Dish · russian

Blini

Blini are small, thick pancakes leavened with yeast, traditionally made partly with buckwheat flour, served warm with butter, sour cream, or caviar.

Blini, illustrated

Where it comes from

In old Russian custom they were served at Maslenitsa, the week before Lent, their round shape and golden color linked to the returning sun. Their batter used to rest overnight so the yeast worked slowly.

What cooks argue about

Cooks disagree on flour: all-purpose gives a softer, milder pancake, while buckwheat, the older version, gives a denser crumb and a sourer taste that some find too strong for modern batches.

Versions

Nobody has published a blini here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.

What goes in it

Each one opens everything else made with it.

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Russian kitchen