The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles

Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles

JMonkey

I make these just about every Saturday. They’re light and delicious, with a light sourdough flavor. They freeze well. Adapted from a recipe in “The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion”

Ingredients:

Overnight Sponge
Whole wheat pastry flour: 10 ounces or 2 generous cups
Honey: 2 Tbs
Buttermilk: 18 ounces or 2.25 cups
Sourdough starter: 8 ounces (if it’s the wet kind, use only 16 ounces or 2 cups buttermilk)

Final Batter
All of the sponge
2 large eggs
6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix up the sponge the night before. Cover it and let it sit. The next morning, it should be bubbly. In another bowl, beat the egg with the melted butter until light, and then mix in the salt and baking soda. Dump this mixture into the sponge -- if the sponge is acidic enough, it should bubble quite a bit when it hits the alkaline baking soda. Mix it all together and then spoon it into a hot waffle iron. You'll know your waffle iron better than mine, but it usually takes about 4-5 minutes. I judge by the volume of steam -- when it starts to dissipate, they're usually done.

This recipe makes 8 to 10 traditional waffles. If you've got a Belgian waffle maker, I'm afraid you'll have to find out for yourself how many it will make, but no matter. The recipe stands well to doubling, even quadrupling, and leftover waffles freeze beautifully, so don't worry about making too many. When you want one for breakfast, just pop it directly into the toaster from the freezer.