Sourdough Waffles and Cast Iron

In my last post, I told you how I have been experimenting with sourdough. A family favorite has been waffles.  I have tried different types of flour, a mixture of all purpose and cornmeal and every time, they have come out amazingly! It has taken weeks to get enough pictures to be able to even write this out because they disappear so quickly. 

Waffles at least once a week has become a staple. Prior to this, we never really had a waffle iron we liked so we really didn't make waffles. My dad would make waffles at his house and they were always perfect so why would I also make them. For our anniversary this year, we were gifted a waffle iron like my dad's in a cool teal color.

To be fair, we had received a Belgian waffle maker as a gift in the past but we just never really used it except to make buttermilk waffles occasionally. Waffles felt like a lot of prep work and takes forever! Using sourdough though, allowed  requires me to plan the night before. Sometimes we tell ourselves to do this but I am learning with sourdough it is a huge requirement and sometimes a commitment. There are definitely times when the next day I don't want to do something but I already have the dough ready to go so I am already committed (like the doctor's appointment only less hold/waiting room music). It has really forced me to have my morning a little more mapped out. Also, I know everyone tells you that if you do part of it in the evening, the next morning will be easier but those of us who don't do that, never believe them. I can admit though, since I make most of it ahead of time, just adding the egg, maple syrup, salt and baking soda when I get up, it is pretty easy.

Here's the recipe with the rest of the sage is below, in case you are in a hurry.

Sourdough Waffles

2 cups organic flour (or 1.5 cups flour and 1/2 cup cornmeal) - can be AP or Graham flour
1.5 cups water
1 cup active sourdough starter

Mix ingredients together, cover and allow to ferment overnight.

2 eggs
1/2 cup organic olive oil
2 TBSP maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 TBSP water

Add the eggs, oil, syrup and salt to the batter. Combine thoroughly! It is ok if the batter seems to "deflate" a little.

After it is all mixed, stir in the baking soda mixture. 

Pour batter on waffle iron and enjoy.

Waffles from the teal maker

 

Okay, back to the waffle iron saga. By now I hope y'all know that I am not in love with non-stick appliances or pans. So, if I am going to make waffles for my family every week, I want a better waffle iron option. As an added incentive, Sukkot was coming up which for us means 8 days of camping. My second born has really become a little foodie and last Sukkot, I would wake up to him cooking venison tenderloin on the fire pit using a grate over a half burned out log so he could channel the flame and heat, adjusting however he wished. Long story short, him and I began dreaming about a cast iron waffle iron. 

(Cue music) 

Enter Amazon. No seriously I wouldn't even know where to look locally! So we started researching a Made in the USA cast iron waffle iron or rather a Not made in China cast iron waffle iron. After too much time, I found great reviews for one from Lehman's. I misunderstood that it was not Lehman's but an imported from China, an "other" brand. So that went back and my search for a Lodge or Griswold began. Within a few days, I found one about 3.5 hours from us that looked in good shape and was being sold by someone who wasn't looking for our first born or/and our retirement! I decided a family road trip was in order and the kids happily jumped on board and convinced my husband we all should go ASAP. When we almost cancelled/postponed, tears started to fall. 

A lovely fall foliage ride later, we arrived home with the waffle iron. According to the gentleman selling it, he used only coated the waffle iron in Buzzy Waxx. We did some research and they do have an organic option, which I ordered to try. It seemed to work nicely on our older fajita pan but not so much on my older cast iron scone pan. The directions say so it 3 times and I only did it twice. I will try it again but it didn't wow me. Please also note, I have never felt successful at seasoning cast iron. "It's so easy" they say. "Just stick it in the over" I am told. Humbug, I have yet to have a perfect non-stick coating. Needless to say, I assumed I was just missing the magic touch.

Switching gears, I decided that the gentleman was more an expert than me so the waffle iron was probably fine and headed to YouTube to find me a "how to use a cast iron waffle iron without ruining it" video. I watched a few but one said she used coconut oil. I figured I couldn't mess that up so I seasoned the waffle iron by warming the iron a little and slathering it in organic coconut oil. I wiped off the excess and then baked it at 400 degrees for 1 hour. After the hour was complete, I left the cast iron in the oven to cool overnight. SUCCESS! I realize most people can do this but it actually worked! The results were absolutely amazing. I promptly did the scone pan and feel such a sense of accomplishment. Seriously, my friends would probably pretend not to know me. 

Anyway, a triple batch of waffles batter awaited me in the morning (a single batch weighs about 800 grams) and only a double batch fits in my KitchenAid Mixer. So I mixed up one batch and cooked it, testing the waffle iron. I burned the first 3 waffles but then got it down.

The best advice I found was to make sure I heat both sides of the iron for 5 minutes before trying to cook. This thing must be hot before you add the batter so don't rush it.

What I learned was that whatever side you start on, you want to open it on that side too. Those first 2 waffles I opened before it was fully cooked and that caused some scraping out. Thankfully it didn't stick but got stuck because it pulled apart in the doughy part of the middle. On my large gas stove burner, after the waffle iron was hot, each side takes about 2 minutes. Here's how I did it:

Pour the batter. Set timer for 2 minutes.
Flip waffle maker, Set timer for 2 minutes.
Flip waffle maker. Open and remove waffle.
Repeat.

I made so many waffles and they came out so perfectly! I will admit, it takes a while. The waffle appliance takes about 1 cup of batter while this waffle iron takes about 1/2 cup of batter. Do the math - yep, twice as many waffles to make. Although the time per waffle was about the same. The conclusion is? I might need a second cast iron waffle maker. 

Happy Fall.