Barry, my kids, and I all love homemade waffles! It’s one of their favorite meals – and they’ll enjoy them any time of day. I have a really large double-side waffle maker. It’s a Waring Pro. But then I found this cute, smaller one for four waffles. I only paid $15 for it and I know it’s not the best quality, but I’ve had so much fun with it! So…let’s make waffles!
Whenever I make waffles, I either make the Lemon Honey Flax Waffles from Jessica Fisher’s cookbook or I modify the waffle recipe from the red Breadbeckers cookbook. I have practically all their cookbooks, but I love the recipes from the little red book. I modify one called Basic Pancake recipe and convert it to waffles. The only real change between pancake and waffle batter is that you add more oil to the waffles.
And y’all, these are some of the best waffles!
The recipe calls for buttermilk – which I don’t have on hand most of the time! My easy substitution for buttermilk is using regular milk, increasing my baking powder and omitting the baking soda. Recipes that call for baking soda need some sort of acid to help the “poofing” process take place. Instead, I use the double-acting baking powder.
Double-acting means the baking powder reacts when it hits the liquid, and then again when it hits the heat.
I like to mix my liquids all together first and then add my other ingredients. Always measure your vanilla – because you never want to use too much. Just kidding, y’all. This isn’t in the original recipe, but I like adding vanilla to everything I make. Whenever I don’t use coconut oil, I use avocado oil. It’s my second oil of choice.
You’ll notice in this recipe that it calls for 3-4 cups of milk. I realize that’s quite a range. But hear me out. As far as how much milk to use, it really depends on how old and what kind of flour you use. Now, what in the world do I mean by that?
Fresh flour absorbs moisture at a different rate than store-bought, enriched flour.
People ask if this recipe works with store-bought flour and the answer is yes! We just prefer fresh ground flour because of the health benefits. It looks just like regular flour, but it tastes sooo much better. For this recipe, I use soft white wheat flour.
I also get asked a lot about the difference between hard and soft wheat.
For quick breads, to make waffles, pancakes, etc. I use soft white wheat. But for things like bread, rolls, buns, cinnamon rolls, I recommend hard white wheat. Hard wheat has a different moisture content and works better with all of your yeast breads. When I make waffles, I add the flour a little bit at a time so I don’t add too much. Fresh flour continues to soak up the liquid as it sits.
There is never a time when I make waffles that I don’t always overfill the waffle maker.
Batter ends up oozing down the sides, all over the counter and the lid is popping open because I put too much batter in it. I know I could measure to know just how much it holds, but I’m just not that kind of cook! And it never ceases to amaze me how off I always am on my waffle maker’s batter hold capacity. I always think it will hold just a little bit more, and it always overflows.
When you’re making waffles, it’s okay to experiment.
Now when I say experiment, I don’t mean that we are adding food coloring and vinegar to see if things will explode in the waffle maker. Save that for another day! By experiment, I mean try out your batter with the first waffle to see if it’s too runny. You don’t want it to be too thick – that creates a dense, tough waffle. It’s okay to be a tough cookie, but nobody wants a tough waffle.
The good thing about waffles and pancakes is that you don’t make them all at once. It’s the opposite of cake and bread. So you can always change up the batter and add a little bit more flour (or liquid), if you aren’t happy with the outcome of the first, on your next batch!
Waffles are a great make-ahead breakfast or dinner.
My best tip for perfect make-ahead waffles: Don’t worry too much about the browning or color of the waffles when you make them initially. After you cook your waffles just shy of being done (slightly pale and still a little soft), lay them out in a single layer on a baking rack and allow them to cool completely. Then carefully place them in a bread bag to freeze. The only way to avoid freezer ice crystals is to be sure your food is 100% cool before you put it in the freezer. Toast your waffles just before serving to get a beautiful brown color and crispy texture that perfectly absorbs syrup and butter! #buttervehicle
The Best Wafles
Equipment
- waffle iron
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 splash vanilla
- 3-4 cups milk depending on your flour
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups flour depending on type used
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat waffle maker (iron)
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk well to combine.
- Combine 3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add to the egg mixture. If your batter is too runny, add more flour as needed.
- Carefully spoon batter into the preheated waffle maker. Shut the lid and cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on desired finished consistency (soft or crunchy – I like to cook mine for 3 minutes so they are a little soft and pale. That way, I can toast them up later and they won't be too dry.).
- Lay the cooked waffles in a single layer on a baking rack. Allow them to cool completely. Once cool, carefully lay them in a bread bag to freeze if you wish to store them for later.
If you’re feeling super adventurous, or happen to have some leftover bread you need to use up, you should check out my recipe for waffle french toast (yes, it is amazing at it sounds!).
These were so yummy! Thanks for the recipe! I said to the kids as we were eating, I cañt believe there’s no sugar in here! One question, when you make waffles and pancakes, do you get nice thick batter at the top, and watery liquid at the bottom? Mine do all the time, and I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong?!?!
No, that has never happened to me. But I almost always stir between each session – after every time I add new batter to the iron. I’m glad you like the recipe!