Crêpes

Method

1. whisk3 min
   thick paste stage
   flour + sugar + salt + eggs + about a third of the milk, beaten to a smooth heavy paste before any more liquid goes in — lumps only break under shear, and a thin batter is too slack to generate any. Chase the flour off the sides of the bowl now; nothing later will dissolve it.
2. whisk2 min
   pouring in stages
   + remaining milk + melted butter, added in two or three pours, until the batter runs off the whisk like thin cream. The butter must be cooled or it will scramble threads of egg on contact.
3. rest60 min
   covered, room temperature (or 2 hr refrigerated)
   Leave the batter alone. Whisking stretched the gluten into taut strands and they need time to relax, while the starch granules go on absorbing milk — the batter thickens slightly as they swell, and the air beaten in during mixing rises out. Skip the rest and the film contracts as it hits the hot pan, tearing at the edges and cooking up rubbery; trapped bubbles leave pinholes in the first few. This is gluten relaxation you can watch happen.
4. fry12 min
   medium, 8-inch pan, lightly buttered
   3 tbsp batter per crêpe into the pan off the heat, swirled immediately to the rim before it sets, then back on the flame — cook 60–75 sec until the surface goes matte and the edge lifts, flip, 20 sec more. If the batter has thickened past pourable during the rest, slacken it with a spoonful of milk rather than the ladle. Sacrifice the first one; it seasons the pan.
5. top3 min
   Fold each crêpe into quarters or roll it around the filling — lemon and sugar, jam, or melted chocolate — and serve while the edges are still crisp, stacking only if you mean to reheat.