As we enter the height of garage sale season and you can acquire an iron for next to nothing — possibly even nothing on C-U’s freecycle — so there’s no excuse for not making waffles.
Whether you aim for the soul food classic — waffles and fried chicken — or the historic Pennsylvania Dutch chicken stew on waffles, or the timeless waffles à la mode with strawberries, our local farmers have you covered.
If you freeze the extras using the directions below, you can say good bye to Eggos and hello to your own homemade waffles anytime you want. And, you may want them quite often in the coming weeks, as strawberries will be coming into the farmers market in force.
Making your own waffles isn’t any more difficult than making pancakes. As with any quick bread it’s best to mix them only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Mix them more than that and you will reduce the tenderness. Because waffles are a quick bread, they rely on chemical leavening, so you’ll want to make sure that your baking powder is fresh. To get the most bang out of your baking soda, you’ll also want to use buttermilk, thinned yogurt, or milk with a little lemon juice added (about 1 T juice to 1 c milk). Think grade school science fair volcano with vinegar and baking soda, only less dramatic.
If you are going to be pairing your waffles with chicken or stew, cornmeal waffles are a great way to go. These also are great simply spread with blackberry jam. We like to run these through two cycles in the waffle iron and put them on a cooling rack to keep them crisp. You can find the flour for these at Common Ground Food Coop in Urbana.
Cornmeal Waffles
- 1 ¼ c stone ground white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 c stone ground yellow cornmeal
- 2 t baking powder
- 1 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 c buttermilk, thinned yogurt, or 2 c milk with 2 T lemon juice
- 1/3 c canola oil
Preheat waffle iron. Brush with oiled paper toweling. Stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Stir until just combined. Place batter into wells of iron.
If you want to keep your waffles, let them cool and wrap them in wax paper or parchment paper and store in an airtight bag in the freezer.
For dessert or breakfast, this recipe makes a nice fluffy waffle. If you are inclined, you can beat the whites an yolks separately. If not, the pastry flour will cover your shortcut.
Fluffy Waffles
- 1 3/4 c stone ground white whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 t baking powder
- ½ t baking soda
- 1 – 2 T sugar
- 1/2 t salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 c buttermilk, thinned yogurt, or 2 c milk with 2 T lemon juice
- ½ c melted butter
Preheat waffle iron. Brush with oiled paper toweling. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, and melted butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Stir until just combined. Place batter into wells of iron.
Prepare any leftover waffles for freezing as above.