Tacohuaco

Blini

AutumnBakingBreakfastsBrunchesPancakesRussian cuisineSpringWinter

3 hours

In Russia, blini are a big thing. The true yeast blini are softer and thicker than French crêpes and have so many holes the filling seeps out if you don’t eat them fast enough. Roll them with smetana, jam, smoked fish, or caviar, and you’ll be surprised how fast a full stack disappears from the table.

Blini are a perfect brunch for slow Sundays. They are also essential for Maslenitsa (Butter Week) — a celebration of spring — the last week of butter, dairy, and rich food before the long Lenten fast (though we’re not fasting, it’s still a great tradition and in this family we welcome any reason to eat delicious food).

Keywords: Блины

Ingredients

Yields 12 blini

  • 600 g milk
  • 7 g dry yeast
  • 4 eggs
  • 25 g brown sugar
  • 180 g all-purpose flour
  • 5 g fine salt
  • 20 g butter (more for buttering baked blini)
  • olive oil

You will need

  • mixer
  • pancake pan
  • wide pot with cover

Directions

  1. Take 150 g milk and warm it to:
    • 28–30 ˚C in summer (if needed)
    • 32–35 ˚C in winter
  2. Add 7 g dry yeast and 5 g sugar. Mix and leave for 10–15 min until foamy.
  3. Separate whites and yolks of 4 eggs. Stash whites in the fridge (we’ll need them later).
  4. In a mixer bowl, mix yolks with 20 g sugar until slightly pale.
  5. In a small bowl, combine 180 g flour and 5 g salt.
  6. Add the milk-yeast mixture, the remaining 450 g milk (cold or room temperature), and the flour to the yolk mixture. Mix until smooth (batter should be thin, like drinkable yogurt).
  7. Cover and ferment:
    • in summer (25–30 ˚C): 30–60 min at room temperature
    • in winter (<20 ˚C): 60–120 min in a slightly warm place (oven light on or near radiator)
  8. Stop when bubbles are visible across the surface and slight foam appears. Do not wait for volume increase.
  9. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and mix it with 150–200 g of the batter. Stir until fully smooth and emulsified. Let this mixture cool to lukewarm (~30 ˚C max), then return it to the main batter and mix gently.
  10. Whip egg whites to soft peaks.
  11. Fold in whipped egg whites carefully until just incorporated.
  12. On a pancake pan over medium-low heat, lightly oil (spread the oil using a silicone brush). Adjust the temperature once in a while and don’t make the pan too hot.
  13. Pour a ladleful of batter in a spiral motion from the center of the pan to its edges. Don’t spread the batter — let it flow naturally after pouring.
  14. Cook until the surface sets and holes appear, then flip and cook the other side.
  15. Put a baked blin into a wide pot, put a small piece of butter on top, and cover.
  16. Repeat for the remaining batter.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from Artem’s grandma recipe.

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