Pioneer
Old Fashioned Buckwheat Cakes
Aida Boyer McAnn — The New Brunswick Cook Book (1938)A yeast-risen overnight buckwheat batter from the pioneer kitchens of New Brunswick — the old cooks always kept back half a cup of batter as a starter for the next morning's pancakes, ensuring a continuous supply all winter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups scalded milk
- ¾ cup fine bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ yeast cake
- ¾ cup lukewarm water (divided)
- 2 cups buckwheat flour
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ¾ teaspoon soda
Instructions
- Pour the scalded milk over the bread crumbs and add salt.
- Dissolve the yeast cake in ½ cup of the warm water and add to the bread crumbs and milk mixture.
- Stir in the buckwheat flour and let the mixture rise overnight.
- Next morning, stir well and add the molasses, soda, and remaining ¼ cup of lukewarm water.
- Bake on a hot, greased griddle.
- In the old tradition, keep back half a cup of batter and add flour, milk, salt, and molasses to it to serve as starter for the next morning's cakes.