Friday, April 18, 2008

Ployes for A Taste of Yellow

It is, obviously, my first time participating in A Taste of Yellow, an event to Support LiveSTRONG Day, hosted and created by Barbara of Winos And Foodies. I thought long and hard about the recipe I would be making for the event. I wanted to make a dish that meant something to me, something traditional. And then it hit me: ployes. These griddle cakes are just the right color and I’ve been eating them for as long as I can remember.

Just for the fun of it, I googled ployes to see if I could find anything about them on the net. I was stunned to find recipes for ployes on Food Network Canada, RecipeZaar and various other recipe sites! No two recipes are exactly the same and that’s the way it has always been. There might be as many ways to make ployes as there are people who make them! They can go from thick and crumpet-like to thin as a crêpe, it all depends on who’s at the stove! The shade of yellow the ployes will be depends on the brand of flour and baking powder used to make them. Once, my dad couldn't find his usual brand of baking powder and ended up with bright orange ployes!

My paternal grandmother was a cook in a logging camp when my dad was a small boy and she would make these buckwheat pancakes everyday for the loggers. They’re a tradition in Edmundston New Brunswick, and often served with baked beans, cretons (which is a meat spread), molasses or brown sugar. You can also have a taste at La Foire Brayonne, a yearly fair featuring music, arts and crafts, food, and all sorts of activities. My son and daughter love ployes (the wee one hasn’t tasted them yet!), they even eat them for breakfast with Nutella, but that’s not traditional at all!

So there you have it folks, ployes for A Taste of Yellow. A traditional, comforting family favorite for all our loved ones out there who fight cancer every day.

Ployes (Buckwheat Pancakes)

These are traditionally cooked on a cast iron skillet but an ordinary skillet would do as well. Just make sure not to turn them over when cooking. You’ll know they’re cooked when the surface is dotted with bubbles and dry to the touch. If you find the batter is too thick, just add water until the batter is to your liking.

1 ½ cups of buckwheat flour
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups of warm water


Mix together dry ingredients. Add water and mix well, incorporating as much air as possible (that will help with the bubbles!). The consistency of the batter should not be too thick so add water if necessary. Spoon batter onto a hot skillet. Cook until the bottom is a little crispy and the top is dotted with bubbles and dry to the touch, you shouldn’t need to turn the ployes. Serve warm with butter or anything else you’d like to try them with!

EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that the brand of baking powder used might affect the color of your Ployes. I've always used Magic brand baking powder. Hope this helps!

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26 comments:

Deborah said...

I have never even heard of these, but they do sound delicious!

Nic said...

I've heard of buckwheat pancakes before, but not ones where you don't flip them over - very interesting and a great entry for this event!

Patricia Scarpin said...

These look wonderful, LyB, even though I have never seen them before!
I'll have mine with raspberry jelly, please. ;O

Brilynn said...

I've never had these before, but they sound great!

Aimée said...

These look like ideal caban au sucre food!

RecipeGirl said...

My mother loves these. Great choice!

Susan @ SGCC said...

I'm not familiar with these, but they sound great. I love the photos. The ployes look so pretty woth all those little holes. Like a honeycomb!

Thanks for your sweet comment earlier, LyB. I really appreciate it. :)

grace said...

i'm completely fascinated by and smitten with these. what a shame that i've been oblivious to them for so long! thanks for the introduction--i predict that ployes and i will have a long and happy union. :)

Ginny said...

I've never had these but they looks excellent. Going on the list...

test it comm said...

Those look good! They look a lot like crumpets. Those holes are just made for collecting melted butter. :)

biscuitpusher said...

A completely new and interesting recipe. Awesome.

I gave you the Blogging with a Purpose Award. :)

LyB said...

Deborah - They are delicious!

Nic - Not flipping them is the key to their particular texture, they're really good!

Patricia - Mmmm, raspberry jelly, great choice!

Brilynn - They are unusual but delicious!

Aimée - They're superb with maple syrup!

RecipeGirl - Thank you!

Susan (SGCC) - A honeycomb, that's such a pretty way to describe these, thank you! And also, you're welcome, I meant every word. :)

Grace - I really hope you try these, they're incredible!

Ginny - Thank you! I don't even know how many things are on my list anymore! ;)

Kevin - These and butter are best friends! :)

Biscuitpusher - Thank you so much!

Unknown said...

I have never heard of these. They do look delicious and I'd love to try them. Thanks for supporting LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow.

bee said...

these looks so inviting. i'm looking for recipes with buckwheat flour, and these are perfect.

LyB said...

Barbara - Thank you for hosting the event, I'm glad I could participate.

Bee - They are very simple, but delicious. :)

Sonya said...

I love Ployes !! and it's meen lots of souvenirs to me..lloll

Merci ;o)

Andy White said...

I grew up with my Memere (she grew up on the Maine Quebec border) making these and we always had to make a special trip to a certain store to find a mix. I grew up in Maine and am Franco-American (French Canadian) This website does sell them but the recipes sounds good. I remember them looking green but they were DELICIOUS! too!http://www.mainegoodies.com/gourmet/wholewheatployes.shtml

Anonymous said...

My mom used to make these just about every Sunday morning with creton (pronounced kaw-taw) and toasted bread. It is a pork spread which you eat cold on warm toast. I have not had it since I have moved out of New England.
The ployes we would roll up either plain or with a small amount of peanut butter spread in it. then dip it in maple syrup.
My sister just sent me a ployes mix you just add water.

Peabody said...

Can you give some guidance on brands of baking powder? My ployes are orange, like hunter orange. Other serving suggestions, Ployes with:
Cream Cheese and Fruit; or
Buttered and rolled to sop up venison gravy; or
With brie and honey.

Unknown said...

I think it is important to mention that ployes are not restricted to breakfast. The go well with chicken soup. And with cre'ton (Never seen it spelled, going phonetically ) @ dinner/lunch they make a really hardy side

hollehunny said...

We had them with dinner- stew,beans and hot dogs-just with butter-we turned them tho' and they were thin and tasty-just rolled up and buttery- Yum Miss them very much- the mix usually very thick and not the same as home made.

Dee in NC said...

Love these! Lots of butter and maple syrup to dip them in. Thanks for the recipe and the baking powder tip! Ours were always green...icky to look at but so yummy!

Francine said...

It's nice to meat another Canadian and one from the Province where I was born! I now live in NB :-)
I'm making myself a digital book with all my recipes and found yours. I have the same pitcher (on display) that my great grandmother used to keep her ploye mixture in. They pretty well ate them at every meal from the stories passed down.

Anonymous said...

I grew up eating these and they are great!! We had them any time of day. I love them with butter, creton, peanut butter, molasses and maple syrup. Not all at once though. Lol. Although I do like them with PB and molasses together. Especially when I was craving something sweet. Kids love them too. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

im a frenchie and grew up with ployes, we also love them with molasses!

Anonymous said...

I grew up eating these in Clair (30 kM NW of Edmundston). Ours were green on one side and brown on the other. We'd make a big stack on the weekend, and just peel them off the stack for meals or snacks. Then we'd RE-FRY them, and at THAT time, we'd turn them over to give a little "crisp" to them. We always ate them with just butter, then roll them up. Of course, the butter would roll down to my elbows -HAR! But they are SO GOOD!

The GREEN color comes from the particular LOCAL buckwheat that is grown in Madawaska County, N.B. I've had yellow ployes, but they didn't taste quite the same. I've tried the mix from a grocery store in Dieppe (near Frederickton) and I was disappointed in both the taste and texture.

Jim Flannery (Canadian family: Long) Now living in Littleton, Colorado.