Why are pancakes baked at the wake? Lenten pancakes for the wake


Date of publication of the recipe: 22.01.15 23:28

Recipe preparation time: 3 hours


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According to the established Slavic traditions, it is customary to serve pancakes cooked on lean yeast dough at the memorial meal. This funeral dish, being an integral part of traditional Russian cuisine, symbolizes the solar disk, rebirth and the beginning of a new life. Pancakes are an obligatory funeral dish in Russia. It is considered good form to take the pancakes left after the meal to the church for the remembrance of the soul. The recipe differs from ordinary pancakes in ingredients: it is not customary to add eggs and sugar to the dough. They are baked in the usual way. After cooking, it is recommended to consecrate the dish in the church or sprinkle it with holy water after reading a prayer.

Compound

  • - 1 l.
  • - 2 glasses
  • Yeast - 12 g.
  • - on the tip of a spoon

Recipe

  1. Warm up 250-300 ml. water until warm. It is important not to overheat and not turn it into hot or boiling water.
  2. Pour water into a bowl or pan, dilute 10-12 g of yeast in it.
  3. Add another 150-200 ml. water, and then pour one glass of flour, stirring constantly to avoid the formation of lumps.
  4. Cover the pot or bowl with a lid, wrap in a blanket and leave the dough in a warm place for one hour or less. The mass should increase by one and a half to two times.
  5. Then you need to add the remaining water and flour to it, as well as a pinch of salt.
  6. Knead the dough thoroughly and put it in a warm place again. Wait until it rises.
  7. Lubricate the pan with vegetable oil, and without stirring the dough, bake pancakes: pour the dough into the center of the pan, twist it to spread the dough over the entire surface and fry until golden brown. Then turn over and fry the other side.

Note

You can also use buckwheat instead of wheat flour. If the commemoration does not take place during fasting, water can be replaced with milk. Bake pancakes should not be very thin. It is customary to eat a dish at a wake with honey, observing etiquette, without overeating a lot. It is customary to serve pancakes without folding into tubes, triangles or other shapes. Please note that in Orthodox traditions, it is not customary to give thanks for treats on such a day. Remember also that in different areas (regions) the recipe and traditions may vary.

01/22/15 11:28 pm, Pancakes, 3 hours

To the question Why is it customary to eat pancakes at the wake? given by the author OLKA the best answer is It is customary to serve ritual dishes to the memorial table: eve (full), kutya (kolivo), pancakes, jelly. In addition to these obligatory dishes, cold fish appetizers, herring, sprats, fish dishes, fish pies are usually served, which has a certain connection with Christian symbols.
Pancakes are a dish whose ritual use is known among the Eastern Slavs, mainly Russians. In other Slavic cultures, various types of bread, porridge (kutya) or grain play a similar role in rituals. The main symbolism of pancakes is associated with the idea of ​​death and the other world: pancakes are dedicated to the dead, symbolically feed the souls of their ancestors with them, pass pancakes to the "other world" in the coffin with the dead, etc.
Intermediaries between the real and the other world are persons who are "outside": beggars, wanderers, carolers, who are given pancakes. Pancakes are also meant for Christ, St. Vlasy, betrothed, the first person you meet, a shepherd, cattle, a stuffed Maslenitsa, Frost, etc.
In fast days, meat dishes were allowed: roast, meat stew, pies "kulebyak", borscht, porridge, noodles with poultry. Hot food was considered obligatory, because they believed that the soul of the deceased flies away with the steam.
At present, the menu of the memorial table also consists of a certain set of dishes, depending on which days the commemoration falls (lenten or fast).
As appetizers, salads of beets with garlic, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese with tomatoes, fresh and sauerkraut are served; caviar from apples, vegetables (carrots, zucchini, eggplant), vinaigrette, vinaigrette with herring, etc. Hot dishes, in addition to those mentioned, serve cutlets, stewed lamb, poultry baked or fried in vegetable oil, duck with sauerkraut, fried eggplant, stuffed peppers, boiled potatoes, cabbage rolls stuffed with vegetables. Lenten yeast dough was used to make pies with potatoes, berries, apples, dried fruits, dried apricots, mushrooms, cabbage, fish, cereals, rice, etc. Memorial pancakes were obligatory. Gingerbread, gingerbread, pancakes, sweets were placed on the table. Cakes and pastries were not recommended. From drinks - jelly from berries, lemon drink with honey, apple, rhubarb, kvass from crackers.
They tried to have an even number of dishes on the table, changing them was not practiced, but they adhered to a certain sequence of reception.
The old memorial dish, from which the funeral dinner began, was kanun (full), which used to be prepared from beans with sugar or made bread crumbled on water or unleavened cakes with honey, which were watered with sweet well-fed. In the old days, wheat or barley kutya was used. Later, funeral kutya (kolivo) was made from boiled rice doused with honey diluted in water, and sweet fruits (raisins). According to tradition, with kutya, and it was eaten by three spoons, a memorial dinner began.
Kutya is supposed to be pre-consecrated in the temple. It also has its own symbolism, in which grains serve as a sign of resurrection, and honey (raisins) marks the spiritual sweetness of the blessings of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. In kutia, as it were, the ideas of the ancients about the immortality of the soul are enclosed.

