Boekweitpannenkoeken

the large, thin, nutty buckwheat pancakes of the Low Countries heathlands, where the Dutch named the grain boekweit, served simply with butter and syrup or with bacon and apple

Origin: Netherlands

From the journey of Buckwheat.

Buckwheat was the saving grain of the poor sandy heathlands of the Low Countries, the thin acid soils where no proper cereal would grow, and it was here that the Dutch gave it the name the English-speaking world still uses: boekweit, the 'beech-wheat', for the likeness of its hard little three-cornered seed to a beechnut. From its dark flour the Dutch and Flemish made their daily pancakes, the boekweitpannenkoeken, large and thin and nutty, cooked on a wide griddle and eaten as a humble, filling meal in their own right rather than as a sweet treat. They are served plain with butter and a dark syrup (stroop), or savoury, the batter ladled over slices of bacon or apple frying in the pan, in the manner of the Dutch farmhouse pancake. The same buckwheat batter, dropped in little puffs into a dimpled pan, gives the poffertjes of the fairground. Frugal, ancient, and satisfying, the Dutch buckwheat pancake is a direct descendant of the grain that fed the heathland countryside.

Ingredients

The Batter

200 g buckwheat flour
50 g plain wheat flour
0.5 tsp salt
1 egg
500 ml milk
butter, for the pan

To Serve

8 rashers streaky bacon, or 2 apples, peeled and sliced (optional, savoury version)
butter and dark syrup (stroop), or icing sugar, to serve

Method

Whisk the buckwheat flour, wheat flour, and salt in a bowl. Beat in the egg and then the milk, a little at a time, to make a smooth, thin, pourable batter. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
For a savoury pancake, lay a couple of bacon rashers or a few apple slices in the buttered pan over a medium heat and let them sizzle for a minute before adding the batter.
Brush a wide frying pan with butter and set over a medium heat. Pour in a ladle of batter, swirling to coat the base into a large thin pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is set and golden and the edges lift.
Flip and cook the second side for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Slide out and keep warm while you make the rest, buttering the pan each time.
Serve at once: the plain pancakes with butter and a drizzle of dark syrup or a dusting of icing sugar; the savoury ones as they are, with the bacon or apple cooked in.

Notes

The ratio of buckwheat to wheat flour can be raised for a darker, earthier, more traditional pancake. For poffertjes, make a thicker yeast-risen buckwheat batter and cook small puffs in a dimpled poffertjes pan, serving with butter and icing sugar. Stroop (Dutch apple or sugar-beet syrup) is the authentic topping; any dark syrup will do.

The Gastrographer

Name: Boekweitpannenkoeken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Netherlands
Ingredients: 200 g buckwheat flour; 50 g plain wheat flour; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 egg; 500 ml milk; butter, for the pan; 8 rashers streaky bacon, or 2 apples, peeled and sliced (optional, savoury version); butter and dark syrup (stroop), or icing sugar, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control