DessertAI

Oladky

Name: Oladky
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 400 ml Kefir; 2 piece Eggs; 30 g Caster sugar; 3 g Fine sea salt; 250 g Plain flour; 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda; 60 ml Sunflower oil; 150 g Sour cream, to serve

Small, thick Ukrainian kefir pancakes — fluffy inside, lacy and golden at the edge. The breakfast that gets made before anyone has properly woken up.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Difficulty: Very easy

About this dish

Oladky are the old Slavic cousin of the pancake, cooked in village kitchens long before anyone owned a baking powder: the lift came from soured milk and a pinch of soda, or from yeast set the night before. They are smaller and thicker than blyny and are dropped into the pan by the spoonful, which is why a batch arrives all at once and disappears the same way. In Ukrainian homes they are the standard answer to a pot of kefir that is a day past its best.

Vegetarian
Not vegan because of Kefir, Eggs, Sour cream, to serve
Contains gluten because of Plain flour
Contains dairy because of Kefir, Sour cream, to serve

Ingredients

4servings

400mlKefir
2piecesEggs
30gCaster sugar
3gFine sea salt
250gPlain flour
1tspBicarbonate of soda
60mlSunflower oil
150gSour cream, to serve (optional)

Instructions

Whisk the kefir, eggs, sugar and salt together in a large bowl until smooth. Use kefir at room temperature.
5 min
Tip: Cold kefir slows the soda's reaction and cools the batter, so the oladky rise less. Take the bottle out of the fridge before you start.
Sift in the flour and soda and stir until you have a thick, spoonable batter with a few small lumps. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
10 min
Tip: The soda reacts with the acid in the kefir and the batter fills with tiny bubbles — you can see them. The rest also lets the flour swell, so the pancakes are tender rather than doughy.
Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Spoon in the batter a tablespoon at a time, leaving room between them, and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side until deep gold. Turn them once only.
12 min
Tip: Medium heat is the whole trick: too hot and the outside is dark before the middle sets, too cool and they soak up oil. Turn only once, or the air you have just built escapes.
Drain briefly on paper and serve warm, with the sour cream alongside.
2 min
Tip: Oladky are at their best in the first ten minutes. Under a lid they steam and go soft, so keep them uncovered.