Fluffy Oladi Ukrainian Pancakes +Video

Fluffy Ukrainian pancakes, or oladi, are crispy around the edges and soft and delicious in the middle. Here’s a surprise for you, these pancakes are made with yeast! But don’t worry, they are as easy as a quick bread! In fact, they are my new favorite breakfast recipe!

Our buttermilk pancake recipe is one of the most popular on the blog, and they are to die for, but these Ukrainian pancakes have stolen my heart and tastebuds!

These yeasted pancakes are cooked in a pan with a little more oil than traditional American pancakes so they get almost fried crispy edges. Mmmm and that hint of sourdough, gosh it’s good! They are almost fritter-like on the outside but takes like pancakes in the middle. Seriously, where have these Ukrainian pancakes been my whole life?? I need to explore more Ukrainian food!

What is Oladi?

Oladi is a type of pancake that originates in Ukraine and Russia. They are traditionally made with kefir, a fermented milk made from kefir grains common in the area. For this recipe, we will use buttermilk, but feel free to use kefir if you want to! They are pan fried in a little oil and usually served with sour cream and a fruit jam.

Oladi is not to be confused the Russian pancakes called blini. Those are usually served with savory toppings like caviar and salmon. Oladi can be served with savory toppings but are usually served as a sweet breakfast.

How to Make Oladi Ukrainian PancakesVideo

What Do I Need to Make Ukrainian Pancakes?

I know, you hear “Ukrainian pancakes” and you think it’s going to call for ingredients that are out of the norm. Well, I have the best news ever! This pancake recipe is made with pantry staples! So you can probably head to the kitchen right now and start whipping up a batch of oladi. Here is everything you need:

• Water: the warm water helps activate the yeast
• Buttermilk: adds flavor and rise to the pancakes
• Egg: should be at room temperature and helps binds all the ingredients together
• Extra-light Olive Oil: adds a little fat to the pancake batter, and then we will

Buttermilk Syrup is creamy, rich with brown sugar, buttermilk, and butter, and somewhat reminiscent of caramel. However, it isn’t nearly as sweet as a traditional caramel sauce and it’s pure breakfast heaven when poured over a stack of hot pancakes.

Homemade Syrup

While my cousin Hannah was visiting me in Phoenix several years ago, we tried out some new restaurants. One of the meals we enjoyed most involved waffles with buttermilk syrup.

I have a weakness for great homemade syrup and sauces, as evidenced by the popularity of my grandmother’s Waffle Sauce and this Brown Sugar Syrup. However, I’d never tasted a buttermilk syrup before that day.

As soon as we were home, I told Hannah we needed to figure out how to make Buttermilk Syrup. As you know, I’m a breakfast all day long kind of person and I will happily eat waffles, pancakes, and pretty much every other breakfast we make at any time of the day.

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Light and fluffy, slightly tangy, Buttermilk Pancakes – these are the diner style pancakes that you love. This recipe is the reason there is always buttermilk in our fridge.

Topped with maple syrup, buttermilk syrup, brown sugar butter syrup, berry sauce and whipped cream, or whipped strawberry butter, you can’t go wrong with any of these combinations.

Stavs Diner

For over 20 years now, I’ve held fast to our family’s favorite pancake recipe. And, yes, I still think those are some of the best pancakes you’ll ever eat, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty more awesome pancakes to enjoy.

And these buttermilk pancakes? This recipe is the reason there is now a perpetual stash of buttermilk in my refrigerator.

There is a diner here in Ohio that makes absolutely amazing pancakes. They’re diner-style buttermilk pancakes like no others I’ve ever tasted. Sean and I stopped for breakfast at Stav’s Diner one morning several years ago when we visited Columbus while looking at houses before we moved.

We’ve been back to Stav’s several times since we moved, it’s always worth the drive to Bexley. If you’re in the area, this is a great open kitchen place and we’ve never had a bite there that wasn’t delicious.

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The slight tang of buttermilk pairs perfectly with sweet, ripe blueberries in these light and fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes.

Blueberry Pancakes with Buttermilk

I love berries in my waffles and pancakes, but there’s something special about making blueberry pancakes with buttermilk. The buttermilk makes them a little lighter and fluffier, and it adds that signature tang.

Make sure to use real buttermilk in this recipe! You’ll find a lot of substitutions online, but the result is so much better with the real deal. If you don’t have it on hand, don’t worry. You can make some killer blueberry pancakes without it.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I adore the simplicity of breaking out the griddle and whipping up a batch of pancake batter in just a few minutes. (So, my family eats pancakes pretty often.)

We’ve tried pancakes with everything from chocolate chips, to M&Ms, fresh fruit, nuts, and even sweet cereals added in. But, this blueberry buttermilk pancake recipe balances the tangy buttermilk and sweet berries wonderfully and it’s a current favorite.

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Forget about leftovers with this recipe for German Apple Pancakes. You won’t believe how easy it is to make such a scrumptious breakfast treat.

German Pancakes with Apples

I added apples to a batch of these pancakes for the first time over ten years ago and my family went absolutely crazy over them. I made this recipe one morning a couple of weeks ago to reshoot the photos and fell in love with these pancakes all over again.

I enjoyed the German apple pancakes so much that I’ve already made them again for family dinner. Whether it’s my grandmother’s traditional recipe or a grain and gluten free variation, we just plain love German pancakes.

For a fun change, try making miniature German pancakes in a muffin tin or these cranberry almond German pancakes during the holidays. (You know I can never have enough cranberry recipes!) However you make them, they are always delicious.

My grandmother handed down a recipe for sweet orange sauce that has become traditional in my family when eating German pancakes. I love that sauce, both because it is delicious, and because it reminds me of her.

But, honestly, I like these German pancakes with apples best on their own. Sweet enough from the apples, all the finished pancake required was a light dusting of powdered sugar. (My kids sure do like them with a drizzle of maple syrup though.)

A word of warning when you’re making the apples for these pancakes, you may want to make extra. It’s hard to resist tasting a few straight from the saucepan–just try not to eat them all before you can bake the pancakes!

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