
Amsterdam Trip report (part 4 of 5): Proffertjes – little Dutch pancakes
I have one more report about Amsterdam but it’s not ready and I had to share with you the recipe for these little yeast pancakes they eat all over Amsterdam. My obsession during our stay other than art were these little pancakes they call proffertjes. Once I tried them a couldn’t go a day without.
Proffertjes are served anytime although it is essentially a breakfast item. They are made with a yeast dough and cooked in special pans with shallow indentations. At the restaurants and the markets they are cooked on gigantic proffertjes pans that make dozens of pancakes at a time. It’s quite a production and fun to watch them make it. You can view it online here.
I didn’t bring the special proffertjes pan with me from Amsterdam so I ordered a couple online when we got back home, one cast iron, one non-stick. If you don’t have the pan you can still make them in a skillet or a flat griddle, just use a small amount of batter to achieve the small size pancakes.
It’s important to get the correct consistency of batter so it’s pourable. Because of the yeast, if it’s not runny enough it will be stringy and hard to spoon into the pan. Add enough water to thin the batter to a pourable consistency. My first batch was so-so, still delish but the pancakes were not as symmetrical as they are with the right consistency and the right proffertjes pan.
In Amsterdam they have special cone shaped tool that dispenses just the right amount of batter into each indentation in the pan. I poured the batter into a plastic squeeze bottle, cut the tip to enlarge the opening and squeezed the batter into the pan with it – an easy system that worked cleanly and perfectly.
Serve them with butter, syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar. In Amsterdam they serve these with a thick local syrup made from sugar beets. Here you can serve it with maple syrup.
Go for it, it’s fun.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk, warm
2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet yeast
2 cups flour
1/2 cup water or as needed to achieve a smooth paste
Salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
Directions:
Warm up the milk and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve.
Sprinkle yeast over warm milk and let sit until yeast reconstitute.
Add the flour and mix top a batter.
Add butter and egg and enough of the water to create a pourable batter.
Set aside, cover and let rise for about an hour.
The batter will rise from the yeast action.
When ready to proceed heat up the pan on top of the stove.
Stir the batter to deflate and pour into a squeeze bottle.
Squeeze just enough batter into each indentation or into a regular pan to make small pancakes.
Cook until bubbles appear on the top. Flip them over once and cook the other side.
Turn the pancakes onto a plate.
Serve immediately with warmed butter and syrup, dusted with powdered sugar.
Enjoy.
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