These traditional Russian pancakes are properly made with buckwheat flour. At River Cottage, we love to make blinis but rarely have buckwheat, so we use a mix of rye and wheat flours. They are totally delicious.
Ingredients
- 225 ml milk
- 200 ml natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
- 2 large free-range eggs, separated
- 100 g rye flour
- 100 g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 g powdered dried yeast
- A little melted butter or sunflower oil, for greasing
How to Make It
- Warm the milk and yoghurt or crème fraîche together in a pan until just tepid, then remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, milk mix and yeast until smooth. Cover with cling film and leave for at least an hour to ferment. You can leave it for 3 or 4 hours, if you like.
- When ready to cook, heat a large, heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then stir a spoonful into your bubbling batter to loosen it. Now gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.
- Grease the pan with a scrunched-up piece of kitchen paper dipped in melted butter or oil. Dollop tablespoonfuls of the batter into the pan – as many as you can fit, but not too close together as they will spread slightly. Cook for a minute or so, then flip over and cook for another minute. Remove and keep warm, wrapped in a cloth, while you cook the rest. Serve hot, with butter or savoury toppings.