Moms Ukrainian Buttermilk Pancakes; Blinchiki/ Oladi
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Mom made these блинчики/оладьи all the time when we were kids and she still makes them regularly. These buttermilk pancakes are excellent with all kinds of toppings; sour cream, fresh fruit, jam, maple syrup…
They are nothing like boxed pancakes or the junk from Ihop because they won’t taste like soggy bread the next day.
Ingredients for buttermilk pancakes:
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups warm water
2 eggs
½ Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp active dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (Flour made in Canada makes the fluffiest pancakes)
½ cup raisins (optional)
Oil for frying
How to make buttermilk pancakes:
1. Whisk together the first 6 ingredients (buttermilk, water, eggs, salt, sugar and yeast).
2. Add the flour one cup at a time until it is the texture of cake batter. There should not be lumps of flour. My husband likes to add raisins at the end.
3. You have to put the batter in a warm place to rise. We use the oven. Warm your oven and then turn it off so it’s just about 90˚F in there. Not too warm. Pour the batter in an oven proof bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it sit in a warm oven for 1 hour. It will about double in volume. You can put it outside in summer.
4. In a large skillet, heat 3-4 Tbsp of oil over medium heat.
5. Place heaping Tbsp of dough onto the skillet and sauté until golden brown, then turn over. You can get better shaped pancakes if you use a wet Tbsp to put the dough in the skillet and scrape it off with a teaspoon.
6. Continue to oil your skillet in between each batch. They turn out nicer on a well-oiled skillet.
Moms Ukrainian Buttermilk Pancakes (Yeast Pancakes)
My Mom's Oladi or Blinchiki are the fluffiest Buttermilk Pancakes made with yeast.
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 eggs
- ½ Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ½ Tbsp active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cups flour
- ½ cup raisins, optional
- Oil for frying
Instructions
-
Whisk together the first 6 ingredients (buttermilk, water, eggs, salt, sugar and yeast).
-
Add the 3 3/4 cups of flour one cup at a time until it is the texture of cake batter. There should not be lumps of flour.
-
Place the batter in a warm place to rise. We use the oven. Warm your oven and then turn it off so it’s just about 90 degrees in there. Not too warm. Pour the batter in an oven proof bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it sit in a warm oven for 1 hour. It will about double in volume. You can put it outside in summer.
-
In a large skillet, heat 3-4 Tbsp of oil over medium heat.
-
Place heaping tablespoons of dough onto the skillet and sauté until golden brown, then turn over. You can get better shaped pancakes if you use a wet tablespoon to put the dough in the skillet and scrape it off with a teaspoon.
-
Continue to oil your skillet in between each batch. They turn out nicer on a well-oiled skillet.
Enjoy :D.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha! First of all, thank you for all your recipes! I used so many of them. Just today I made the perfect peach pie with the flaky crust using the lattice tutorial too. All from your website. My family loved it. Turned out beautiful and delicious!
Now, to my question. I have self rising flour, that my husband bought by mistake. I’m trying to figure how to use it. Could I use it for this recipe somehow omitting the yeast? Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
P.S. Hope your book is coming out soon, I can’t wait!
I’m so glad to hear you all loved this recipe, Helen! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I havne’t tried this recipe with self-rising flour to advise specifically, with baking being such a science, it can easily hinder the results. If you try it, though, I’d love to know how it works!
I want to make these but don’t have yeast. Can I substitute with something else?
Hi Anya, I haven’t honestly tried anything else to advise.
wish you’d give the weight of the flour you use; it would be so much more repeatable with that little tidbit of info and probably answer for most of the anomalies people report…just sayin…:)
Hi there Bill, we are working on adding metric measurements to most recipes and they can be found towards the bottom of each post. We are slowly working through all of our recipes to add nutrition info but it is a time-consuming process as they have to be added one at a time. Thank you for being patient!
I’m really curious about these. They look so good. Maybe I missed it, but where do the raisins come in? Do you put them in the batter? And can you substitute any other fruit?
Hi Eleni. In this recipe you would add raisins after adding flour. In step two. 🙂
I made these today, we didn’t love them, but didn’t dislike them. We found them “chewy” instead of tender and fluffy. (we are Canadian so used Canadian flour). They were a very different texture from my regular pancake recipe. Not sure I would make them again, my husband didn’t think they were worth the anticipation of letting the batter rise for an hour. I even made a fresh blueberry syrup. disappointed.
Hi Sherri, I suspect it was due to using Canadian flour which has a higher gluten content. If you substitute with Canadian flour, you would most likely need less flour than what is called for in the recipe which is why it probably seemed “chewy”.