Christian funeral meal

Since early Christian times, relatives and friends of the deceased have gathered together on special days of commemoration in order to ask the Lord for the repose of the deceased and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven in joint prayer. After visiting the church and the cemetery, the relatives of the deceased arranged a memorial meal, to which not only relatives were invited, but mainly the needy: the poor and the needy, that is, the commemoration is a kind of Christian alms for those gathered. Ancient Christian memorial meals gradually transformed into modern commemorations, which are held on the 3rd day after death (the day of the funeral), the 9th, 40th days and other days memorable for the deceased (six months and a year after death, birthday and day Deceased Angel).

Unfortunately, modern commemorations bear little resemblance to Orthodox funeral meals and are more like pagan feasts that the ancient Slavs held before they were enlightened by the light of the Christian faith. In those primeval times, it was believed that the richer and more pompously the deceased is seen, the merrier he will live in the other world. In order to actually help a soul that has departed to the Lord, it is necessary to organize a memorial meal in a worthy way, according to the Orthodox:

1. Before a meal, one of the relatives reads the 17th kathisma from the Psalter. Kathisma is read in front of a fire lamp or a candle.

2. Immediately before eating, they read "Our Father ...".

3. The first course is kolivo or kutya - boiled wheat grains with honey or boiled rice with raisins, which are consecrated at a memorial service in the temple. Seeds serve as a symbol of resurrection: in order to bear fruit, they must be in the ground and decay. So the body of the deceased is given over to the earth in order to decay and during the general resurrection to rise incorruptible for the future life. Honey (or raisins) marks the spiritual sweetness of the blessings of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, kutia is a visible expression of the confidence of the living in the immortality of the dead, in their resurrection and blessed, through the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal life.

4. There should be no alcohol on the memorial table. .The custom to drink alcohol is an echo of pagan feasts. Firstly, Orthodox commemoration is not only (and not the main thing) food, but also prayer, and prayer and a drunken mind are incompatible things. Secondly, on the days of commemoration, we intercede before the Lord for the improvement of the afterlife of the deceased, for the forgiveness of his earthly sins. But will the Chief Justice listen to the words of drunk intercessors? Thirdly, "drinking is the joy of the soul" and after drinking a glass our mind dissipates, switches to other topics, grief for the deceased leaves our hearts and quite often it happens that by the end of the commemoration, many people forget why they have gathered - the commemoration ends the usual feast with a discussion of everyday problems and political news, and sometimes even worldly songs. Meanwhile, the languishing soul of the deceased waits in vain for prayer support from their loved ones.

Eliminate alcohol from the memorial dinner. And instead of the common atheistic phrase: "May the earth rest in peace to him," pray briefly: "God rest the soul of Your newly-departed servant (name), and forgive him all his sins, free and involuntary, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven." This prayer must be performed before proceeding to the next dish.

