Raised Blini Food

BLINI RECIPE (Блины)

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, milk, water, oil, sugar and salt. Add the flour and continue to mix until it's completely smooth and has no lumps. It should have the consistency of a heavy cream, not runny like milk.
• Use 2 nonstick frying pans, so you can cook the crepes twice as fast. You'll get the rhythm, trust me. Grease the pans with oil and heat over medium high heat. Pans must be hot before you start.
• Using about 2/3 of a ladle, quickly pour into a tilted pan, and quickly spread it covering the surface of the frying pan. This needs to happen quickly, or you will have a thick, oddly shaped blinchik. The first few will always look wonky, it gets better as you get your rhythm going. If you have any holes in your blinchik, then fill with more batter. The goal is to make thin blini.
• Cook the blinchik for about 2 minutes until it is lighlty golden, and the edge starts to separate from the side of the frying pan. Using your fingers, (or a spatula) pick up the edge of the blinchik and flip it over and cook for about 2 minutes until golden brown.
• Place the hot blinchik on a plate, and smear the top side with the stick of butter. This is to prevent the next blinchik from sticking to each other. You will make a blini stack.
• Repeat this process, greasing pan with oil, until all the batter is gone.
• Best served warm with light sour cream and jam or honey.

BLINI (RUSSIAN PANCAKES)

Steps:

• Beat together the milk and the eggs. Stir in the salt and the sugar and mix well. Add the baking soda and citric acid.
• Blend in the flour. Add the vegetable oil and pour in the boiling water, stirring constantly. The batter should be very thin, almost watery. Set the bowl aside and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Pick the pan up off the heat. Pour in a ladleful of batter while you rotate your wrist, tilting the pan so the batter makes a circle and coats the bottom. The blini should be very thin.
• Return the pan to the heat. Cook the blini for 90 seconds. Carefully lift up an edge of the blini to see if it's fully cooked: the edges will be golden and it should have brown spots on the surface. Flip the blini over and cook the other side for 1 minute.
• Transfer the blini to a plate lined with a clean kitchen towel. Continue cooking the blini, adding an additional tablespoon of butter to the pan after each 4 blini. Stack them on top of each other and cover with the kitchen towel to keep warm.
• Spread your favorite filling in the center of the blini, and fold three times to make a triangle shape. You can also fold up all 4 sides, like a small burrito.

EASY BLINI (RUSSIAN PANCAKE)

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
• Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon melted butter together in a separate bowl. Mix into the flour mixture until batter is fully combined.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Drop batter, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto the heated skillet. Cook until bubbles form, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until brown, about 1 minute more. Lay on plate lined with a paper towel to help soak up excess butter. Repeat with the remaining batter.

RUSSIAN BUCKWHEAT BLINI PANCAKES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour with the all-purpose flour, salt, and instant yeast .
• Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, mixing until the batter is smooth.
• Cover the bowl and let the batter rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Stir into the batter the cooled, melted butter and the egg yolk.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until stiff but not dry.
• Fold the whisked egg white into the batter.
• Cover the bowl and let the batter stand 20 minutes.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Drop quarter-sized dollops of dough into a pan, being careful not to overcrowd it. Cook for about 1 minute or until bubbles form.
• Turn and cook for about 30 additional seconds.
• Remove the finished blini onto a plate and cover them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm. Repeat the frying process with the remaining batter.

BLINI WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Combine both flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter, then whisk into the flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter in a medium saute pan and drop the batter into the hot skillet, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook over medium-low heat until bubbles form on the top side of the blini, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute, or until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. (I clean the hot pan with a dry paper towel between batches.) Set aside.
• To serve, top the blini with a piece of smoked salmon. Add a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of dill.

RAISED BLINI

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk. Beat in one cup of the flour until the mixture is smooth. Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm place to rise for two hours.
• Stir in the egg yolks, cream and remaining flour. Add the salt, then fold in the egg whites. Cover again and set aside to rise for 30 to 40 minutes, until light and spongy.
• Heat a large skillet or a griddle with the butter. Using a tablespoon, form three-inch blini (pancakes) with the batter. Cook until golden on one side, then turn to cook the other side. As the blini are done, remove them to a heat-proof platter or baking sheet and keep warm.
• To serve, arrange three to four blini on each plate and top with some of the creme fraiche and caviar.