Hello Natasha) These pancakes are incredible) I made them the moment I found the recipe and had one of those “Slap your Mama” moments!! 🙂 So fluffy and tasty, I added some poppy seeds and cinnamon to mine, topped with black berries and sour cream! Wow! All your recipes are the best) Keep them coming) P S I’m planing on making the One Pot Beef Plov tonight) Wish me luck 🙂
Hello Jeffery! I’m so glad to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for following and sharing your awesome review!! 🙂
I’m a bit confused. My dad would make silver dollar sized oladi pancakes like these, but these definitely are not blinchiki. Blinchiki are more like crepes. Unless I’ve been tricked all these years…
It sounds like it’s just a difference in what you and I grew up calling these 🙂 Different areas of Eastern Europe had different names for these.
Hi Natasha! I have not made these yet, but I have made many of the other recipes you have posted and I love everything I make! So does my Ukrainian husband. I just have a quick question. I am currently living in Ukraine and I am trying to find buttermilk. There are so many different dairy products here. What is the Ukrainian name for buttermilk? Translation sites keep giving me different answers. Thanks for your help:)!!
Dianna, Ukrainian name for it is “kefir” (кефір, кефир). I hope this helps 😁.
These are the best aladyshki I ever had! Yummy!!
Alina, I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for the awesome review 😄.
my family has a similar recipe but we use kefir:
2 eggs
1 cup kefir
1.2 cup flour
grated apples
1tsp sugar (optional)
beat eggs with sugar, then add kefir. then flour till thick but runny. then add apples. at the end, squeeze a lemon wedge over a pinch of baking soda and throw into the mixture while it fizzes. It makes the pancakes raise slightly. Fry as normal. We make them regularly!
Thank you so much for sharing! That sounds delicious with kefir!
I never have much luck with oladi or blini, so I was very much surprised and relieved to realize these turned out very good. Fluffy as promised. Thank you! 🙂
P.S. I used 365 Organic All Purpose flour from Whole Foods, if anyone is concerned.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! thank you for sharing that with us! I buy the organic Costco flour – now I’m curious how it compares! 😉
Natasha, if I were to add any pumpkin puree to the dough, would I need to change any other proportions? Trying to make something more Halloweeny.
To be honest, I haven’t tested it with pumpkin so I can’t really tell you any changes in proportions without trying it myself. I wouldn’t want to set you up for failure by guessing. If you experiment, let me know how it worked out.
what can i use instead of buttermilk?
Karina, my mom recommends using milk instead. Hope this helps :).
Hi natasha. Was wondering if I can’t make the dought ahead if time and wait to fry them? Do do I have to fry them after the rise?
If it’s kept in a cooler place, it will rise much slower or not at all (in the fridge). How much in advance are you planning to make the dough?
They are my favorite since childhood, my mom used to make them, and now I make them they are so tasty and soft.
Don’t you love recipes that remind you of your childhood. That is the best! 🙂
Yes, they are, my son likes them very much he usually eats 4 or 5. Some times I cant keep up to make them.
That’s so sweet! Thanks for sharing that with me.
These were amazing! I have made a few things from your site and they have all been universally loved by my family (adults and children alike). These were incredible, my husband said they were better than his grandmother’s. Thank you so much!!
I”m so happy they were a hit for you! 🙂 Thank you for the awesome review 🙂
I made those the other day. They fluffed up very well in the frying pan but then flattened up considerably on the plate. What could be the problem? Thank you for the wonderful recipes, I’m hooked on your blog.
I haven’t really had a problem with them becoming flat. What kind of flour did you use to make the pancakes? Did you change anything else in the recipe?
I used 3.5 cups of flour instead of 3 3/4, maybe that’s why?
That could be it. Did you use regular all purpose flour or Canadian?
Natasha, trying this recipe for the third time. Love it! However, the dough turns out watery. Yeast does work as determined by bubbles on the surface. My pancake come out porous but flat. Any idea how to improve this?
Thanks
Hi Natasha! Are you using a different kind of flour possibly? I wonder if you just need to add a little more flour?
These were absolutely delicious! One of my new favorite pancakes. We ate them with strawberry jam and vanilla sugar sweetened sour cream. I froze the extra and they reheated well in the oven.
