Old Fashioned Waffles

I mentioned yesterday that our daughter sent me a set of cast iron waffle irons.  I used them today for the first time and it was wildly successful!  I have had at least 2 electric waffle irons in the past that I bought used, and they were fine, but they took up so much room, and I used them infrequently, so they got re-donated...  But I LOVE waffles.  Now I'm all set.  Here is what I did ~

Yesterday I seasoned the irons... I coated them with sunflower oil and put a piece of foil on the bottom rack of the oven, placed the irons on the rack above (the foil is to catch the drips) and baked them at 350 for an hour and then let them cool in the oven.

Sourdough Waffles

The night before, combine:

1/2 cup sourdough starter
2 Tablespoons sucanat (or sugar, honey, etc.)
2 cups warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour

Cover, and let it sit all night on the counter.  In the morning, add:


1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix well.  Start heating your waffle irons (either the electric one, or like mine... which I will explain.)

I have a propane stove.  You will have to figure out what works on your stove, but here is a picture of the flame so you can see how hot I set it:

I am guessing that on an electric range that would be a medium/low setting.  Turn on your exhaust fan, because the fat on the pan is going to smoke a little at first.  When it is good and hot, using a hot pad, open the irons and spray both surfaces with pan spray.  You only need to do that on the first waffle of each batch.

Here is the batter:

You can see it is all poofy and nice after the addition of the baking soda.  Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter and pour it into the bottom iron.  Close the irons and set your timer for 3 minutes.  Check after a couple of minutes.  You will have to adjust the time and heat to accommodate your own equipment.

When the waffle is nicely brown on the bottom, use a fork to pick it up and stack them one at a time on a plate.  After each waffle, flip the set of irons over so they will be more evenly heated.

 This batch made 8 nice waffles.  It takes some time to bake all of them, but once you get going, you don't have to watch them.  You can go and wash some dishes or start a load of laundry or anything you like and just come back when the timer goes off.  Here they are!

One is plenty for me.  DH ate two.  I froze the rest.  I ate mine with butter and sweetened fresh strawberries from the garden.  :)

Thanks, April!