that you don’t have time to do bread .
But the flavor is really amazing. Thank you .
How long after you mix it you have to use it
Should I mix it and put aside and when I want to use add the baking powder ?
Thank you for sharing your crepe recipe! This is the best recipe for crepes that I’ve ever made. My family and I loved them! We served them with Nutella, pomegranate, and bananas. Yum!!
I’ve been sourdough bread for 2 years now, but was skeptical regarding the sourdough crepes. But these are indeed world’s best crepes! Thank you so much for the recipe!