They sound absolutely perfect with strawberry jam and sweetened sour cream. You’re making me crave these badly! 🙂 Thanks Tara for the great review 🙂
Your website is my go to for so many recipes! Today I made these fluffy buttermilk pancakes which my husband said and I quote ” OMG!! These are the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten! Get them away from me!” If you knew my husband you’d know that he HATES pancakes! This made my month! Thank u 🙂
You are very welcome Anna, your comment is music to my ears :D.
did you know the canadian flour contains Azodicarbonamide? it is the stuff that is used in yoga mats and shoe soles. and it makes the baked good fluffy. It’s horrible!!
love these oladi. they turn out super tasty with regular flour. I love these!!
Ewe I didn’t know that! We’ve been using organic unbleached flour from Costco pretty much exclusively lately. It works really well 🙂
Hey girl do u usually heat them up the next day? how do you store them and serve the next day leftovers? thanks so much
Put leftovers in the toaster. It’s so easy!! Serve them just like you would fresh when they pop out of the toaster 🙂
Wow these look amazing. Remind me of my grandmas. Totally trying these for Saturday ,
Hi, I tried making these this morning and I has no buttermilk so I used milk instead. They didn’t fluff and they came out really flat. What can I add to mix of the whole bowl of batter that I have. Thank you 🙂
You might add a tsp of vinegar. Stir an let it sit in a warm place ti rise. The recipe works best with buttermilk; it needs the acidity. Also, sometimes If your yeast isn’t fresh, it might not rise as well. After you open yeast, it should be sealed and refrigerated.
OH MY GOODNESS! I lived in Ukraine for about 3 1/2 years, and a good friend used to make these for me. I always regretted not getting the recipe when I could. I cannot wait to make these! In fact, I spent a good portion of this morning reading through your blog and printing all my favorite Ukrainian food recipes… there’s about to be a Ukrainian food revolution in my small town Oregon home!
Oh how awesome!! I bet your kitchen looks like a whirlwind hit it. What fun! 🙂
I love it. So, this morning i was trying to think of a breakfast, so checked my fridge, I’ve got buttermilk, and yladi came to my mind, my husband was talking about them once. Well since I never made them I thought, “I bet Natasha has the recipe”. And here it is . Love it. A Ukrainian recipe comes to my mind and I find just the recipe here. Thanks Natasha.
I hope you both love it! 🙂
Love all your receipts. In this particular receipt when would you add the raisins?
Thank you Anna :). In this recipe you would add raisins after adding flour.
Hi Natasha,
Boy am I glad I’ve come across your site! Finally, traditional recipes at the tip of my fingers… and everything always tastes great!
Question for you – I’ve made your olad’i before, following the recipe exactly. Currently, however, I have an abundance of milk but no buttermilk in the house. Can the recipes somehow be altered to use regular milk? Hoping for a speedy reply since I’ve craving these badboys tonight 😉
Hi Alya, these really do need the buttermilk. It if was a smaller amount of buttermilk, I’d say you could sub with milk and vinegar or lemon juice, but these buttermilk pancakes need their buttermilk 😉
Hey
I love this recipe, Natasha
Ive made it a few times this past year….and I got compliments on it from my bf and his mom.
I actually dont put the dough in the oven. I just let it sit for a long time…then put it in the fridge. When I wake up in the morning, then I just stir it and start making oladi for breakfast.
I’m glad that you like the recipe Sarah. 🙂
I love your recipes. They are every day dishes that I remember from childhood and a lot of similar dishes that I still use to feed my family. Yours are very similar and yet they have your own personal family touch. So its nice to sometimes use someone else’s family recipes to improve your own every day “line”. :):) Thank you. Will be making these blini over the weekend.
You are very welcome Nelya.
my hubby loves em! my grandma made similar before she went to heaven she was amazing and i miss her! thanks for sharing this recipe!
Your grandma sounds like an amazing woman 🙂 I miss my grandma too…
Hi There! I cant wait to try this recipe.I am a foreigner working here in ukraine and was wondering what is buttermilk called here in Ukraine? As I cant seem to find it …. Either ways, your blog is awesome : )
We always called it kefir
I love this recipe I just made it and it’s so good and yummy thanks so much for recipe I’m so happy that i found this website and my mom likes this website to.
Thank you Anna. I’m so glad you like the site 🙂
I just found your website, and I am so exited about it. I wanna make everything on here! I love all the pictures you take, and how easy your directions are. Thank you for all the effort you put into this, I’ll defiantly be a regular visitor.
this pancake looks so yummy, reminds me of the lunch my old co-woker shared with me a long time ago. he was a russian man and the lunch was left over breakfast his wife made that morning. i would love to try making it on the weekend. is the flour supposed to be bread flour or all purpose?