5. No need to remove the forks from the table - this makes no sense. There is no need to put a cutlery in honor of the deceased, or even worse - to put vodka in a glass with a piece of bread in front of the portrait. All this is the sin of paganism.

6. If the commemoration is performed on fast days, then the food should be fast.

7. If the commemoration fell on the time of Great Lent, then on weekdays the commemoration is not performed, but is transferred to the next (forward) Saturday or Sunday, the so-called counter commemoration. This is done because only on these days (Saturday and Sunday) are the Divine Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great celebrated, and behind the proskomedia, particles are taken out for the dead and requiems are performed. If the memorial days fell on the 1st, 4th and 7th weeks of Great Lent (the strictest weeks), then only the closest relatives are invited to the commemoration.

8. Memorial days that fell on Bright Week (the first week after Easter) and on Monday of the second Easter week are transferred to Radonitsa - Tuesday of the second week after Easter, on the days of commemoration it is useful to read the Easter canon.

9. The memorial meal ends with a universal thanksgiving prayer "We thank Thee, Christ our God ..." and "It is worthy to eat ...".

10. Wake on the 3rd, 9th and 40th days are arranged for relatives, relatives, friends and acquaintances of the deceased. At such a commemoration, in order to honor the deceased, you can come without an invitation. On other days of commemoration, only the closest relatives gather.

Orthodox funeral meal.
Recipes for the preparation of funeral dishes.


Kutya

Traditional kutya is made from wheat grains, which are washed and soaked for several hours (or overnight), then boiled until tender. Boiled grains are mixed with honey, raisins, poppy seeds to taste. Honey can first be diluted in water in a ratio of 1/2 and boil wheat grains in the solution, then drain the solution. Rice kutya is prepared in the same way. Loose rice is boiled, then diluted honey or sugar and raisins (washed, scalded and dried) are added to it.

Pancakes

It is known that pancakes were a ritual dish among the pagan Slavic peoples. Pancake - a symbol of the sun and rebirth True Russian pancakes were baked from buckwheat flour - these are incomparably more magnificent pancakes than from wheat flour, they have a pleasant sour taste.

Lean pancakes

Lean pancakes are prepared without the addition of muffins (cow butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar, etc.). For lean pancakes you will need: 4 cups of flour (buckwheat or wheat, you can mix both types of flour), 4.5 cups of milk, 20-25 g of yeast, salt to taste. Pour half a glass of warm milk into an enamel pan and dilute the yeast in it, add another one and a half glasses of milk. While stirring, add 2 cups of flour. Mix the dough well, cover the pan with a towel and put in a warm place. When the dough comes up (increases in volume by 2-3 times), add the rest of the flour, milk, salt to it, mix well and put it in a warm place again. After the dough rises again, you should bake pancakes, carefully scooping up the dough so that it does not fall off. The pan is usually first greased with one teaspoon of vegetable oil.

Butter pancakes

4 cups flour, 4 cups milk, 3 eggs, 100 g cream, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar, 25-30 g of yeast, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of butter, salt to taste. Pour two cups of flour into an enameled saucepan, pour in two cups of warm milk, after diluting the yeast in it, mix everything well and put in a warm place. When the dough has risen, add the remaining warm milk, flour and put it in a warm place again. When it rises again, add beaten egg yolks, sugar, salt, melted butter. Mix well, add whipped cream and egg whites and mix again. Put the dough in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Then bake pancakes.

Kissel

Now liquid sweet fruit kissels are boiled, and in the old days kissels (kissel - sour) were prepared from flour - rye, oatmeal, wheat - on dough and sourdough. Oatmeal jelly was thick, it was cut with a knife, eaten with a spoon (remember milk rivers with jelly banks in Russian folk tales). That is why, in the funeral custom, jelly was preserved in this form: with milk. You can make your own oatmeal by grinding oatmeal in a coffee grinder.

oatmeal jelly

2 cups oatmeal, 2 tablespoons honey, 8 cups water, salt to taste. Pour oatmeal with warm water and mix well so that there are no lumps. Let it swell for 6-8 hours (you can leave it overnight). Then strain through a sieve, add honey, salt and cook, stirring, until thickened. Pour hot jelly into molds, let it harden and cut into portions with a knife.

