LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - NOVEMBER 1, 2015 Poffertjes by Lynne Belluscio One of the Dutch specialties as holy bread. During the French that is included in Charlotte Napoleonic Wars, it was impossi- LeRoy’s 1823 manuscript receipt ble to find wheat flour because it book is the recipe for “Puffett” was being sent to the army, so the which is also known as “puffert” monks started making the little or “poffertjes.” In the 19th cen- pancakes with buckwheat flour. tury they were also called “bol- Eventually the pancakes became labouche (belly puffs) and bro- popular in Holland and the French edertjes (little brothers). I have forgot that they were part of their also found that they were called food traditions. Never the less, “billabusse” or “bollebuysies”. puffertjes should be made with These little yeast-risen pan- some buckwheat flour. cakes are prepared in a special While I was trying to find out pan with round indentations. I about puffets, I learned about the had the delight of watching them special pans that are used to fry being prepared at the folk muse- them and discovered images of um in Arnhem in the Netherlands, them, including a photograph of while attending the European a puffertjes pan that was used in Open Air Museum Association George Washington’s kitchen at eight years ago. Mt. Vernon. (A recent exhibit at In the museum village square Mt. Vernon is based on the kitch- there was a poffertjies shop. en ware. It seems that when the They were being cooked in a Mt. Vernon Ladies Association very long iron pan with about acquired the property, all of the 100 little indentations. The batter original kitchen equipment was was poured across the pan, and still there.) then with a long handled fork, the So I’m looking at all these unnecessary batter was removed puffet pans, and I remember that between the little cakes, and as I had seen one recently at the they browned on one side, they Hobby Horse on Main Street. were quickly turned over with So I stopped by a couple of days Poffertjes pan. a quick flip of a metal stick. We ago, and asked Ann to set it are popular in Indonesia, and I’ve looked for some contem- bought plates of poffertjes with aside. I was still doing research, the thought is that the Dutch, porary recipes for poffertjes and butter and powdered sugar. They and strangely, I also discovered who were known as world trad- there are several, but only a few are often served with strawberries similar pans that were used for ers, probably brought the little that include buckwheat flour. So and whipped cream. cooking escargot. I took a pic- pancake to Indonesia. There are here is a contemporary recipe, Mrs. LeRoy’s recipe is fairly ture of the copper pan, with the similar little pancakes in Japan, and if you don’t have a poffertje simple. “4 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of wrought iron handle and sent it to called Takoyaki – but not served pan, they can be fried just like butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 8 eggs, Peter Rose, an authority on Dutch with fruit. Instead they are filled little silver dollar pancakes. spice and as much milk & yeast cooking, and she said without with diced octopus and other 1 level tsp. instant yeast as you think proper.” The batter question, it is a puffertjes pan, so small bits of fish. These small 1 tbsp. milk should be like pancake batter. I have bought it for Mrs. LeRoy’s wheat batter cakes are a popular 1 cup buckwheat flour (100 g) One source that I found said that kitchen, and we might even try snack and originated in Osaka in 1 cup flour (100 g) these little pancakes originated in making some puffertjes. the 1930s. 2 eggs France and were served by monks I also learned that puffertjes Small electric table-top takoya- 1 tsp. sugar ki grills can be used to make them, 1/2 tsp. salt and I bought one through Amazon 1 1/4 cups warm milk (250 ml) and hope to give it a try with some 1 tbsp. butter poffertjies batter. (I like octopus, Serve hot with butter and pow- but think I’ll pass on takoyaki.) dered sugar.

New Japanese electric takoyaki machine.