French-Acadian ployes pancakes recipe inspired by: Acadia National Park, Maine (alternatively: Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument)
Deeply rooted in the lifestyle and diet of the French-Acadian refugees who settled in northern Maine and eastern Canada in the 18th century, ployes (which rhymes with “boys”) are a traditional food in the far northeast of North America.
Eaten as both breakfast and as a side dish, particularly with soups, Acadian ployes are a thin pancake made with a basic mix of buckwheat flour, regular flour, baking powder, salt and water.
As the Visit Maine website says, “this staple food is the quintessential combination of [the Acadians’] French heritage and their frontiersmen ‘waste-not’ strategies.”
An original and traditional food in the French colony of Acadia, which encompassed the maritime provinces of modern-day Canada, parts of Quebec and northern Maine, it is the perfect breakfast recipe to pair with Acadia National Park.
After all, both the food and the park share the same origins. One of the first Europeans who recorded his visits to the Maine coast was Samuel de Champlain, a renowned French explorer.
He was taken to Mount Desert Island by the Wabanaki People, who had lived in the area for centuries, which he named “Isle des Monts Deserts.”
Mount Desert Island is now home to the main part of Acadia National Park.
In fact, when it was first established in 1916, the park was named Sieur de Monts National Monument, which became Lafayette National Park in 1919. In 1929, it was renamed Acadia National Park.
All of this is to show the region’s strong links with France and its colonial cultures, including primarily the Acadians.
This French-Acadia ployes recipe is a great reflection of that period in the history of the northern Atlantic Seaboard.
And it’s still an incredibly popular food in the region, served in numerous local restaurants. The town of Fort Kent even has its own annual Ploye Festival!
French-Acadian Ployes Pancakes
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes
- Servings: 6 ployes
- Calories per serving (one ploye):
French-Acadian ployes are very much their own distinct type of pancake, yet with some similarities to other (pan)cakes. At first sight, they look like a mix between a crêpe and a crumpet. But there are some differences, though.
The main difference is that they’re partially made with buckwheat flour, while they’re cooked on only one side and sport those characteristic “eyes.”
Additionally, Acadian ployes are also extremely versatile. You can eat them for breakfast with a pat of butter, some fresh berries and a drizzle of Maine maple syrup.
Alternatively, top them with cretons, a regional pork pâté, and you’ve got lunch. Roll them up and that’s a side dish for dipping in chicken stews and other soups.
And that versatility is exactly why ployes were, and still are, so popular in the former French-Acadian colony.
Using only inexpensive and readily available ingredients, they’re essentially an Acadian version of bread, eaten for breakfast, lunch and with dinner.
For this French-Acadian ployes recipe, which makes six of these traditional Acadian pancakes, we’re making breakfast ployes topped with butter, berries and maple syrup. (You can also top them with a fried egg or two instead.)
Eat them flat as they are or roll them up like a crêpe.
If you’d like to serve ployes for lunch, a mid-afternoon snack or side dish, however, you can do that too, of course. The recipe for ployes doesn’t change depending on when you plan on eating them!
Necessary Kitchen Tools
Acadia Ployes Recipe
A mix between a crêpe and a crumpet, French-Acadian ployes are traditional pancakes from eastern Canada and northern Maine, made with nothing more than buckwheat and regular flour, water, baking powder and salt.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup cold water
- 3/4 cup hot water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt).
- Pour in cold water, mix well with a silicone spatula and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Pour in hot water, mix well with the spatula and let stand 5 more minutes.
- Heat a lightly greased cast-iron pan over medium-high heat.
- Use a ladle to add batter to the hot pan. Quickly spread the batter out with the back of the ladle in circular motions. Cook one ploye at time.
- As the ploye cooks, little holes called "eyes" will pop up all over. When the surface of the ploye is dry and covered with holes, it's ready. (Ployes are not flipped!)
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the rest of the batter. Mix the batter with the spatula each time before cooking a new ploye.
- Serve hot with toppings like butter, berries and/or maple syrup.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 159Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 603mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 3gSugar 1gProtein 5g
A general nutrition calculator was used to determine the nutritional information of this recipe, which is meant solely as an indication of the dish's nutritional values. Depending on specific ingredients, quantities used and/or serving size, the ultimate dish you end up making may have different nutritional aspects. Please consider the information provided here only as guidance and not as an absolute fact.
If You Decide to Make This Traditional Acadia National Park-Inspired Ployes Recipe at Home, Feel Free to Tell Everyone About It Below! Happy Cooking!
More Breakfast Recipes Inspired by National Parks
- Caribbean Banana Fritters Recipe (Virgin Islands National Park)
- Vegetarian Biscuits and Gravy Recipe (New River Gorge National Park)
- Buckwheat Pancakes Recipe (Blue Ridge Parkway)
- Vegetarian Red Flannel Hash Recipe (Acadia National Park)
- Hawaiian Acai Bowls Recipe (Haleakalā National Park)
- Spiced Pumpkin Waffles Recipe (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)