Sourdough Buckwheat Blinis

Tasty savoury sourdough buckwheat blinis made using natural leaven. Perfect served as a base for canapés, or as breakfast pancakes with a difference

Sourdough Buckwheat Blinis

There is no time of day at which the right answer can’t be pancakes. From fluffy American for breakfast (like our Banana, Nectarine & Linseed Pancakes or Mango & Blueberry Pancakes), served with butter, maple syrup and a couple of rashers of bacon, to Breton galettes made with buckwheat and crêpes at lunchtime to drop scones or Scotch pancakes in the afternoon, finishing the day with a spectacular crêpes Suzette flambé.

There’s one pancake missing from that list above, the Russian blini. Small, served warm and classically topped with sour cream, dill and smoked fish, it’s a perfect pre-dinner snack or canapé. Like pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, they’re traditionally served just before lent, but unlike our thinner, larger versions, it’s a fluffy, yeast raised offering. And far too good to be reserved for just one day of the year.

We made these blinis using both sourdough starter or leaven as well as bread maker’s yeast. The sourdough adds a sourness, that really works with the savoury flavours from buckwheat flour, but by using yeast to raise and aerate the batter, you won’t have the longer wait associated with natural, sourdough yeasts.

A traditional topping for these little morsels is smoked fish, especially smoked salmon, with some sour cream and maybe a little pinch of fish roe, but there are a myriad of ways to top them. A little smear of chopped egg, cress and mayonnaise? Cream cheese and a roast pepper relish? Goat’s cheese and a little slice of fig? Or replace the fig with a little slice of Prosciutto or another dried ham? They’re so versatile that the only limit is your imagination.

Blinis, like many bite sized foods, aren’t difficult to make, but can be a little fiddly. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, add the sourdough leaven and egg yolk and stir it in: by stirring the yeast into the liquid, you make sure it’s evenly distributed through the batter. Add the dry ingredients, and then leave for an hour or so to let the yeast aerate the batter. By whisking the egg white and stirring it in, you will be adding extra aeration to the final batter to give the lightest fluffiest blini possible.

So for your next party, why not answer the question with the right pancake answer: sourdough buckwheat blinis.

How to Make Sourdough Buckwheat Blinis

Step one – gather and weigh out the ingredients, and separate the egg into the yolk and white. 

Step two – warm the milk to about 30°C / 85°F and whisk in the yeast.

Step three – add the ripe sourdough starter/leaven and egg yolk. Whisk together. 

Step four – add the dry ingredients – the flour, buckwheat flour and salt. Mix together. Let stand in a warm place for about an hour to rise. 

Step five – whisk the egg white to soft peaks stage. Fold gently into the batter. 

Step six – warm the blini or frying pan. Wipe with a little butter on a piece of kitchen paper. Spoon in one tablespoon of batter. Turn once, when the bubbles have risen to the top and the blinis are a golden brown on the bottom. 

Step seven – allow to cool before adding toppings. 

Hints and Tips for Sourdough Buckwheat blinis

• Let your imagination run riot with toppings! How about sour cream, smoked salmon and lumpfish roe. Or a little spoonful of scrambled egg? Slices of boiled quails eggs? Smoked trout with horseradish sauce mixed with sour cream? A little slice of roast beef, again with horseradish?
• You could make larger versions for a breakfast pancake/galette. Serve with a generous topping of smoked salmon creamy scrambled egg.
• Use up leftover leven in our leftover leaven loaf. 

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5 from 5 votes

Sourdough buckwheat blinis

These tasty savoury buckwheat blinis are made using sourdough leaven. Perfect served as a base for canapés, or breakfast pancakes with a difference

Servings: 15 blinis

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Blinis

• 130 ml milk
• ½ tsp dried yeast
• 80 g ripe sourdough leaven
• 1 egg (separated into yolk and white)
• 40 g white flour
• 40 g buckwheat flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter (for cooking)

Instructions

• Warm the milk to about 30°C, and whisk in the yeast to dissolve it.
• Add the sourdough leaven and egg yolk to the milk and mix together.
• Then mix in the flour, buckwheat flour and salt. Cover, and leave for about one hour to allow the yeast to work – it’s ready when spongy, aerated and bubbly.
• When ready, preheat a heavy bottomed frying, pancake or blini pan on a medium to low heat.
• Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold into the batter.
• Wipe the pan with a little butter, and spoon in the mixture, using about 1 tablespoon per blini, to make them sized for an easy mouthful.
• Turn once, when brown on the bottom.
• Allow to cool before adding the toppings: we went for smoked salmon, sour cream and lumpfish roe, but let the imagination reign. How about smoked trout with a horseradish soured cream; or a delicate slice of roast beef, again with horseradish? Or make them a little larger and serve for a breakfast treat with rich and creamy scrambled eggs, garnished with smoked salmon.

Notes

• Use up leftover leaven in our leftover sourdough leaven loaf

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition Facts

Sourdough buckwheat blinis

Amount Per Serving

Calories 40 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Cholesterol 13mg4%

Sodium 92mg4%

Potassium 33mg1%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 55IU1%

Calcium 13mg1%

Iron 0.3mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Baking

Cuisine: Canape, Russian

Keyword: Sourdough buckwheat blini

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