Impact of the baking protocol on the structure of French crêpes

The purpose of this study is to understand and describe the mechanisms occurring during the baking of a French crêpe product with a focus on the impact of the baking temperature on the formation of the “leopard” appearance. A French crêpe is a very thin bakery product (ca. 0.7 mm thick), which is baked in less than 20 s at 240 °C ± 20 °C in industrial conditions. Different microscopic techniques were used to understand the impact of the process parameters on the crêpe structure and the formation of the “fleur”. Crêpe baking is a very rapid process during which boiling occurs at selected locations of the crêpe-surface contact zone. The onset of boiling leads to the detachment of the crêpe batter from the baking surface: it is related to the balance between the resistance of the batter undergoing the baking transition and the vapor pressure inside the blister formed between the baking surface and the crêpe.