Buckwheat Blini
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for frying and serving
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces creme fraiche or sour cream
- 3 ounces caviar, preferably osetra
- Heat the milk and 4 tablespoons of butter over low heat until butter is melted, and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons of warm water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the sugar water and let stand in a warm place until yeast is frothy, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the milk mixture, add egg yolks and whisk to blend.
- Combine the flours and salt and gradually whisk into the yeast mixture until smooth.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let batter rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Stir to deflate the batter.
- (Batter can be covered and refrigerated for 24 hours before proceeding.)
- Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold whites into batter just until blended.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Melt enough butter to coat a large griddle or skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
- When butter sizzles, drop tablespoons of batter onto surface to make blini roughly 2 inches in diameter.
- Cook until bubbles appear on top and the bottom is golden brown.
- Turn and cook until bottom is lightly browned.
- Place blini, overlapping but not stacked (they will get soggy), on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining batter.
- Stop using the batter when bubbles no longer appear on the top (there may be about 1 cup left), or the blini will be thin and tough.
- To serve, brush blini lightly with melted butter and top each with a dab of creme fraiche or sour cream and a small dollop of caviar.
milk, unsalted butter, sugar, active dry yeast, eggs, flour, buckwheat flour, salt, creme fraiche, osetra
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1785 (may not work)