All purpose. Enjoy!
Used your recipe to make these for the first time and loved them so much! Ate them with jam, sour cream, and honey butter.
You said the dough is supposed to double in size, but I didn’t feel like it did (I put it in a warm oven.. maybe it wasn’t warm enough?). I felt like they were dense, not fluffy. Is that how they are supposed to be?
You can see the ones I made here! http://bit.ly/igWIcp
Hi Julia! Thanks for writing in to tell me that. First time I made them, I noticed my first batch turned out nicely but the rest were a little dense and it was because I didn’t have a well-oiled skillet the whole time. They don’t rise well if there isn’t enough oil. Also, try just 2 tablespoons less of flour next time – that will make a big difference since just a little too much flour can make them a bit dense.
Your comment prompted me to make them again right now. I put in exactly 3 1/2 cups flour to see if they will turn out fluffier without all the extra oil. It is rising in the oven right now. Also, I talked to my mom and she said if she’s not in a hurry, she just leaves hers on the counter for awhile until it rises, so i don’t think it was the oven temperature. You should only be concerned about the oven being too warm so it doesn’t start cooking. I’ll let you know how this batch turns out!
Wow, thank you for taking the time to reply with suggestions and then go and make them again! You’re awesome.
Hi Julia – so, I tried it with exactly 3 1/2 cups of flour and it also turned out very good. So, to be on the safe side, I’d probably use 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups. I still had to use quite a bit of oil (almost covering the bottom of the pan for perfect results with every batch. I also found that canola oil works better than olive oil. I also let them stand on the counter about 30 minutes after I took them out of the oven and they rose some more. Hope that helps. I’ll adjust the recipe accordingly. 🙂
These pancakes look so good. I wish had a plate of them right now.
I also made them without the sugar and they were great!
love the blinchiki recipe Natasha! and thank you for the help with zapykanka! (thanks Chatskaa!) I have always done a Christmas Eve dinner on January 6th for our family. Any favorite Ukrainian Christmas recipes that you all use for this holy day? I love that my family gets to celebrate the birth of our Savior twice! Blessings all!
I know, we celebrate on the 6th as well. I love that the celebration doesn’t on on Dec 25th! I’ll probably be making my kiev cake again. I love that cake!!
I made this recipe this morning and mine turned out nothing pretty like yours =( but they were GOOOOOD! thank you for the recipe.. i’m bad at frying stuff so they were a little bit darker than yours.
Question: are they supposed to puff up on the pan when frying, a little bit ?
They are supposed to puff up on the pan. I noticed they turn out prettier if you use a little more oil.
Hi! I’m from Belarus. It will be difficult to come up with запеканка recipe because it is just general term like casserole. It could be made of anything and baked. The most popular with cheese or potatoes. Take a look @ koolinar.ru.
It’s probably this one, the one with cottage cheese
http://chatskaa.livejournal.com/197184.html#cutid1
They make lots of them in Ukraine and in Russia, but they don’t make them in every family :).
It’s called запеканка in russian :), hope this helps.
Great recipes Natasha by the way!
Thanks Irina, I don’t think I’ve ever tried that before. The name запеканка sounds familiar though. It looks really yummy!
Natasha… love your blog. I too am Ukrainian American. Lived in Kyiv for a year and spent time w/ my family in Kamanets-Podolsk… have not found a recipe for Zapykanka… do you know what this is? a friend in Kyiv made this and I want to make it.. Left my heart in Ukraine forever…
I’ve never had that before. I think its more of a Polish food. It looks like there are some recipes if you type in: “Zapiekanka”
I know what that is. There is different types one made with farmers cheese творог and other made with noodles. Very easy to make. Email me if you want a recepie
Natasha…………thanks for haring this recipe. They look so tasty.
My Baba use to make these when were small, I haven’t had them for years. I’m of Ukrainian background on both sides but was born here and have never seen the Ukraine, but have heard lots of stories and the foods that they use to have.
I love your Blog, there are lots of recipes that I’m going to try and make.
Irka
Thank you! I’m gad you like it! I have so many recipes that are Ukrainian/Russian that I have yet to post. Requests for specific foods are always welcome; if there is something your Baba used to make, I may just have a recipe for it! 🙂
Hopefully I can keep it up when my classes start up in a couple weeks! Can’t guarantee it will be this often.
My goodness, every time I check your blog there is a new recapie posting. You are out of control with your cooking, you cooking queen you.