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I sometimes make crepe pancakes with the following recipe: 200g of flour, 350ml of milk, 2 eggs and a table spoon of vegetable oil.

I was wondering whether it was better to store the crepe batter in the freezer and cook some when I want it, or to cook the crepes then store them in the freezer.

Which way will last longer and which way will ensure that the crepes are fresh when I eat them?

GdD
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Daemon Beast
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    I can't comment on which will last longer or be better but we *always* made extra pancakes and/or waffles and froze them as you can re-heat them in seconds. Just be sure to put wax paper or something like that between the pancakes as they will stick together. – Steve Chambers Jan 26 '20 at 23:21
  • I've put pancakes in a refrigerator before, but not in a freezer. Do they even taste decent after freezing them? Or is them tasting awful the reason you ask this question? – Mast Jan 27 '20 at 07:31
  • @Mast I've not tried freezing them yet, but I have refrigerated them. That's why I was asking about the best way to store the pancakes. – Daemon Beast Jan 27 '20 at 07:41
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    Freezing batter doesn't save any time. You have to thaw it carefully or you'll cook it, by the time you've done that you could make a fresh batch. – GdD Jan 27 '20 at 13:09
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    Are you talking about American style pancakes or crepe pancakes @LucaNeri? – GdD Jan 27 '20 at 15:29
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    @GdD Crepe pancakes or as I call them, English pancakes. – Daemon Beast Jan 27 '20 at 15:37
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    @AndyT Well, apparently everyone who answered was also confused as well, seeing as the top/accepted answer was referring to something with leavening, which English pancakes/crepes do not have, and the other answer specifically mentioned that they only had experience with crêpes, rather than pancakes (American). It may be technically correct, but there was a mismatch between what the OP intended to ask and what was being answered. It may have been better to specify the question as "English pancakes/crêpess", but I think the change will (and has) lead to better answers to the actual question. – fyrepenguin Jan 27 '20 at 16:41
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    @AndyT The only word that was edited in the question was `pancake`, which was replaced with `crêpe` and `crêpe` is a more accurate word to use when describing an English pancake than `pancake`, which suggests an American pancake. – Daemon Beast Jan 27 '20 at 16:59
  • completely agree with @AndyT . It is - no offense - risible on a *cooking* site to go with "American English". – Fattie Jan 27 '20 at 17:01
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    @AndyT What about crêpe, like you just mentioned? By the way, I am English as well. Crêpe isn't American dialect, it is just a different type of pancake (French pancake). – Daemon Beast Jan 27 '20 at 17:03
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    @GdD for a proper waffle/pancake batter, don't you have to leave it resting for at least 1-2h in the fridge before cooking it? (not sure, that's why maybe it is faster the frozen ones although quality will be much worse, obviously) – M.K Jan 27 '20 at 17:08
  • @M.K: no, one does not leave (e.g.) buttermilk pancake batter to rest before cooking, as that would be counterproductive. – Marti Jan 27 '20 at 17:12
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    I never leave a pancake or waffle batter more than a few minutes before using it @M.K. As soon as it's mixed the leavening agents start to react, the longer you leave it the more lift you lose. With crepe batter you don't have that issue as there is no leavening agent. – GdD Jan 27 '20 at 17:16
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    @AndyT The edit was not meant to 'Americanize' anything. It was simply meant to clarify the question. Please remember that, like all SE sites, we have a 'be nice' policy. – Cindy Jan 27 '20 at 17:19
  • It might help to clarify what type of flour is being used, I assume it's what the Americans call "all-purpose flour" and the British "plain flour", i.e. without any raising agent. – Stuart F Jan 28 '20 at 13:38
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    As an English person, I should note there is a difference between an English pancake and a French crepe. The basic ingredients and the lack of baking powder are the same; but English pancakes are smaller, tend to have more egg in the mix, often don't have sugar in the batter, and are cooked hotter for less time. The result is that English pancakes are generally still a bit less cooked on the inside and don't have much structural integrity, whereas a French crepe is traditionally folded in quarters as a container for whatever filling you choose. You couldn't do that with an English pancake. – Graham Jan 28 '20 at 14:34
  • Related question -- does anybody know for how long pancake batter can be safely kept in a jug in the fridge, chilled not frozen? – nigel222 Jan 28 '20 at 15:09

5 Answers5

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It is a compromise either way. Neither will be as good as freshly made, but both methods will work. As far as frozen batter, you will either need to plan ahead, or be willing to wait for it to thaw. If you go this route, I would suggest zip style freezer bags, and freeze flat, so that it will thaw more quickly. Also, some of the leavening power will be reduced. So, if you enjoy fluffy pancakes, you might not be able to achieve that. On the other hand, frozen pancakes are fine too. However, you also lose some quality here as well. The issue is reheating...unless you have a combi-oven, where you can use steam to bring them back to life. In terms of length of storage, as long as they well packaged, the shelf life is about the same.

