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1
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a large bowl.
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2
Stir in the lukewarm milk, and let stand for five minutes until creamy.
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3
Sift together the flours and salt into a medium bowl.
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4
Whisk into the yeast mixture.
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5
Whisk in the buttermilk or yogurt, the oil or melted butter, and the egg yolks.
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6
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise in a warm spot for one hour or longer until bubbly.
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7
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
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8
Fold them into the batter.
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9
Cover again, and allow to rise for another 30 minutes until bubbly.
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10
Lightly grease a heavy nonstick or cast iron griddle, and heat over medium heat until hot.
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11
For bite-size blini that you can pass as hors doeuvres, ladle on 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter for each silver-dollar-size blini.
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12
For larger, pancake-sized blini, ladle on about 1/4 scant cup per blini.
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13
Cook until holes break through the upper side, about a minute.
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14
Turn and brown on the other side for about 30 seconds.
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15
Remove to a rack or a plate.
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16
If serving right away, wrap them in a towel or place them in a low oven to keep warm.
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17
If not serving right away, wrap them in foil and reheat them for about 20 minutes in a 325-degree oven.
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18
To freeze, stack them between pieces of parchment or wax paper, and wrap them airtight in plastic, then foil.
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19
To thaw, remove them from the plastic, rewrap them in foil, and place them in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
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20
Alternately, remove the foil and thaw them in a microwave oven.
