Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sourdough Waffles

That sourdough starter you have bubbling away has more uses than just for bread, you know. How about some waffles?

Remember those wonderful mornings when Mom would fire up the waffle maker, and breakfast would be waffles dripping with butter and syrup, and maybe a side of bacon or sausages? Yeah, I don't remember that at all. As far as I know, my mother never owned a waffle maker. So I'm making my own waffle memories here.

The beauty of using starter for waffles is that the starter doesn't have to be completely active for it to make a nice waffle. It's used for flavor more than anything else, so a sleepy starter from the fridge or a fiercely bubbling starter on the counter, or a new starter that's not quite ready are all just as good. After all, the baking powder in the recipe gives most of the lift.

Of course, the flavor you end up will depend on your starter. A really mild starter will be much less assertive in the waffles than if you've got a seriously sour starter brewing. Either way, it's a great use for starter, particularly if you've been aggressively feeding, your jar is threatening to overflow, and it's not a convenient day for breadmaking.

Sourdough Waffles
Makes 8 standard 4 1/2-inch square waffles

5 ounces (by weight) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces (by weight) sourdough starter
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk until well combined.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk until combined. Add the sourdough starter, and whisk until completely blended. Add the flour mixture and butter, and stir until combined. Depending of the thickness of your starter, you might need to adjust the batter. It should be the consistency of - well - pancake batter. Add flour or milk as needed to reach that consistency.

Cook in your waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

No waffle iron? You can use this same recipe to make pancakes.

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2 comments:

CatBoy said...

This actually does conjure up memories for me. My mom was a very big waffle fan when I was a kid-- she more or less regarded pancakes as something you only made if you didn't own a waffle iron.

I need to get a waffle iron, soon.

SeattleDee said...

Great timing on this post. I just gifted a jar of starter to an out-of-town friend and promised to send her some instructions and recipes. Quick solution: point her to your blog immediately.

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