moscafj
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    Is this answer still valid now that the question has changed? – Daemon Beast Jan 27 '20 at 15:52
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    Given the change in the question, I would suggest that much of my answer is still valid. The issues are convenience and quality. It is still a compromise. Of course, the leavening issue is dealt with, but I would suggest the rest is still appropriate. – moscafj Jan 27 '20 at 16:27
  • I recommend putting them in the toaster for a minute at medium temperature. You will be amazed how good those are ! – RegularNormalDayGuy Jan 27 '20 at 20:44
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    @RegularNormalDayGuy - OP said crepe, so I don't think toaster will work! Although I agree with you as far as "American" pancakes go – Gamora Jan 28 '20 at 11:31
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If your recipe is as given, you're making a crêpe, or something akin to it (as it's not risen). That's important here, I feel, as crêpes freeze much better than risen pancakes. The lack of a risen texture means one less thing to go wrong in the freezer.

We freeze both kinds of pancakes for our children, and have had great success particularly with the crêpe variety by following a few simple rules:

  • Freeze as soon as they are not steaming anymore (so they are not too dried out)
  • Wrap each pancake individually in plastic wrap
  • Put those wrapped pancakes in a larger freezer zip top bag

Then, we remove one at a time as we use them and toast them in a toaster oven (or any similar oven will work; not sure about a vertical-style toaster, if they'll keep together well enough or not, as I don't have one).

If you do it this way, crêpes seem to keep about six to eight months, and american (risen) pancakes seem to keep about three months, before the texture of the risen pancakes becomes too chewy and unappetizing (from drying out, I assume?). Crêpes might even last longer, I'm just unwilling to go beyond that for anything in the freezer that's not specifically designed for it.

Joe M
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  • Good method. All that plastic wrap makes it quite wasteful unfortunately, would paper or alu foil also work? – leftaroundabout Jan 27 '20 at 15:46
  • As long as the paper was coated I think it would be okay, but not quite as good. I agree the plastic wrap is wasteful, but I haven't really found a better solution - I'm not convinced coated paper is substantially better environmentally, and I definitely don't think foil is better environmentally (as it's costly energy-wise to make). The wrap is tight to the pancake, which is very hard to replicate in any reusable or non-plastic option unfortunately... paper wouldn't keep in the moisture as well I don't think. – Joe M Jan 27 '20 at 15:49
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    It's not necessary to wrap each crepe (or pancake) individually. Instead, what you need to do is to freeze them separately, e.g. on a sheet pan, and then stack them and wrap them *after* they are frozen. As long as you keep them solidly frozen, it will be easy to remove just the desired quantity for thawing/reheating. – Marti Jan 27 '20 at 17:17
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Are we talking about pancakes or crepes here? I’ve never eaten pancakes, but crepes only taste good when fresh. Even letting them sit for a few minutes and then re-heating them is bad. So I’d freeze the batter. If you only want to store the batter for a short time then refrigeration works fine. Letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours actually improves the end result.

Michael
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  • I think we can leave it as an answer in the sense that the answerer seems to state an opinion on the whole family of crepes, pancakes, etc, saying that it is derived from an experience with crepes only. If others don't agree with the opinion, or doubt the admissibility of the generailzation, that's a reason for downvoting, not for deleting. – rumtscho Jan 27 '20 at 14:40
  • @GdD to be frank when reading the question my eyes saw "pancakes" but my French brain read "crêpes". It is not until this answer that I realized that this is about US style pancakes. – WoJ Jan 27 '20 at 15:13
  • The question could have been clearer @WoJ. – GdD Jan 27 '20 at 15:15
  • @GdD it is not even that - the question consistently referred to "pancakes", it is more than the one's culture brings in a biais, such as in this case with me seeing the wide flat thing and not the fluffy smaller one. – WoJ Jan 27 '20 at 15:18
  • I stand corrected @JoeM! – GdD Jan 27 '20 at 15:41
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Looking up that english pancakes are similar albeit slightly thicker than french crepes and do not have leavening. I have successfully frozen crepes. You don't have to put plastic or paper between every crepe, but then you have to be patient on the thaw so that you can separate them. Otherwise, yes you need to keep separate, OR freeze singularly and then stack them up frozen. We usually will thaw, use a filling and roll and fry in butter to get back the fresh taste and texture as much as possible. Generally it takes so little time to make crepe style batter, we just make them from fresh now-a-days.

HWgeek
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I had to really sit & think about this for a while. When we make food fresh, from scratch, (as opposed to something with enough preservatives to save it for 50 years, eek) like this, as many others mentioned, they are better fresh, and I don't know that either choice will give you a perfectly "fresh" crepe later. I bake a lot and have never saved batter, but have frozen baked goods and had them still taste pretty good. I am somewhat concerned about saving anything with raw eggs in it. I think freezing your finished crepes, or making fewer,will give the best and possibly healthier result!

Sarah Kelly
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