Raised Buckwheat Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups warm whole milk, about 110 degrees Fahrenheit
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the griddle
• Salted butter and maple syrup, for serving

Before you cook

• Stir the yeast into the warm milk in a large bowl and let it stand for five minutes until foamy.
• Whisk in the buckwheat flour and all-purpose flour until the sponge is smooth and thick.
• Cover the bowl loosely with a towel and leave it on the counter for eight hours or overnight.
• Uncover the risen sponge in the morning and stir in the molasses, salt and melted butter.
• Dissolve the baking soda in a tablespoon of warm water and fold it through the batter, which will lighten and swell.

Steps

1. Heat a cast iron griddle over medium heat until a bead of water dances on it.
2. Grease the surface generously with butter.
3. Ladle 1/3 cup of batter per cake onto the griddle.
4. Cook until the surface is riddled with open holes and the edges are dry, about two minutes.
5. Flip the cakes and cook for another 90 seconds, until deeply browned.
6. Serve them straight off the griddle with salted butter melting into the holes and maple syrup poured over.