MOM'S BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES

Although my father liked the regular pancakes my mother often served for breakfast (see a previous post on April 19 for the recipe), these slightly sour-tasting buckwheat ones were his favorite. She didn't make them often, partly because they required some work on the night before and after a day of feeding six hungry mouths by the time night came, the last thing she wanted to do was go back into the kitchen. (She liked to practice her Chopin instead, but that's a different story.) This infrequency made the pancakes all the more special so that by the time we wanted them again, we begged my mother to make them. Cover them with pure maple syrup and serve with crisp bacon. You'll find them worth going to the kitchen for, at any time, day or night.

 

MOM'S BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES

serves 2-3

 

The night before:

 

1. Dissolve 1/2 cake of yeast (or the equivalent in package form) in 2 C lukewarm water. Add 1 T sugar.

 

2. Sift together and add to the water and yeast, 2 C of buckwheat flour, 1/2 C all purpose white flour and 1 T of yellow cornmeal. Beat well, cover and put the bowl in a warm place overnight. 

 

The next morning:

 

1. Add 1 egg, beaten with 1/4 t baking powder, 1 T molasses and 1/4 t baking soda dissolved in 1/2 C milk. Mix well.

 

Note: the batter should be thin enough for  you to think it won't bake. If it seems very thick, add more milk. Grease your griddle slightly, or these pancakes will stick. Use any remaining batter as a "starter" for the next batch. This recipe can also be used for buckwheat blinis; just make them smaller than regular pancakes.