How to make Lenten mini pancakes, Lipetsk ‘bobyshki’ (Recipe)
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Loading... - Ekaterina Abramov
- 06 Mar 2023
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Try something new for breakfast: vegan mini pancakes are delicious with raspberry sauce.
Yulia Mulino
Most people think of pancakes or fritters as something greasy and unhealthy. The recipe for Russian 'bobyshki' defies that stereotype. ‘Bobyshki’ are authentic vegan mini pancakes.
Bobyshki are considered a regional culinary specialty of the Lipetsk region, located 400 km south of Moscow. Each family has its own recipe, and there are certain features that make the dish unique.
Bobyshki are sweet little pancakes or buns that are especially popular during Lent. For many, they are now a childhood memory, when grandmothers used to make a hearty breakfast.
The traditional base of bobyshki is the broth that remains after the millet grits are boiled. Besides flour and yeast, the dough usually contains nothing but salt and sugar. The dough has to infuse the entire night. The mini pancakes were traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven.
One might think that it was convenient in everyday life to make them, and it was a way to use the broth and not just throw it away. The women made porridge for dinner and used the rest of the broth to make the dough. In the morning they quickly put the bobyshki in the oven - breakfast for the family was ready.
A second feature is that they are small in size. Baked in the oven they are like small buns; in the pan they are mini pancakes.
The third feature is the sweet topping. Since the dough is lean and not oily, it is the sweetness that imparts the taste to the dish. In the olden days, the cream was made from hemp seed and sugar. Another popular variant of the sauce is halva syrup. In later versions, cocoa powder is added to the sauce to give a chocolate flavor. Anyway, the sauce is prepared in advance. Hot bobyshki are laid out in a large dish and poured on top of the sweet dressing.
In preparing bobyshki, I tried to take into account its main traditional features, but adapted to modern conditions and available products. I respected the proportions. Broth of millet and flour - one to one. The batter turned out to be a little liquidy, thicker than for traditional pancakes.
After trying to bake the bobyshki both in the oven and in the pan (you’ll see them in photos), I chose the latter as the best way of cooking. In the oven, the bobyshki came out as spongy buns. My kids liked them as a sort of small panini with a variety of fillings.
For the dressing, I use a berry kissel. The bobyshki, which are quite dry on their own, soak up the sauce and become soft and juicy.
I served them up a little bit differently than the traditional manner. Instead of a large communal dish, I used individual bowls. In the end, it turned out to be a dessert version garnished with fresh berries and seeds.
Ingredients for 6-8 servings:
Yulia Mulino
For bobyshki:
Flour - 350 g
Millet - 75 g
Water - 750 ml (or 400 ml of millet broth)
Yeast - 5 g
Sugar - 2 tbsps
Salt - 2/3 tbsps
Vegetable oil
For kissel:
Raspberry - 300 g
Water - 500 ml
Sugar - 3 - 6 tbsps (to taste)
Starch - 3 tsps
Preparation:
Bobyshki
1. Pour the millet groats with water into a pot and boil for about 40 minutes with a cover on top. During this time, the groats should swell and cook thoroughly. Read More…
