Thursday, June 21, 2007

Crispy Waffles

waffle cinderella waffle

These waffles are a variation on a recipe that came with the Disney Princess waffle iron we just bought (yes, it imprints Cinderella's carriage on every waffle, much to the delight of my children). The added starch supposedly makes the waffles more crisp. They are nice and sturdy if you like to put lots of toppings on your waffles.

Mix together and set aside:
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup flaxseed meal

Preheat waffle iron.

Sift together:
1 and 1/3 cup flour (I have tested this recipe with King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour and brown rice flour)
1/3 cup potato starch (I used Manischewitz)
1 Tablespoon teff flour (optional, or you can substitute another type of flour for crunch and flavor--the original recipe called for cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is corn-free)
3/4 teaspoon salt

To flax seed mixture, add:
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (optional)
3/4 cup rice milk or other dairy substitute (Rice Dream Original unenriched is corn-free)

Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Lightly grease waffle iron with oil or cooking spray. Eggless waffles tend to stick more easily than those containing eggs, so you may or may not need to grease the griddle before every waffle. You will most likely need to grease for every waffle if you use gluten-free flour.

Spoon in enough batter to cover the pattern on the bottom of the iron, close iron, and bake until the indicator on your iron says it's done. Remove waffle and cool on a rack for greater crispiness.
We eat the whole-wheat version of these waffles plain, with nothing on them. If you wish to put something sugary on top, like syrup, you may want to leave out the honey or decrease to 1 tablespoon. The gluten-free version is less moist and more crispy.

You can turn waffles into a main dish by leaving out the honey and serving a meat sauce (think biscuits and gravy) or stew over them. Or they make a great dessert with fruit on top.

Makes about 3-4 large waffles. Whole-grain flour makes these quite substantial and filling.

3 comments:

ZM said...

Hmm. I'm having trouble finding a gluten free and corn free waffle. (And dairy free, etc..) Any ideas as to what would work well instead of the King Arthur's flour?

purple_kangaroo said...

If you use a gluten-free flour, you might want to substitute tapioca flour for the potato starch to help it stick together. It might actually work as written with a gluten-free flour blend, though. I'll let you know if I test it as a GF recipe.

Here are a couple of waffle recipes I've tested using rice flour:

Hypoallergenic Fruit Waffles

Vegan Waffles or Pancakes

purple_kangaroo said...

I tried it this morning as written, but with rice flour and agave nectar instead of the wheat flour and honey. It worked fine, but the finished product is a little drier and more crispy than a waffle made with gluten-containing flour.

It isn't really suitable for eating with no topping, but is quite good with a little syrup on it.

You do need to be sure to grease the waffle iron when making this recipe with a gluten-free flour.