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)
1 egg, room temperature
2 Tbsp extra light olive oil, plus more to saute 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
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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! 🙂