Yeast Pancakes (Czech Livance)

Yeast pancakes are a real delicacy that Bohemian Grandmas make for their beloved grandchildren. In the Czech language, this dish is called lívance and belongs to the favorite sweet treats. I swear, these are the best pancakes you can have!

➜ What are yeast pancakes?

Yeasted pancakes are round palm-sized patties made of semi-liquid batter, leavened with yeast. The pancakes are fried in a pan on a piece of butter, finally garnished with fruit, a scoop of sour cream, or just rolled in powdered sugar. They are served as a dessert, but in the Czech Republic, children in particular often eat yeast pancakes as a main sweet dish.

This one stands out significantly among all the possible pancake recipes because it produces perfectly soft and fluffy pancakes. Although they take a little more time to prepare, their taste is much better compared to quick American pancakes made with batter with baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent.

✅ In this traditional recipe originating from the Czech Republic, I will show you how to make livance (yeasted pancakes) covered in a sugar-cinnamon mixture.

MY TIP: Try out palacinky, famous Czech crepes!

➜ Pronunciation

Curious how to pronounce the Czech word lívance? I've recorded a short audio clip for you to listen to in authentic Czech!

➜ Ingredients

➜ Instructions

STEP 1: In a large mixing bowl, add yeast to warm milk, and whisk in flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, and eggs. Using an electric mixer set on low speed, mix until combined; the result should be a liquid batter. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or a plastic wrap and let it leaven for 40 minutes in a warm place, or until it doubles its volume.

⤍ Learn how to make dough rise in the oven.

STEP 2: Don’t stir the batter to keep the bubbles after leavening.

STEP 3: Grease a large frying pan with butter or a small amount of oil and warm it up to medium heat.

STEP 4: Scoop the batter with a ladle and form pancakes on the hot pan – circles about 3 inches (7 cm) in diameter.

STEP 5: Cook pancakes on medium-low heat until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the second side. It all takes about 1 minute from each side.

STEP 6: In a large deep bowl, mix the powdered sugar with the ground cinnamon and roll the slightly cooled (but still warm) pancakes in the mixture to coat both sides thoroughly. 

➜ What should the yeast pancake batter look like?

The yeast batter for pancakes is not firm but has a semi-liquid consistency. When done well, it contains a large number of bubbles which make the pancakes fluffy and perfectly soft. Use a ladle to pour the batter into the heated pan.

Count on the fact that the pancake batter needs time to make; it takes about 40 minutes to double in volume. 

➜ Serving

Czech livance pancakes are sweet. There are several ways of garnishing them before they go on the table. Here are some of our favorite pancake toppings:

• Coated in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon
• Decorate the top of pancakes with jam and a scoop of sweetened sour cream
• With fresh fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
• Lívance pancakes taste also great with plum butter (povidla), sprinkled with crumbled tvaroh (Czech tvaroh or in the US farmers’ cheese), and powdered sugar.

➜ The best pancake pan

The ideal frying pan for pancakes has a non-stick surface and its diameter fits the size of the stove. The best choice is a frying pan with separate flapjack molds, which will give you a great round pancake shape.

In the Czech Republic, such a pan with four or six "eyes" is called "livanecnik". The old pans were often made of cast iron and had various decorative ornaments. Czech grandmothers would hang pans on the wall near the stove because they used them often.

Useful tips

• A batter with yeast needs a warm spot to rise. Leave it near the stove you are cooking on, or put the bowl of batter in the oven with a pot of warm water on the bottom. A humid and warm environment makes the fermentation process wonders!
• Once the pancakes are fried, brush them with a mixture of melted unsalted butter and a tablespoon of spiced rum. The pancakes get a wonderful flavor that will surprise you.

More Czech desserts:

• Dukatove buchticky – little yeasted buns with vanilla sauce
• Misa rezy – black & white Czech sheet cake
• Czech kolace – the very authentic Czech dessert
• Krupicova kase – cream of wheat

Lívance, Czech Yeasted Pancakes With Cinnamon Sugar

An old Bohemian recipe for yeasted pancakes, a traditional Czech dessert, often prepared to beloved grandchildren by their grannies (babička).

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Leavening: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 14 pancakes

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Petra Kupská

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Czech

Keyword: Pancakes

Ingredients

Lívance batter:

• ▢ 2 cups milk (480 ml) lukewarm
• ▢ 2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 30 g fresh yeast
• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour (390 g)
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar (70 g)
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ unsalted butter for frying

Cinnamon sugar:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground

Instructions

Lívance batter:

• In a large mixing bowl, add yeast to warm milk, and whisk in flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, and eggs. Using an electric mixer set on low speed, mix until combined; the result should be a liquid batter. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or a plastic wrap and let it leaven for 40 minutes in a warm place, or until it doubles its volume.
• Don’t stir the batter to keep the bubbles after leavening.
• Grease a large frying pan with butter or a small amount of oil and warm it up to medium heat.
• Scoop the batter with a ladle and form pancakes on the hot pan – circles about 3 inches (7 cm) in diameter.
• Cook pancakes on medium-low heat until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the second side. It all takes about 1 minute from each side.
• In a large deep bowl, mix the powdered sugar with the ground cinnamon and roll the slightly cooled (but still warm) pancakes in the mixture to coat both sides thoroughly. 

Notes

• Makes about 14 pancakes.
• More pancake topping ideas:
  • Coated in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon
  • Decorate the top of pancakes with jam and a scoop of sweetened sour cream
  • With fresh fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
  • Lívance pancakes taste also great with plum butter (povidla), sprinkled with crumbled tvaroh (Czech tvaroh or in the US farmers’ cheese), and powdered sugar.
• The best pancake pan: The ideal frying pan for pancakes has a non-stick surface and its diameter fits the size of the stove. The best choice is a frying pan with separate flapjack molds, which will give you a great round pancake shape.
• EXTRA TIP: Once the pancakes are fried, brush them with a mixture of melted unsalted butter and a tablespoon of spiced rum. The pancakes get a wonderful flavor that will surprise you.

DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

Conversion chart

Nutritional Estimate pro portion

Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg

Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.

TIP: Livance could be also a part of a typical Czech breakfast!