My love for sourdough has been an adventurous tale. When I first began my very first starter, years ago, I had absolutely zero success with it.
Breads were like bricks.
Pancakes were super sour.
Everything was bland and disgusting.
And then I came to the conclusion that this failure must be why everyone switched to commercially produced yeast back in the day – sourdough stinks!
But you know me, I'm a stubborn ‘ol crazy person, and so I decided to give it a go, again, by making my own starter the Nourishing Traditions way – from scratch, with freshly ground rye flour. I had mediocre success with this starter, sometimes it worked great, sometimes it didn't. I found that after awhile, the sourdough starter got a little skanky smelling.
Sorry, I realize skanky probably isn't the best adjective there, but it's what came to mind.
I have since thrown that starter out and have relished in the success of my third, and by far my most successful starter. This starter was also made from scratch, but instead of the traditional sourdough starter which is made with freshly ground whole grain flour, I've opted instead to use organic, unbleached all purpose flour for this starter.
The difference is night and day.
This starter is super active, raises breads incredibly well, and smells very pleasant. It doesn't impart an overly sour or skanky smell or taste into anything I've baked with it – it's very mild, which I enjoy.
And while organic, unbleached all purpose flour may not be completely traditional for a sourdough starter, I've found it to make the difference between wanting to bake with sourdough and not wanting to bake with sourdough. So I think I'll stick with it.
That being said, I've seriously made the mostly incredibly delicious sourdough waffles from it. And share the recipe, I must! I've traditionally made these delicious soaked waffles, which are also wonderful, though they do require a bit more work. I also really enjoy fermenting the flour with sourdough so I'm really working on incorporating it wherever I can. Sourdough works on the grains to break them down and ferment them so that our bodies can absorb and digest the grains very easily.
It's pretty frickin' awesome.
You can read my post on starting your own sourdough starter here. Simply sub-out the rye flour for white flour, if that is your choice. I also feed my starter twice per day now – once after breakfast dishes and once after dinner dishes. Easy peasy.
You can also find sourdough starters online (like here!), which can make it easier to establish a healthy starter.
Sourdough Waffles
For great recipes monthly make sure to check out The Elliott Homestead Cooking Community HERE.
You will need:
– 5 tablespoons active sourdough starter (fed within the last 12 hours) Find cultures here
– 1 cup milk
– 1 1/2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
– 2 eggs
– 1/2 cup milk
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh or dry)
– 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
Step One: Combine the sourdough starter, milk, and whole wheat flour together in a bowl. Cover and let sit overnight (at least 12 hours is ideal).
Step Two: The next morning, beat the eggs and milk until frothy. Add in the vanilla extract and melted butter. Mix to combine.
Step Three: Add the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt to the egg mixture.
Step Four: Lastly, add the flour mixture in with the egg mixture. Stir gently until just combined.
Step Five: Bake the waffles in a preheated waffle iron. I'm still waiting on this beauty to come in the mail – my love for cast iron knows no bounds. Love, love, love. Especially since it can be used directly on the stove!
This recipe makes enough for 4-6 large waffles.
Which means you can eat at least 3 and share 1 with someone else.
I like strawberries on mine with a slight dribble of maple syrup.
I like butter and maple syrup, too.
I like fig jam, too.
I like peanut butter and strawberry preserves, too.
I like it all.
These waffles are light as air, crispy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. Which is why I've made them half a dozen times in the last few weeks. They are FANTASTIC. And easy. Which makes me love them all the more.
Anyway.
That's all I have to share with you today. These delicious sourdough waffles.
So…
This is awkward…
You should probably stop reading now. I really don't have anything else to say about them.
They're delicious? Oh wait…I already said that…
Dangit…
Just stop! I shan't say anymore about them.
Go get your sourdough starter goin'.
…
Good day.
Sourdough Waffles. Crispy, Light, Delicious!
crisp, light, delicious sourdough waffles
- 5 tablespoons active sourdough starter (fed within the last 12 hours)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh or dry)
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Combine the sourdough starter, milk, and whole wheat flour together in a bowl. Cover and let sit overnight (at least 12 hours is ideal).
- The next morning, beat the eggs and milk until frothy. Add in the vanilla extract and melted butter. Mix to combine.
- Add the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt to the egg mixture.
- Lastly, add the flour mixture in with the egg mixture. Stir gently until just combined.
- Bake the waffles in a preheated waffle iron.
- This recipe makes enough for 4-6 large waffles.
For great recipes monthly make sure to check out The Elliott Homestead Cooking Community HERE.
I’m making these for breakfast tomorrow–got the flour/milk/starter going right now! 🙂
This recipe was delicious. I used all-purpose flour since that is what I had on hand at the time. Also, I cut up some bananas, added a little syrup, a tad bit of whipped cream which made the Belgian waffles that much better. Next time I’ll add a bit of brown sugar, because we like our waffles on the sweet side. This waffle recipe is a definite keeper! Thank you for posting it 🙂
Best Waffles I have ever made.
Made these this morning and they were wonderful! My sourdough starter is 100% einkorn. I use the high extraction einkorn flour (from Jovial) for the starter as, like you, don’t like starter made with whole grain – nasty. I used 100% freshly ground einkorn for the additional flour and did the overnight soak with 1 C water instead of milk. Then used grass-fed heavy cream for the 1/2 cup of milk added the next morning. Wonderful!! Will make again. Made 7 waffles! Now I have some in the freezer for breakfast this week!
