Blinis with Buckwheat Flour and Yeast

Small thick yeast pancakes that can be served savory or sweet – a delicious alternative to American pancakes.

Taste and Occasion

Recipe Recommendation

The Perfect Yeast Dough

An easy basic recipe for sweet yeast dough that can be used to make such things as cinnamon buns, raisin bread or sheet cakes.

Check out this recipe!

But what exactly are they? Searching for an "official" definition and an original blini recipe was very difficult. You get extremely different results if you search through baking books or Google. Whether from Germany, the BBC, the NY Times, or websites of Eastern European restaurants - blinis are understood as thick pancakes, sometimes very thin, crêpe-like pancakes. Baking powder is added to the dough, sometimes baking soda, sometimes eggs, and sometimes not. I opted for a blini recipe with buckwheat and dry yeast. Most people in this country want such an alternative when they hear the name. But the name Oladji may be more correct (see Wikipedia).

Ingredients

Blinis are perfect for a leisurely brunch or for dinner. When you want something different from the usual sandwiches, the classic Eastern European pancakes come in handy: fluffy, flavorful, and very variable.

Whatever name they have: The simple blinis are really delicious! Even though their appearance is similar to their American relatives, they are very different. This is mainly due to the consistency of the yeast dough (instead of pancakes with baking powder or pancakes with baking soda). Secondly, the blinis with buckwheat taste more aromatic than wheat.

How to make the Russian Blinis

First of all, separate the eggs. Mix the two types of flour with yeast and sugar. Stir in the lukewarm milk, egg yolks, and melted butter, adding the lukewarm milk gradually. The dough should not have any lumps and should not be too liquid. Cover the dough and let it rise warmly for at least 1 hour. Then, beat the egg whites until half stiff and carefully fold them into the dough so that as little air as possible escapes. Let the dough rise again in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Heat fat in a large frying pan and then turn down to medium heat. Pour the dough in batches (you may need several side by side), spoon a little rounder, and fry the blinis roughly for 3 minutes on each side.

Top Tip

I make the blinis with dry yeast; fresh yeast is also possible. I kept the preparation as easy as possible. After all, there are recipes where the dough has a rising time, or you make some fermented sourdough starter. And what do you actually eat blinis with? The best-known is undoubtedly the classic alternative with sour cream, caviar, and/or smoked salmon.

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Blinis

Classic buckwheat pancakes from Eastern Europe that taste both sweet and savory

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Baking Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 20 pieces

Calories: 105kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 150 grams (1 ⅓ cups) buckwheat flour
• 150 grams (1 ⅕ cups) all-purpose flour
• 7 grams (1 ⅘ tablespoons) dry yeast, 1 sachet
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 eggs, medium
• 350 milliliters (1.5 cups) milk
• 30 grams (2.1 tablespoons) butter, liquid
• ¼ teaspoon (⅓ teaspoon) salt
• 50 grams (3 ⅔ tablespoons) butter, coarse, for frying

Instructions

• Separate the eggs. Mix the two types of flour with yeast and sugar. Stir in the lukewarm milk, egg yolks, melted butter and salt, adding the lukewarm milk gradually. The dough should not have any lumps and should not be too liquid. Cover the dough and let it rise warmly for at least 1 hour.
• Then beat the egg whites until half stiff and carefully fold them into the dough so that as little air as possible escapes. Let the dough rise again in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
• Heat fat in a large frying pan and then turn down to medium heat. Pour the dough in batches (you may need several side by side), spoon a little rounder, and fry the blinis roughly for 3 minutes on each side.

Notes

• The exact number of pieces depends on how big or small you want the blinis. For extra-large pancakes, baking time may be longer; mini blinis may be shorter.
• Instead of butter, clarified butter and neutral oils are also suitable for baking.
• The amount of sugar can be reduced to ¼ teaspoon (for the yeast), but the blinis taste more balanced with a little more. For sweet blinis, use more sugar if desired and/or dust with powdered sugar.
• As a garnish fit e.g. (lightly salted) sour cream, caviar or salmon and dill.

Ingredient substitutions

Do you want to replace some ingredients? Here you find tips for baking ingredient substitutions!

Variations

For the photos, I bought caviar for the first time ever and admittedly scraped it down nicely while eating 😉 … You can also serve minced meat, other fish, or butter. With us, there was a part even sweet with powdered sugar. The blini recipe is the same for both alternatives; sugar or salt can be adjusted minimally at most. I like them best with a light sweetening, regardless of the topping.