de Buyer blini carbon steel pan reviews

de Buyer carbon steel blini pan review

cooking tips and opinions by Jason Buchanan

Note: de Buyer makes a carbone plus blini pan, a mineral B blini pan, and a non-stick blini pan - this review is for the carbone plus pan 5140.12. The carbone plus pan handle is welded to the pan, where the mineral B and choc non-stick pan handles are attached using rivets.

Blini history

Blinis are pancakes made from various regional grains, including oats, wheat, rye, buckwheat, and/or barley. History and details can be found on the Wikipedia blini and the Russiapedia blini sites.

Unlike regular skillets or fry pans the 12cm blini pan acts like a mould to prevent them from spreading out like a pancake would. The blini pan has sides that are high enough to produce a thicker pancake but low enough to get a small spatula under the blini to turn it. Good blini batter resembles a pancake batter and should not have a thick consistency.

Blinis are very "regional" so some may be light colored and thin like crepes, others dark, thicker and a bit chewy.

Buckwheat is a seed, it is not a grain, and is not related to wheat.

The de Buyer blini pan

The de Buyer blini pan is a very high quality piece of cookware that makes perfect 12cm diameter blinis, pancakes, fritters, and fried eggs. The carbone plus pan handle is welded to the pan and is not riveted on. The cooking surface is almost as smooth as glass. Just like all other de Buyer pans, the blini pan is hand-crafted, polished, and finished to the highest quality - the rim of the pan is deburred and polished.

The handle is very deeply spotwelded on - judging from the weld appearance it looks like the pan or handle would deform long before the weld would break. The pans have a 2 year guarantee. I believe the weld will last longer than I do.

I like not having the rivets in the way of turning the blini. Getting a good turn out of the blini is tough enough without the "speed bumps" of the rivets in such a small pan. Turning blinis requires a bit of practice and having smooth sides is helpful.

The carbone plus pan has a 2.5mm thick cooking surface and stays hot after pouring cold batter into it. The pan will develop a dark brown color, almost resembling coffee beans, and typically does not require oil to prevent sticking.

Recipes

The best blini flavor, texture, and appearance that I've found in the US comes from Bob's Red Mill buckwheat pancake and waffle mix. This is a hearty mix that requires only water, egg, and oil. Bob's buckwheat pancake mix doesn't burn easily and lets you cook each side to a dark brown crusty appearance - this lets the buckwheat flavor come through. Traditional pancake batter without buckwheat flour has a tendency to stick (and burn) and a tiny burst of cooking spray will help prevent sticking. I have mixed Bob's Red Mill organic buckwheat flour and standard store-brand pancake mix in a 1:1 ratio with some success but the fluffy store mixes tend to be sticky and not have the right flavor.

I follow the recipe for Bob's buckwheat pancake and waffle mix and get 6-7 fairly thick blinis. That's a bit much for one person so I cut the mix to 1/2 cup but still use 1 whole egg and 1-2 teaspoons of oil. 1/2 cup of mix makes 3-4 blinis.

Maple syrup is good on blinis, but good apricot jam is even better. I can't taste butter on buckwheat so I don't bother putting any butter on them anymore (fat-reducing dietary bonus). Jam and jelly are great on blinis - try it.

Blini pans are great little skillets for frying 1-2 eggs, or individual hashbrowns.

de Buyer carbon steel blini pan review

Blini history

The de Buyer blini pan

Recipes

Links