Mom made these Ukrainian Oladi, or Blinchiki as we call them, 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…
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They are nothing like boxed pancakes or the junk from Ihop because they won’t taste like soggy bread the next day. These almost have the texture of homemade jelly donuts and they feel like a treat for breakfast! The yeast and buttermilk add great depth of flavor to these and they rise beautifully.
Ingredients for Yeast Pancakes:
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cups warm water (about 115˚F)
2 eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp extra light olive oil, plus more to sautee the pancakes
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast or rapid-rise yeast
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly
½ cup raisins (optional)
How to make Yeast 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.
You know the pancakes are ready to flip when you see bubbles forming and starting to pop on the surface, or about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Be sure to oil the skillet between batches to help the pancakes form the golden crisp edges. They almost taste like donuts – so, so good!
Mom’s Yeast Pancakes (Oladi)
Ingredients
- 1 cups warm water, about 115˚F
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp extra light olive oil or other neutral oil, plus more to sautee pancakes
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast , or rapid rise yeast
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly – scoop and level
- ½ cup raisins, optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the first 6 ingredients (water, buttermilk, egg, oil, sugar, salt, and yeast).
- Add the flour one cup at a time until it is a thin cake-batter consistency. There should not be lumps of flour.
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave the batter at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or in a warm place* for 1 hour. It's ready when has nearly doubled in volume and is very bubbly.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom.
- Place heaping tablespoons* of dough onto the hot skillet and sauté until golden brown on the first side and you see bubbles form and start to pop on top, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
- Continue to oil your skillet in between each batch. They turn out nicer on a well-oiled skillet.
Notes
*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.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
How many pancakes does this recipe make? Can I make the pancakes on griddle? Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline, The serving size can be found at the beginning of the print-friendly recipe card (located at the bottom of the recipe post). The nutrition label shows counts “per serving.” Hope that helps! I bet this could work on a griddle, just be sure to have a decent amount of oil to ensure it doesn’t stick.
Hi Natasha – can this pancake batter be made the night before so it is ready for the next morning? Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline, I haven’t tried making it ahead, I worry it won’t be as fluffy and will settle in the fridge before cooking them.
Hi Natasha. My sister gave me your beautiful cookbook for Christmas. The first recipe I want to make is Baba’s Fluffy Oladi Pancakes. Since the cookbook is new and so big I thought I’d look up the recipe on your website and print it out. That is when I saw that the recipe on your website is different from the one in your cookbook. Why are they different and in your opinion, which one is best? I want to make them this morning so I am hoping for a quick response. Thank you.
HI Sandra, my favorite version is the one in the cookbook
Natsha, Thanks. That is the one I used and they were delicious!!! It is funny that my sister doesn’t cook but always directs me to your recipes that she thinks I will like. Her gift was much appreciated, I love your cookbook and your story. The pictures of your family are so precious. Thanks much for putting so much of yourself into everything you do.
You’re very welcome, Sandra! I appreciate the love and support.
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!! 🙂