Monte's Adventures in Cooking Hefeplinz

Hefeplinz
(Thanks to Clifford)

Makes 1 batch of yeast raised pancakes. (feeds two really hungry people, or three or four dainty people)

Ingredients

2 C. milk
2 C. flour
2 eggs
2 T. butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 C. Lukewarm water
additional water, as needed
vanilla, if desired

Clifford makes a
BIG party batch!

Fork at the ready to eat that Hefeplinz!

Dissolve 1 packet yeast in lukewarm water. Heat milk in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until scalding hot. Do not boil! You'll smell the milk smell that it gets when it's right. Remove from heat. Add butter right out of the fridge ( it helps the milk cool as it melts), sugar, and salt. Stir until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Pour into large mixing bowl and allow to cool until just warm.

Break in eggs. Pour in yeast. Add flour. Beat batter with whisk until smooth. Add vanilla, if desired. Cover loosely and place in a warm place to rise 45 minutes to an hour. Caution: batter will expand 2-3 times in volume!

When batter is light and frothy, stir down and ladle onto hot greased skillet or nonstick cookware. Batter almost always needs thinning with additional water to get the pancakes as thin as possible, so add water if pancakes are at all thick. Tiltpan to stretch and thin pancake toward the edges. Turn when holes appear in the plinz through which the cooking surface can be seen and the edges of pancakes begin to harden. Cook only until light golden brown.

The ideal hefeplinz is 1/4 inch or less thick with a soft foamy texture. You should be able to see through quite a few holes in the finished pancakes. If you can't add a little more water and/or tilt the pan more until you can! If the surface is hardened, you have the heat too high or have left them on too long.

Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or lace with syrup or your favorite jam. Roll with sweet stuff on the inside, then eat from one end with a fork. Some people even sprinkle lemon juice on the pancakes before eating them. Confectioner's sugar makes a pretty garnish, but we usually don't bother. But you must eat them rolled!