American pancakes may be designed for breakfast, but you eat them for lunch or dinner. In Holland we eat pancakes at dinner time and these Yeast Pancakes with Fruit are an example. They are a great as a breakfast as well and a great start of your day.
If you have ever been to the Netherlands and walked into a traditional pancake house, you’ll know what this recipe is about. The Dutch pancakes houses serve the so-called wagon-wheel-size pancakes. These restaurants used to be open for dinner only, early dinner, because it is very popular for families with kids. In the more touristic areas they are open for lunch and dinner. The menu choices are almost endless, from savory to sweet. Bacon and molasses, apple and cinnamon are the traditional ones. Then we have cheese and ginger, ham and cheese, pineapple, banana, rum and raisins etc. etc.
Today, you can even get pancakes with brie, bacon, leek and stroganoff, or a TexMex pancake, or chicken liver with onion, raisins, or mushroom, bacon, cheese and onion. They are all big, and one is usually a full meal. The thickness depends a little bit on the restaurant. But the size is the excitement for most. Lost of toppings and an ideal evening out with the family. Simple restaurants, where kids can do no damage and you can usually get the combination you want. You should try it the next time you’re on the other side of the pond.
Like here, most families make pancakes at home as well. Most families don’t have skillets the size of a wagon wheel, so the pancakes are usually a little thicker. Still 1 or 2 is about the limit for a big eater. My mother always made the bacon and molasses and apple pancakes. Almost forgot, you can make these pancakes with our without yeast. Clearly I like them with yeast, Yeast Pancakes with Fruit, as they become lighter, more airy if you like.
Compared to the old fashioned US pancakes, in The Netherlands, we make them smaller and serve them as a dessert. or bigger like theses Yeast Pancakes with Fruit.
My pancakes are covered with a mix of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry and then dusted with powdered sugar. Drizzle them with chocolate would be very nice as well.
The recipe is very simple. Flour, milk, yeast and a pinch of salt. Mix this to a batter. It should become a smooth batter, not a clumpy buttermilk pancake batter and you’ll see it is a lot thinner than you’re used to. The batter does not contain any sugar, which makes it like a canvas for savory and sweet varieties. Allow yeast to munch for an hour and then start pouring the batter in the skillet. Cover with the fruit and turn the heat to low. You don’t really want to cook both sides, just one side, so you have to go slow and longer.
Observe the batter and you’ll see that is working, that the batter is getting done from the outside in. You’ll see the bubble popping on the outside first and then toward the middle. Once it is dry, I turned the pancake around just for a few minutes. Not to bake the pancake itself, but just to bake the fruits; get some quick caramel and heat the fruit at the same time.
Slide the Yeast Pancakes with Fruit on a plate and serve or cut it in pieces. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with honey or chocolate and you’ll prepared yourself a nice meal.
Yeast Pancakes with Fruit
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelop active yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cups milk
- 4 ounces strawberries
- 2 ounces raspberries
- 2 ounces blueberries
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Warm the milk and add the yeast to part of it. Leave this on the counter for 5 minutes until you see that the yeast is happy and the surface if bubbly.
- Mix the flour, yeast, milk and salt until you have a smooth batter. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour. The yeast will make this batter airy and light.
- In the meantime clean your fruit; wash the strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and slice or half when needed.
- Scoop 3 soup ladles of batter in a large non-stick skillet and turn the heat down. You want this batter to cook slowly. Divide half of the fruits over the surface of the pancake.
- You will see the top of the pancake dry, bubble by bubble. Once you don’t have any liquid batter left, turn the pancake and turn the heat high.
- Cook the pancake, fruit-side down for just a few minutes on high. Allow a little caramelization and warming of the fruit.
- Turn the pancake again on a plate. Serve as whole pancake or cut in pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
2 Comments
Roslia Santamaria
May 2, 2019 at 6:35 amI never tried this recipe before and
after reading this amazing post I think I must give it a try.
Marinka
May 3, 2019 at 1:16 pmRoslia; Yes, you must 🙂 It is a big pancake, we (the Dutch) eat as a meal. I am sure you can cut the recipe in half or cut it up in smaller pieces and share around the table.