Anne Willan

Mixing Batters

Appears in
top 1000La Varenne Pratique
La Varenne Pratique

By Anne Willan

Published 1989

  • About
Non-yeast batters should be stirred with a whisk until smooth but too much beating develops the gluten in the flour, making the batter elastic and tough when cooked.
  1. Sift the flour into a bowl with salt (and sugar, if using) and make a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and whisk them until they are thoroughly mixed.

  2. Add half the liquid in a steady stream and whisk, gradually drawing in the flour to make a smooth paste. If too much liquid is added at this point, the batter will become lumpy.

  3. Thin the paste to the desired consistency with more liquid: a thick cream is needed for many pancakes, fritters and for binding ingredients, and a thinner cream is required for crêpes.