Oladi - Russian Pancakes

If you think you love regular pancakes, just wait until you try Oladi! These Russian Pancakes have a sweet smell, extra crispy edges, fluffy, and chewy on the inside. This is only a sliver of what makes Russian Pancakes so good! Once you have one, you won't be able to stop!

Oladi pancakes were probably something most, if not all Russian and Ukrainian children had growing up. I know we did! My mom would make them a few times a year, and they were just delicious! I remember my siblings and I would fight for the last one on the plate.

We would serve these with sour cream, jam, fresh fruit, condensed milk, and anything else we could find in the pantry! If we were spending the summer at grandma's, we would go hand pick fresh mulberries from her garden or even wild raspberries! And just crouching in the new grass, and breathing the fresh, country air, would bring us so much joy. We probably ate more than half before bringing the pails inside for fresh jam or kompot.

How To Make Russian Pancakes

Of course, this isn't your typical pancake batter. With most pancakes, you only need buttermilk and baking powder for them to rise. But in this recipe we we only use dry yeast as the rising agent. So take into account the time it takes for them to rise. But believe me, the end results are just: YUM.

• Make the Pancake Batter. Whisk together 2 cups warm milk, 1/2 tsp yeast, and 3 1/2 cups flour with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until the dough has doubled in size. 30-50 minutes. Once the dough has doubled, add 2 eggs, 4 tbsp oil, 4 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Cover again and let it rise until the dough has doubled.‍
• Heat the Pan. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat.
• Cook the Pancakes. Using a cookie scooper, wooden spoon, or regular spoon, spoon out the sticky dough onto the skillet. No more than three to four at a time. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy with sour cream, jam, berries, etc.

Can You Freeze The Pancake

Yes, you can! To freeze them, You will first want to flash freeze them. By placing them in an even layer on a baking sheet, and freezing them until solid. About an hour. Then, once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container. They won't stick to each other.

You can keep them frozen for up to 2 months.

Reheat them either in the microwave, or in the oven at 375F for about 10 minutes.

Serving Russian Pancakes

There are so many ways to serve these pancakes! And so many different toppings! Here are some of our favorites from childhood and now!

• Chocolate chips. You can mix in chocolate chips into the batter, or melt it to create a chocolate sauce.
• Fresh fruit. We loved them in the batter and fresh on top of our pancakes.
• Condensed Milk. This is probably a classic for us! We loved sweetened condensed milk.
• Pureed Fruit. We would either heat the fresh fruit on the skillet until they released their natural juice, or buy some from the store.
• Sour Cream. Also a classic. We would often add sugar to it to sweeten the sour cream, or mix in jam with it. So good!
• Etc. Literally use anything that sound good to you! These are very basic pancakes, and are very lightly sweetened. So you can even add something savory like cooked mushroom, or sautéed veggies.

More Recipes To Try

• Easy Strawberry Cheese Danish
• Easy Cheese Danish
• Swirled Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• White Almond Cookies
• Russian Dulce De Leche Waffle Cake
• Tangerine Budapest Roll