Campfire Scrambled Ployes
This week I have a special guest post on ployes to share with you all from my partner and favorite gravel bike rider Bryan. Ployes (rhymes with ‘boys’) are buckwheat crepes common in northern Maine. Bryan is sharing this Maine-inspired campfire breakfast of scrambled ployes, and I’ve included a recipe for traditional ployes too- hope you enjoy!
Maple season
Ok, guest post time! Unlike Sam, I’m no chef, but I want to share this fun campfire breakfast
that I created out of unpreparedness.
Early spring pancakes and maple syrup are fantastic, but they usually require ingredients that don’t take kindly to hours of jostling in a backpack. Ployes are a good shelf-stable alternative. They’re a French-Acadian crepe-like buckwheat pancake that’s cooked without flipping, which causes little holes to form on the top side. There’s a family in francophone northern Maine that makes a widely available ployes mix of buckwheat flour, wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. To make them, just add water and heat.
And speaking of my home state, we had just stocked up on maple syrup from Maine Maple Sunday – an event in which most of the sugar shacks around the state open their doors for tours and tastings on the 4th Sunday in March.
So, I have my fresh maple and my ployes mix, and I’m out camping with some bike friends, and I’m silently getting the fire going and to surprise them with a hot breakfast. But my cookpot has high walls and I can’t get my fork underneath to remove the first ploye! It’s going to burn unless I act fast! I frantically stir-in the rest of the batter while scraping out the crispy bottom to let new batter hit the heat. I stirred until there was a nice mix of crispy and mushy, then poured on a *healthy* dose of the all-star maple syrup – and voila – my new favorite campfire breakfast was born!
More breakfast recipes
Campfire Scrambled Ployes
Equipment
- Campfire
- Cook-pot
Ingredients
- Ployes mix
- Water
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- In a campfire cooking pot, stir together your ployes mix and enough water to make it pourable. Wait for the flames to die down to coals, then place your cook-pot on the coals. Stir the bottom frequently with a metal utensil until the batter has turned to fluffy, crispy goodness. Then pour on a cascade of dark amber delight.
Traditional Ployes
Equipment
- Electric griddle or large non-stick pan
Ingredients
- 1 c Ployes mix
- 1⅓ c Water
Instructions
- Preheat an ungreased electric griddle or pan over medium-high heat.
- In a bowl, whisk together ployes mix and water until there are no more lumps. Let mixture sit 5 minutes.
- Pour ¼ cup of batter on to the hot griddle. With a spoon or bottom of measuring cup, spread the batter out in a circular motion until the ploye is about ⅛ inch thick.
- Cook on one side for 1½-2 minutes, then transfer to a large plate. If the ployes start to stick, turn the heat up slightly. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.