The memorial meal, according to legend, ended with a pie, which was taken out of the house on a platter surrounded by candles and distributed to the poor as alms in remembrance of the soul of the deceased.

Today we will talk about a ritual dish - lean pancakes for commemoration. Traditionally, lean pancakes with yeast are prepared for a wake for those people who came to remember a deceased person. That is, to honor his memory - to remember. Pancakes are distributed to the beggars, neighbors and brought to the church for the same purpose. For the preparation of such pastries, milk, butter or eggs are not added to the dough. Pancakes are served on the day of the funeral, on the 9th or 40th day after them. This dish symbolizes farewell to the human body and rest his soul. The first still hot pancake must be broken by hand and left on the window so that the soul of the deceased is nourished by it. Even on the Maslenitsa holiday, pancakes are baked in order to commemorate their ancestors. That is, they "bake" about their reassurance.

Lenten funeral pancakes are prepared in an amount of two pieces for each guest. Pancakes should be relatively plump, not thin at all. The third part of the flour, if desired, can be replaced with oatmeal, buckwheat flour. It is allowed to cook pancakes with lean filling. Fried mushrooms, berries, jam, jam are suitable.

Ingredients

  • Warm water - 550 ml;
  • Wheat flour (any grade) - 300 g;
  • Dry yeast - 1 tsp;
  • Sugar - 3 tbsp. l.;
  • Sunflower oil - 4 tbsp. l.;
  • Salt - 0.5 tsp.

How to cook lean pancakes with yeast for a wake

Sift some wheat flour into a cup and add dry yeast. Take flour of any quality and grade, it does not matter in pancake dough. Leave the dry mass for a couple of minutes.

Pour warm boiled water into the dry mixture and mix with a whisk until the consistency is uniform. This is how dough is made on yeast dough. If desired, it can be prepared in a safe way. That is, immediately mix all the liquid ingredients, and then add all the dry ones. Stir and leave to ferment in a warm place until a foamy head appears on the dough. But in this recipe, the method is spongy, it is convenient when you do not know exactly what quality your yeast is. It should be mentioned that the yeast in the recipe can be used not only dry, but also fresh pressed. It is also better for them to make a dough.

When the dough begins to ferment, bubbles will appear on the surface. This is the beginning of the formation of a foam cap. So, the yeast began to work actively. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave for now.

Separately sift the rest of the flour.

Add salt and sugar to flour.

Gradually stir in the dry ingredients mixture into the yeast mixture. There should be no lumps in the dough, so actively beat the mass with a whisk or even a mixer using the first speed.

Mix the dough thoroughly and leave for a quarter of an hour to work the stickiness of the flour.

Pour liquid oil into the dough and mix with a whisk. It is necessary to add oil, because there are no eggs in the dough, and pancakes will not burn on the pan. Don't be alarmed if the dough is too thick - the foamy mass will be well distributed in the pan. Well, if you want to bake very thin pancakes, pour a little more warm water into the dough and stir well. And after a couple of minutes, proceed to the next cooking step.

To start baking, be sure to heat the pancake pan well. Pour some batter over the ladle and spread it all over the pan. It is convenient to do this by slightly lifting it above the included stove. When the top surface of the first pancake sets, turn it over and bake on the other side. If you heat the pan well, one pancake will take no more than a minute.

Such lean funeral pancakes are prepared not only from wheat flour alone, but also with the addition of buckwheat. Despite the fact that the pancakes are thin, they are very soft and are great for diet food.

Although the classic version of such pancakes is prepared with yeast, you can slightly deviate from tradition. The main thing here is that the baking is lean.

The dough can be kneaded for:

  • water with baking soda slaked with vinegar or lemon juice;
  • potato broth:
  • on mineral water with gas (gas bubbles loosen the dough and make pancakes thin and light).

But, in any version of the dough, there must be vegetable oil - it makes the mass for pancakes more homogeneous and prevents burning to the pan.

It is allowed to add a little holy water to the dough for funeral pancakes or sprinkle them after cooking.