Russian pancakes, it's what you want for breakfast, they are thick, hearty, delicious, did i mention delicious?

I love a good pancake, c'mon, you do too!  I love the gigantic circles of fluffiness I get at local diners, Cracker Barrel, Denny's and Jim's, oh yeah, so good.  I will admit, my home pancakes are good but not the same.  I decided a while back not to fight it but to embrace it.  I searched for pancakes from around the world.  I already made English pancakes (crepes) very well, Welsh cakes (well they're not REALLY pancakes) and Dutch gigantic filled pancakes.  I discovered that I had not made thick, yeasty Eastern European versions of the pancake.  I futzed and played with various recipes and versions and came up with this particular version that I make for me and for Connor.  Serve them hot from the pan with powdered sugar sprinkled over them then serve with sour cream (seriously, trust me!) and jam. You're going to want to make these.  They take an hour to proof BUT you can whip up the batter then make your coffee, deal with dogs and chickens, write a blog post and before you know it, the hour is up and you can can start frying, and best of all, EATING these little culinary gifts from the heavens!

TRACY'S VERSION OF RUSSIAN PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup warmed milk (I nuke it for 40 seconds)
1 TB sugar
1 tsp yeast (leave to proof a few minutes if you're unsure of the yeast)
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour (have another 1/4 in case you need it)
1/4 tsp salt


METHOD:

In a bowl or 4+ cup glass measuring jug, combine the milk and sugar, add yeast and mix well.  IF you're unsure of the yeast, leave it to proof a few minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients all at one time.  Mix well with a fork until most of the lumps are gone.  IF it's too thin (mine was in this case) add another 1/4 cup of flour.  You want the batter slightly thicker than regular (American) pancake batter, it should leave ribbons when you lift the fork.

Cover and leave to proof about an hour.

Heat a pan over medium heat and add a little oil, just to barely cover the bottom.  Without stirring, scoop the gloppy thick batter by spoonful into the pan, leave room!!  Leave them alone till the sides look as though they're drying/cooking and you can see a brown edge.  Flip once, gently, and leave to cook the rest of the way through. IF they're browning quickly, turn down the heat, they take a few minutes to cook through.

Dust with confectioners sugar (icing sugar) and serve plain, with honey, with jam, with sour cream and jam (trust me, this is the way to go) or with maple syrup that your mom brings you from Canada in vodka bottles... or maybe that's just me.

EAT EAT EAT

Let me know how much you love them!

HERE are the play by play and action shots; ok, not that much action but the delicious pictures!

THE PHOTO EVIDENCE

Mix the milk, sugar, yeast and leave it for a bit

    

Add the egg and one cup of flour, as well as the salt, mix it up with a fork

     

Mix and lift, hmm, this is too thin so add another another 1/4 cup of the flour, see how much thicker? Yeah, that's what we want.

    

Mix to remove most lumps, cover with plastic and leave it to poof, that's a technical cookery term, obviously.  OH look at the bubblyness!  THAT is what we're looking for

    

Heat a flat pan with some oil, don't deflate the batter, just scoop large spoonfuls into the hot fat, do not mess with it.  Leave till it browns around the edge and you see the massive bubbles on top.  These are THICK and are supposed to be!  Flip once and cook the rest of the way.

    

Serve these babies up with some powdered sugar and on the side put a blob of sour cream, yes, do it, and some strawberry jam or preserves.  You're going to love these

   

Go on, make these, they're so good, so so good, so so so good. 

/enjoy