I live on a working maple syrup farm so waffles are a staple with us. I get asked “why waffles?” Well, they are a type of bread. Like bread they fall into two camps based on the type of leaven, i.e. what makes them rise: yeast or soda. Waffles are similar to soda breads in that they use soft flour and baking soda/powder. Belgian waffles are historically made with soft flour and yeast. Hard flour, common in bread, is never used. You want a more cake like consistency. For me, all of the bread chemistry applies to waffles so I feel right at home.

I love simple recipes, building blocks for a foundation of baking. These are the basics that have the core ingredients and steps. Learn the foundations, then build upon them. This recipe is the most basic scratch waffle. All you need are medium and large bowls, measuring spoons, measuring cups, a whisk and a waffle maker. From the start to your first baked waffle is under 20 minutes and a whole recipe is done in under an hour.

Timing and Temp

Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker waf-200

There are three factors to discover for your waffle maker:

1. How much batter per waffle
2. Baking time
3. Temperature/browning setting.

This waffle maker, Cuisinart WAF-200, is 8 1/4 inches (21 cm) in diameter. It uses 1 cup (250 ml) of batter. At medium setting you bake for 5 minutes. Your first waffle is a test. Adjust the volume and temperature setting. If you prefer a softer centre and crunchier outside shorten the time and increase the temperature. If you have less than ideal amount of batter it will not fill the space but more important it will take less time to bake. After an experiment or two you have your numbers. Some makers, like mine, do the timing for you. They beep when the maker is up to temperature and when done. They trigger on the temperature.

2 or 4 Cups of Batter

Our family is just my wife and myself. Our kids are long grown and living with their families. When I started learning about waffles I found most recipes made about 4 cups of batter so with my WAF-200 waffle maker, 4 waffles. This usually left 2 uneaten to be frozen and reheated later. As a basic recipe used 2 eggs, I though why not design a 2 cup as well as a 4 cup recipe. Then when it is just my wife and I make 2 cups/2 waffles. All of my waffles recipes offer a 2 cup version and a 4 cup version. The 4 cup is just a doubling of the 2 cup but included for convenience as most families will make 4 or more.

Be sure to spray a bit of non-stick grease before the first waffle.

My First Waffle

 

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Active time

10 mins

Bake/Wait time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

This great tasting waffle is the most basic recipe. The use of butter gives for the fat gives a rich taste and texture.

Author: Baker Rich of OnBreadAlone.com

Recipe type: Waffles

Serves: Two or Four 8" waffles

Ingredients

2 Cups Batter

• 1 cup (125 g) All Purpose Flour
• 1 TBSP (15 g) Granulated Sugar
• 2 tsp (10 g) Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp (2 g) Sea Salt
• 1 cup (240 g) Milk
• 1 (50 g) Eggs
• 3 TBSP (45 g) Unsalted Butter, melted OR Sunflower Oil
• ½ tsp (3 g) Vanilla extract (optional)
• For waffle maker surface Non-stick Spray or vegetable oil

4 Cups Batter

• 2 cups (250 g) All Purpose Flour
• 2 TBSP (25 g) Granulated Sugar
• 4 tsp (20 g) Baking Powder
• ½ tsp (3 g) Sea Salt
• 2 cups (485 g) Milk
• 2 (100 g) Eggs
• 6 TBSP (85 g) Unsalted Butter, melted OR Sunflower Oil
• 1 tsp (5 g) Vanilla extract (optional)
• For waffle maker surface Non-stick Spray or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Heat waffle iron
2. In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients
3. In a medium sized bowl combine all wet ingredients and whisk
   
Using a separate bowl for wet mixture then adding to the dry mixture results in less clumps
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and whisk. Do NOT whisk again later. You will flatten the batter.

Bake a waffle

1. Use non-stick spray or brush some oil on waffle iron plates
2. For an 8” round iron, pour 1 cup of batter in centre. The amount depends on your waffle maker size. The instructions will usually say how much to use.
3. Bake for about 5 min. Time and temp effect how a waffle bakes. Higher temp uses lower time. The shorter the time the bigger the difference between crust and inside softness. Do not open early to check as this will tear the waffle. If waffle too dark, lower temperature setting. Auto waffle makers will beep when waffle is done.
4. Remove the waffle by gently loosening the edges with a heat-proof plastic spatula, wooden spatula or non-stick coated tongs.
5. Serve immediately or place in a 200F (90C) oven to keep them warm. For left overs, place them on a rack until cool. Freeze in a freezer bag or plastic container.
6. Toast frozen waffle to serve. I place them in a countertop oven at 350F (175C) for about 5 minutes.

Variations

Coffee Flavour: Add 1 tsp instant coffee per cup of batter into the WET ingredients to allow more time to dissolve

Espresso: Use ½ cup stovetop espresso and ½ cup milk in place of 1 cup milk. Make the espresso ahead of time, permit it to cool. ½ cup is just slightly less than a 3 cup maker. Stir coffee before adding as some residue settles on bottom.

A 6 cup stovetop maker produces 300 ml (just over 1 cup - 250 ml) of coffee. It uses 15g of ground coffee.

3.5.3251

Freeze extra waffles

I find reheated waffles almost as good as just made. They are much lighter than store bought.

Melted Butter vs Sunflower Oil

This is really a personal choice thing. I included the two nutrition labels. Personally I use sunflower oil for the convenience. An interesting discussion is what is a waffle serving. Answer: A 4 inch waffle weighing about 60 grams. So an 8″ Belgian waffle from my maker is 4 servings.

With Low-Salt Butter

With Sunflower Oil