YUM! Do you buy the einkorn flour in bulk?
I just want to let you know that i tried your recipe and it’s AWESOME! My family who can’t be bothered to eat healthy actually really liked them. Thank you so much! (:
I tried to find the sourdough starter from the link above; however, I was taken to another site, so didn’t find the sourdough starter. Can you post it somewhere on your site and put the correct link please? Thanks. I have enjoyed reading your blog and have started making my own bread using your recipes for soaking. I’d like to see a rye bread recipe, if you have one. I used one I found off the internet and improvised as I wanted to soak the mixture first, and it came out pretty good but just wanted to know how you make rye bread. Thanks.
Head on over to http://www.culturesforhealth.com. You should be able to find what you need.
The two measurements of milk was confusing and I ended up adding 1 1/2 cups of milk to my sourdough starter and flour for tonight. Since I do not have the extra milk for tomorrow how should I proceed?
I’ve made this recipe several times using freshly-milled spelt. These are definitely the best waffles I’ve ever made. They really are crispy on the outside and light on the inside. I don’t plan to ever use another recipe because I don’t think I could find a better one. We love these waffles!
I have been into spourdough for several years now and just started making waffles and love them.
I also make pancakes, pizza, breads biscuits, pasta and even cakes. i use sourdough as much as possible.
I use only Organic unbleached untreated white flour for white flour. I also use organic ancient whole grains that I sprout, dry with a dehydrator an then make my own flour.
For my waffles I start with 75 g organic whole oats, 125g a mix of organic sprouted ancient grains and 100g of organic unbleached untreated flour, 100g kefir and the rest is distilled water to make up a total of 300g plus 1 cup of starter. leave 8 to 14 hours. Next morning I add the rest of the ingredients eggs, oil, salt, cinnamon, sweetner of choice 1 tblsn water mixed with 1tsp of baking soda last to make the waffles.the batter will be thick. Some time I will add shredded apple to the waffle mix. I will also use Stevia instead of sugar to reduce the sugar content which is also good for diabetics.
This make great tasting healthy, crisp and tender waffles, love them. great to freeze and have later.
For my starter, I use is 25% Organic sprouted ancient flour and 75% Organic unbleached untreated white flour mixed at 100% hydration. EG 100g flour to 100g water.
I think this is the best ever recipe I use rye flour whole wheat anything and all examples come out light airy and 3 Michelin stars good thank u so much!
We have a larger than average family, so I would need to double or triple this recipe. Could I just triple all ingredients at each step, or do you think that wouldn’t work out with the sourdough starter? TIA!!
That should work out fine!
Even thought the sponge rose over the bowl and all over my shelf, I spilt salt everywhere, the brand new cast iron waffle pan fille my little dorm room with smoke and I burnt a few.. These were delicious! Perfectly crisp and a little soft, just how I prefer my waffles! I made the full recipe so I can freeze some for homemade toaster waffles during the week!
I know I’m commented on an older post, but I just have to say that this recipe is phenomenal! Regular waffles have been ruined for me. Even with a few little changes (used a little less of olive oil, added a tbsp of sugar, used almond milk), they’ve turned out awesome both times I’ve made them. I refresh my sourdough every 2 weeks or so to make bread and I make extra of these waffles to freeze for the best midweek toaster waffles ever!
I have made this recipe a few times and although it’s TASTY they are SO mushy. Not crispy at all! I wonder if it’s my waffle iron… I have it turned on almost max heat and it still isn’t getting crispy. I have to take them from the iron to the toaster. Any advice?!
Hi Maggie, having made crispy waffles for so many years now… didn’t even notice that it’s not suggested to separate the egg whites and beat them until stiff, then add them last FOLDING gently into your batter (generally what makes waffle batter different from pancake batter, the gently folded in beaten egg whites). This should made some difference for you, give that a try. Good luck!
Great recipe Shaye, thank you! My waffle iron didn’t work brilliantly so I just turned them into pancakes instead, which my wife declared the best I’d ever made. Fantastic!
I am definitely going to give this a go in my very near future. Obviously, because I forgot half of the tools back home (in Slovakia) – this will be a total “by the eye” try here in Norway. Plus, the ingredients are probs different from the ones that I am used to using. Nah well. The recipe sounds awesome and I have been craving waffles for the past 4 days. So, off I go to feed the starter. Thanks for the recipe (and witty post about the yumminess).
This may be a silly question, but when you make the flour mixture the night before you add milk, so do you let it sit in the fridge overnight? Will that inhibit the sourdough if it is in the fridge? Or will the milk go bad if it sits on the counter?
Absolutely the BEST waffle recipe for using up some of the cast-off from my starter. I can’t keep them around the place for very long, they crisp up beautifully a second time when lightly toasted and so vanish pretty quickly unless I manage to hide a few in the freezer for later. I use a cast iron stovetop maker and find that when the hob is set for med-high (#4 setting) they are perfectly crisp and falling from the cast iron form seamlessly after 3-4 min of turning every minute to keep an even cooking temperature throughout. I had company show up one morning unexpectedly and ended up leaving the pre-ferment another 24hrs in the fridge with no problem at all. And, for extra sourdough flavour I use one cup of buttermilk (or plain yogurt) for the premix, then add the called for 1/2 cup of milk the following morning as per the recipe suggests.
Is there a way to use the dry sourdough starter with this recipe?