Ployes (Acadian Buckwheat Pancakes)

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   Ployes (Acadian Buckwheat Pancakes)

Here's another Acadian recipe that caught my eye, and might be worth trying sometime out in the mountains with fresh-caught trout or a campfire stew. 

 Ployes—traditional Acadian pancakes—are a cross between pancakes and airy crumpets, and are the best thing to spread with butter and mop up a pot of beans or fricot, traditional Acadian chicken and dumpling stew. Most modern recipes for ployes call for baking powder as the leavening agent, but according to Father Paul Dumais, a preacher in Maine who's become something of a local authority on the matter, the original recipe calls for a naturally fermented dough that adds extra tang and richness to the bread. We've adapted his recipe here.

http://www.saveur.com/ployes-acadian-buckwheat-pancakes-flatbreads-recipe

Saveur goes on to specify that "silverskin" buckwheat flour is essential for this recipe.

 The silverskin buckwheat flour we call for in this recipe can't be swapped out for darker, nuttier conventional buckwheat flour. But you can order silverskin buckwheat flour, and even a ready-made ploye mix, over on www.ployes.com. Keep your pan temperature high when cooking these ployes - they need lots of heat to rise correctly.

I can't say for sure why this is so important, but it is advice that might be worth heeding.

In any case, here is the recipe:

To make 9 pancakes:

For the Preferment:

1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄3 cups silverskin buckwheat flour (you can buy it at www.ployes.com)
1 2⁄3 cups water
1⁄4 teaspoon active dry yeast

For the Pancakes:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 to 8 tbsp. cold water
Canola oil, for greasing

Instructions:

To make the preferment: In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the flours and yeast with 1 2⁄3 cups water. Rest, covered, at room temperature for 12 hours before using.

The next day, the preferment should be bubbly, smell pleasantly fermented, and have nearly doubled in size. Add the salt and 6 to 8 tablespoons water to form a thin batter.

Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high. Lightly grease the pan and, working in batches, pour about 1⁄4 cup batter into skillet, tilting skillet to let batter cover bottom completely. Cook until ploye begins to form small bubbles on the top and lightly pulls away from the edges of the pan, 1–2 minutes. Flip and cook 1 minute more [RON'S NOTE: See Below about flipping]; transfer to a plate. Continue cooking ployes until all the batter is gone.

Noteworthy: One comment on Saveur's page states specifically and with apparent authority that "if you flip them, you aren't doing it right. One side is supposed to be bubbly, have eyes and remain uncooked."