What’s for Breakfast? Oladky.
A Thick, Fluffy Pancake Recipe from ‘Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen’ 🌻 Also: Irma Rombauer’s 145th Birthday and a preview of next week’s post about the documentary film ‘The Automat’
Late last March I attended a Virtual Bake-a-Thon for Ukraine which raised funds for several aid organizations including World Central Kitchen. (https://wck.org)
The day brought together bakers from around the world and it was at this event that I ‘met’ Anna Voloshyna, one of the talented chefs doing a demo and the author of the really beautiful new book Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen, just released in September.
Anna was born and raised in Ukraine and now makes her home in California. She vigorously champions Ukrainian cuisine, continues to fundraise and talks about Ukraine whenever and wherever she can.
I feel it’s my duty to keep these dishes alive, tell their stories and share my culture.
Anna Voloshyna, 2022, from Budmo!
If you’d like to hear a recent radio interview with Anna as she talks about Budmo! and Ukrainian cuisine on station KQED-FM, Click: HERE or link via the Instagram post below.
And the title of her book? What does Budmo mean?
I titled this cookbook Budmo, which means “let us be” — the English equivalent of “cheers” — because it is my favorite Ukrainian word and signals a celebration. Whenever I hear it, I know there will be delicious food, blazing drinks and countless toasts.
Anna Voloshyna, 2022 from Budmo!
Thick Kefir Oladky
The picture above is proof of me not being able to wait like an adult to properly plate these crisp-on-the outside, fluffy-on-the-inside-heaven-sent- pancakes before I slathered one with Michigan Sour Cherry preserves and devoured it whole. Geez, these are good!
If you want to dazzle your family, friends or holiday guests, make oladky for breakfast one morning. Or just go ahead and make them for yourself. I made them three times already this week, and every time I do I get them to rise a little higher. Anna told me to make sure the batter is thick enough and add just a little bit more flour if it feels too thin. Also, the recipe calls for either kefir or buttermilk and I used buttermilk simply because I had it on hand.
Make these — You will be happy and so will everybody else!
Many thanks to Anna for permission to share this recipe from BUDMO! with you.
Ingredients
Serves 2
1 1/4 cups plain kefir or buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
Sunflower or canola oil, for frying
Honey, sour cream and/or jam for serving
Method
In a medium bowl combine the kefir (or buttermilk) egg, salt, sugar and baking soda and beat gently with a whisk. While continuing to whisk constantly, gradually add the flour. When all the flour has been added, continue to mix until the batter is smooth and thick. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
Have ready a large plate lined with paper towels. Pour the oil to a depth of 1/4 inch into a large frying pan (I used my cast iron pan) and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Turn down the heat to medium-low and drop a small scoop (2-3 tablespoons) of the batter into the hot oil for each pancake, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook until crisp and golden brown on the bottom and the top has set, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes over and fry until crisp and golden brown on the second side 2-3 minutes longer. Transfer to the prepared plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Serve the pancakes warm with your choice of topping.
Happy 145th Birthday, Irma Rombauer!
This is a lovely, heartfelt post from Irma Rombauer’s great-grandson, John Becker and his wife, Megan Scott, who are the Co-Authors and Editors of the latest edition (2019) of The Joy of Cooking.
Irma is one of my heroes and this post succinctly and sweetly summarizes why.
Happy Birthday, Irma! 🎂 (Click on photo to read post.)
Next Week
I watched the terrific documentary film The Automat this week, directed by Lisa Hurwitz. Next week I’ll be writing about it and baking the original Horn and Hardart Pumpkin Pie recipe as well as making the famous Cup Custard.
See you then!
Jolene
Packed with goodies, Jolene! I’ve learned in recipe testing for this So baking book that kefir can substitute for hard to find buttermilk outside the South. Also plain full fat yogurt does too, not the thick Greek stuff, the one with the watery liquid.
Ah, the cast iron, yes!