In the 1870s a large number of Germans who had colonized Russia by the request to Catherine the Great were forced to leave their homes by Alexander II. Many of these Germans came to America and settled in the Midwest and Great Plains states. My family, on my father’s side has ties to this immigration.

One of the traditions that has come down through my family from the old country is the culinary delight of Blinna. My grandmother often compared Blinna to an old dishrag. They are a very thin yeast pancake. They are cooked on a hot griddle, served flat and then rolled with syrup and butter. This is a meal my great-grandmother, Christina Urich Weber, used to make for the men working in the fields at lunchtime. She would prepare a large batch and so they were warm and ready at noon.

I don’t have my great-grandmother’s recipe, but this is a recipe from another Loveland Colorado woman named Florence Zeiler.

BLINNA
 
3 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm water
2 cups scalded milk cooled
 
Combine to make a soft sponge, let set overnight or 
for several hours.
 
Scald 1/2 cup milk, add 1 tsp soda to milk, 
1/3 cup melted butter and 3 eggs beaten to batter.
 
Bake on a hot skillet, brushed lightly with oil the 
first time or if the Blinna stick. Brush with hot melted butter.

I made these this week for my sister and her children to rave reviews.

If you like this, or are interested in other German recipes I would recommend the German cookbook titled Küche Kochen from the American Historical Society of Germans From Russia International

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