Well, I am so loving my new pancake pan that I’ve been whipping it out at any excuse. And what batter excuse (!) than Pancake Day. This morning we had some more of our regular Breakfast Pancakes which I wrote about way back in my early blogging days. There’s a Breton-style Buckwheat batter waiting for an outing in an hour and I have an Egyptian Yeast Pancake batter proving which will be filled with a sugar cinnamon nut mix and eaten dipped in sweet syrup. I cannot wait to share them so here goes.
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Breakfast Pancake
I gave the recipe for these here but I also now add 20 g of melted unsalted butter to the batter to give extra richness and moisture. Best of all, these pancakes are the perfect excuse to dig out those unset homemade jellies and jams and spoon the sweet fruity syrup (for that is what you may now call those previous ‘failures’) over a dollop of thick yoghurt on warm pancakes. Success.
As you can see from above I also rack up the sweetness with a happy drizzle of maple syrup.
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Breton Galettes de Blé Noir
(that’s Breton Buckwheat Pancakes to you and me)
Makes approx 6 pancakes
Buckwheat flour is gluten-free but all advice is that it is hard to handle a 100% buckwheat pancake while cooking. So either add plain flour (I used a 2:1 ratio buckwheat to plain) or perhaps double the egg quantity? Some recipes give a high ratio of 10:1 but trial out what you prefer. The more buckwheat the nuttier the flavour.
Ingredients
100 g buckwheat flour
50 g plain flour
30 g melted unsalted butter
1 egg
200 mls water
100 mls milk
salt
Method
Beat egg with water and milk. Add to the flours in a bowl.
Melt butter and add to mixture. Season.
Let batter stand for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
When ready to make, heat a pancake pan (or wide shallow frying pan) over a medium heat/flame and brush the pan lightly with a bland, high burning point vegetable oil (not olive oil). Some suggest melted butter with some oil added but I find the butter burns too easily.
When the pan is hot and the oil is beginning to shimmer take a deep breath and spoon a ladle of batter starting in the centre of the pan and swirling out. You need to spread the batter as thin and as wide as possible. Use the back of the ladle to help do this.
Then let it cook without touching it until the pancake begins to brown at the edge. Shake the pan, if the pancake moves slightly then it is ready to turn over. Cook on the other side.
Stack the pancakes up on a plate and keep covered and warm.
When ready fill the pancakes with a savoury filling of your choice. Grated cheese (Comté is wonderful), slices of ham, fried egg, tomatoes fried with onion and herbs, the list is endless. But a fried egg on top of a slice of thin cured ham with a dollop of spicy sauce was my choice.
Enjoy.
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Sweet Egyptian Pancakes
Makes approx 6 pancakes
This is based on a traditional Egyptian recipe shared by Jennifer Klinec who ran cooking classes in London under the name EatDrinkTalk. I went to one of her classes and loved receiving and reading her newsletter where she shared her love of middle eastern food. Jennifer stopped her cooking classes a couple of years ago but I treasure the recipes and stories of her middle eastern travels that she produced. This yeast pancake is one such treasure.
Ingredients
5 g fresh yeast
a generous pinch of sugar
125 mls warm water (NOT hot, warm so you can comfortably dip a finger in it)
115 grams plain flour
40 mls milk
a pinch of baking powder
butter or vegetable oil for cooking
Walnut-Cinnamon Filling
1 handfuls of walnuts, coarsely chopped (or a nut mix)
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
Rosewater Syrup
70 grams caster sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
Method
Crumble the yeast into the warm water adding the pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside as you measure all the other ingredients out.
Add the flour and baking powder to the now dissolved yeast water mix. Mix slowly and thoroughly adding the milk as you make sure all lumps are removed.
Now cover the batter mix and leave to rest in a warm place for a few hours or until the batter rises and doubles.
While the batter rises make the rose syrup and nut filling.
Make the Rose syrup by heating the sugar and rosewater slowly in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar has all dissolved and begins to thicken. Remove and store. This can be made in advance. It can be warmed before use if it becomes too thick.
Toast the nuts lightly (do not burn or they will become bitter). Chop them up and mix with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
When the batter is risen and has hundreds of air holes you are ready to start cooking.
Heat a pancake pan (or wide bottomed, shallow frying pan). Brush with oil.
Now spoon a ladle of batter starting in the centre of the pan and swirling out. You need to spread the batter as thin as possible. Use the back of the ladle to help do this.
These pancakes differ from others in that they are cooked on one side only. The longer you cook the crisper the pancake.
Sprinkle the pancake with the sugar nut mix. Fold over and allow the contents to warm through. The cinnamon sugar mix will start to melt.
Serve and just before eating, dribble, spread, dip into the rosewater syrup. Fold up again and eat messily, dipping the pancake into the perfumed syrup. Dee-lish-us.
Variations
Instead of Rosewater Syrup you could try Orange Water Syrup or a sweet sharp Lemon Syrup.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, so this is the result of the Buckwheat search. Do send some samples by return post!!! (I wish!).
Might have to omit the egg and the rosewater syrup though in case envelope leaks!
Mmm, looks delicious
Used your basic recipe but substituted wholewheat spelt flour and soya milk. The liquidized some frozen berries with some soy milk for topping and it was difficult to stop at 2…..didn’t want that batter to go to waste!
)
Sounds lovely, must try spelt flour in pancakes. Use it often when baking.
Oh how wonderful. I lived in Egypt for 6 months and never once came across pancakes. Can’t really complain as the food I did eat was wonderful, but will have to make up for it now. The Breton buckwheat ones look good too.