I first saw my future crepe pan in the shop at Tebay Services on the way up to Salkeld Mill in Cumbria, to buy some biodynamic flour from the watermill there.
Its smooth, seasoned curves gleamed darkly in the artificial light of the cooking equipment corner, inexorably drawing my eye as I browsed the various shelves of organic goodies. It was to be an attraction I couldn't resist.
I wandered over, picked it up and looked it over. It was a truly beautiful piece of work, cast iron with an oak handle with the manufacturer's emblem branded into it. Then I looked at the price... sharp intake of breath.
I put it down and out of my mind as I left and continued my journey. Its luscious complexion and solid, reassuring feel haunted me all that day though. On the way home, I 'needed' to drop in at Tebay again, and bought the pan along with some other 'essentials'.
I confess to this day, I've never allowed her to fulfil her original purpose, namely making crepes. I use her mainly as a frying pan, at which she excels, but also for another, very special purpose. The reason I buy flour from the mill at Little Salkeld is that I make my own sourdough bread. Now it didn't take me long to wonder if I could make a kind of sourdough flatbread using the crepe pan.
The pan takes a little while to heat up, being cast iron, but once hot it retains its heat wonderfully, and in fact you can switch off the hob a good few minutes in advance of finishing cooking with the pan as it takes so long to cool down.
I use it at my woodland to make sourdough flatbread for breakfast – a purpose for which it's ideally suited, as the wood stove at the woodland (made from an old gas cylinder) is not very controllable, so the cast iron of the pan smooths out the varying heat from the stove very nicely.
All in all, a beautiful bit of kit – I'm looking forward to many happy years together.
Andy's Traditional Iron crepe pan is manufactured in the UK and holds a RRP of £48.95 but we sell it on Green Shopping for £42.00 inc. p&p.
Further Resources
Outdoor cooking: making sourdough flatbread in the woods
Outdoor living: a permaculture guide to food and fresh water
How to make a rocket stove from a beer keg
Video: Build a tin can rocket stove step by step
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