Ployes! A Delicious Acadian Pancake!

I love breakfast! It's always been my favorite meal of the day. I have many fond memories which included a waffle maker, scrambled eggs, and usually a lot of sausage. My favorite thing was to have breakfast for dinner! However, when I went vegan and also discovered I was allergic to wheat and soy, my options for breakfast seemed very limited. One saving grace for me has been that my favorite treat, ployes, can easily be made gluten free! What is a ploye you ask? It's a traditional Acadian pancake, made from a special golden buckwheat flour that grows in the New Brunswick area (Think Maine/Canada). These versatile little guys are good at just about any time of day! You can dress them up for dessert with whipped coconut cream and berries, or add a little garlic powder and serve them along-side a good soup! My personal preference is to eat them for breakfast though, with just a little vegan butter. These porous little pancakes are perfect for soaking up butter! While the art of ploye making can be tricky at first, I highly encourage one and all to buy the flour and try the recipe!

Where to Buy:
The flour is milled by the Bouchard family in Maine. Buy it here! My grandmother (or my Memere as they say in Acadia) buys it in bulk every Christmas and gives each of us a bag! Its always my favorite present! Regular buckwheat just won't work, this is the only buckwheat which creates those wonderful little holes you see in the picture! CAUTION: Make sure to buy the buckwheat flour, not the ploye mix. The pre-made ploye mix they sell contains wheat flour.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Acadian buckwheat flour
1/2 cup Garbanzo bean flour
2 1/2 Tblsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/3 cups hot water
Corn Oil to grease pan

1. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Then add hot water, whisk until combined and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. While batter is sitting, grease a griddle or cast iron skillet and set on high heat. (While the pan may smoke these only work if the heat is high and you keep the griddle consistently greased...I usually go over the skillet with a basting brush after each ploye very lightly) Test the pan's heat by adding a tiny bit of batter...if it takes too long to congeal let it heat up some more.

3. Once batter is ready, stir it up again (you will want to keep stirring the batter every minute or so to keep it a good consistency). Then, add a scant 1/4 cup of batter to the pan (try to form it into a thin circle like you would with pancakes). You should see little bubbles start to form and harden on the surface (if not, whisk the batter more or your baking powder could be too old). When the surface looks like its hardened flip it to cook any remaining uncooked batter. Remove after 30 seconds. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

4. Serve with a little butter and a side of coffee (these are also very good with Jam). You may find everyone loves these so much you have to make more! My family tends to make batches upon batches when we're all together!

Helpful Tips:
-Set a clean tea towel folder in half lengthwise on a plate. When a ploye is done, set it between the folds of the towel. This will keep your stack nice and piping hot until the whole stack is ready to serve! (Though, they're so tasty its highly likely they'll be gobbled up as you go by hungry children/grownups)
- They shouldn't stick. If it sticks you either left it too long on the griddle, the pan isn't greased enough or your pan isn't hot enough.  Don't get frustrated! Keep at it! Even a malformed ploye is still pretty tastey! It took me awhile to master them, and I still don't have the skills of my Acadian grandmother!