Ployes

Ingredients

Batter

• 200 gbuckwheat flour
• 100 gplain flour
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 1 tspsalt
• 500 mlcold water
• 250 mlboiling water

To cook

• a dry cast-iron pan or griddle, ungreased

To serve

• salted butter
• cretons, pork spread
• maple syrup
• brown sugar
• molasses

Also

• alongside soup, stew or baked beans

Directions

1. Mix the buckwheat flour, plain flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Whisk in the cold water until completely smooth. The boiling water is the traditional step and it matters: it partly gelatinises the starch, which gives the batter its body and helps the holes form.
3. Let the batter stand 20 minutes before cooking. Heat a heavy cast-iron pan or griddle over a medium heat until it is properly hot.
4. Use no fat at all in the pan, not even a wipe of oil. A ploye is cooked on a dry ungreased surface, which is another thing that separates it from a pancake.
5. Pour a ladleful into the centre and swirl the pan to spread it into a thin round of about 18 cm.
6. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the entire surface is set and dry and no wet batter remains anywhere. Do not turn it.
7. Wait until the surface is completely matt before lifting it. Stacking them warm keeps them soft, because they steam each other gently.

Technique

• Ploye mixes are sold in New Brunswick and northern Maine and are widely used.
• They are naturally low in fat and were poverty food before they were a speciality.
• The all-buckwheat version is darker, stronger and more traditional still.

Substitutions

• All buckwheat flour, which is the older version and more strongly flavoured.
• Any heavy dry pan in place of a ploye griddle.

Variations

• Made entirely with buckwheat.
• Served with cretons or baked beans.
• Rolled with butter and brown sugar as a sweet.

History

An Acadian staple of the Madawaska valley in New Brunswick, eaten with every meal when wheat flour was scarce.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ployes?

Ployes is a bread & pastry from Canada: thin buckwheat pancakes cooked on one side only, rolled with butter. An Acadian staple of the Madawaska valley in New Brunswick, eaten with every meal when wheat flour was scarce.

How long does Ployes take to make?

Ployes takes 10 min plus 20 min resting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ployes?

Yes, within limits. All buckwheat flour, which is the older version and more strongly flavoured. Any heavy dry pan in place of a ploye griddle.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ployes?

Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the entire surface is set and dry and no wet batter remains anywhere. Do not turn it.