Before you start cooking, you will needIt is interesting to know where the recipe for such a delicious and beloved dish as pancakes came from. In order to answer this simple and innocent question, we will have to return mentally to ancient times.

How did the pancakes come about?

The first recipe for pancakes appeared in Ancient Greece.Since the 6th century BC, pancakes have been an important part of every Greek’s breakfast. The first written mention of pancakes comes from the poet Cratinus, who described them as warm and fluffy in one of his writings. In Greece, pancakes are called tyganytys (from “taginites”). The French have their own name for pancakes – crepes (from “crepes”). These are very thin pancakes that are stuffed very simply: with eggs and cheese, spinach or fish. They can be eaten not only for breakfast, but also for lunch and dinner. Kaiserschmarrn (from German “Kaiserschmarrn”) is a popular pancake dish that originated in Austria-Hungary. The first Kaiserschmarrn was prepared for the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. The recipe for making the pancake contains a secret: berries, nuts and raisins are put into the dough. This pancake is usually eaten for dessert; It is served with apple or plum jam. In Russia, the history of the pancake recipe can be associated with Maslenitsa (Maslenitsa week is celebrated in the last week before Lent). Pagans associated this week with the end of winter and the arrival of spring and during the week, as a rule, they ate nothing but pancakes. The pancake itself, round and golden, symbolizes the sun. Legend has it that if a woman makes a lot of delicious pancakes in the spring, it will bring a rich harvest, health and success in the summer. Pancakes traditionally accompanied a person from birth to his last day - a woman who had just given birth to a child was given a pancake, which was supposed to bring good luck to the newborn, and when a person died, pancakes were an absolute necessity at the funeral. Pancakes are eaten with the most diverse fillings that you can imagine: mushrooms, meat, berries, sour cream, onions and potatoes, fish, honey, condensed milk, jam, caviar, cheese. And some people eat pancakes just like that, without any filling.

Traditions related to pancakes

The recipe and process of cooking pancakes in the past waslong and mysterious. First, a good housewife would make a dough from warm water, yeast and flour. The place where the dough was prepared was of great importance - women would go to a lake or to the edge of a forest. The very first pancakes that were prepared were placed on the windowsill - for the poor. The frying pan on which the pancakes were prepared was cast iron and without a handle. Such frying pans were used exclusively for preparing pancakes; no other dish could be prepared on them. Pancakes did not burn on such frying pans, but were turned over by throwing them into the air. In Ancient Rus', there were even special races where people had to run and at the same time turn the pancake over in mid-air. Nowadays, pancakes remain not only one of the fastest, tastiest and most varied dishes (due to the large variety of fillings). Many Russian writers, including Chekhov, Pushkin and Gogol, have dedicated pages and even stories to blini. They also appear in many poems, songs and proverbs. Over the last thousand years, much has changed in the recipe for making blini. But one thing remains the same - these small, tasty symbols of the sun are still loved and eaten all over the world.

The recipe for classic pancakes

You can use this classic dough recipe to create the base for sweet or savory pancakes. Ingredients:

• 100 g of flour,
• 1 large egg,
• 300 ml of milk,
• butter for frying.

Cooking instructions:

Sift the flour and add a pinch of salt. Make a groove in the center of the bowl with flour on the back of the spoon, and then break the egg and pour in half of the milk. Whisk the milk and egg together, gradually turning the flour on so that you get a soft dough. Stir well to remove all lumps, then add the rest of the milk. The dough will turn out to be liquid.

Heat a little oil in a medium frying pansize. Pour about 2 tablespoons of dough into a frying pan, tilting it to make the dough evenly spread. Cook over moderate heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute until golden brown on one side.

Turn the pancake over to the other side and fry,until it turns golden brown. Get the finished pancake from the pan, and from the remaining dough cook one pancake in the same way.

When all the pancakes are ready, melt more butter in a frying pan and dip each pancake into it. Such pancakes are much tastier and more delicate. Bon Appetit!

The recipe for lush classic pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. flour,
• 1/4 tbsp. granulated sugar,
• 1 tbsp. l. baking powder,
• 2 tsp. fine salt,
• 3 tbsp. sour milk,
• 6 tbsp. l. butter (melted and chilled),
• 6 large eggs,
• up to 1 tbsp. milk (as required for a thin dough).

Cooking instructions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, fine salt).

Whisk the sour milk, butter, and eggs together in another bowl.

Add wet ingredients to the dry mix;whip to get a dough of uniform consistency (if there were small lumps, then it's okay). Cover the bowl, and let the batter persist for the night.

The next morning, add milk to yourdiscretion to make the dough the right consistency (the thicker the dough, the thicker and harder your pancakes will turn out; the harder the dough, the thinner the pancakes will be).

Preheat the frying pan and drop a smallamount of oil. For 2-3 tablespoons of dough, pour into a frying pan, tilt the frying pan to spread the dough, and fry over medium heat. Turn the pancakes, as you will notice, that the bubbles appear on the surface of the raw side. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Serve pancakes to the table warm with syrup or jam. Bon Appetit!

How to bake the best pancakes?

• Thoroughly measure the right amount of ingredients; follow the recipe, and do not put the ingredients in the composition on the eye. For example, measure the right amount of flour with a measuring cup.
• Do not overdo with whipping the batter. Follow the recipe instructions carefully. If you have time, cool the batter for 30 minutes before you start to prepare the pancakes.
• Be sure to heat the frying pan beforepour the dough on it. It's very easy to check if the frying pan is hot enough: just splash a few drops of water on it. If the drops start to sizzle and evaporate, it's ready.
• Be sure to lightly oil the frying pan with butter before baking.
• The pancake needs to be turned only then, then the edges will look dry and bubbles begin to form on the wet surface. Do not move it before, because it will just fall apart.
• Use a thin, wide spatula, easily sliding underneath the delicate pancakes, which will allow them to turn them without distortion.
• Never pat pancakes with a spatula during cooking!
• Fresh flour affects the taste and texture of pancakes, because the simpler the recipe, the greater the role played by the quality of the ingredients.
• If you bake too much, you can freeze the remaining pancakes in sealed plastic bags.
• It is not recommended to heat pancakes in a microwave oven, as this will make the pancakes tough.
• Serve the pancakes with the best side up.

To turn an ordinary pancake into something special,all it takes is a new filling. So leave the usual fillings and toppings aside and try something new: canned fruit, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, caramel, peanut butter, ice cream, cream cheese (don't forget the flavored varieties!), cottage cheese mix.

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