I have experimented with many waffle/pancake recipes and using different combinations of flours, however, I have to say this recipe is everything.
My sourdough starter came from the kingarthurbaking.com site, which led me to this recipe. I am totally obsessed by the light airy texture and the slight tangy flavor you get from the sourdough starter. This recipe has definitely become my go to for waffles. It’s also a great canvas for adding either sweet or savory flavors such as extracts, spices, herbs, citrus, cocoa or even bacon bits.
I’m going to admit, I am one of those guys who got on the sourdough baking train at the start of the pandemic, one year ago. Although, I have not been fully satisfied with my bread results as of yet…but I’m working on it.
Thankfully, I have kept my starter alive and I am thrilled with the results the discard has provided, particularly this incredible batter for waffles or pancakes. I happen to favor the waffles, and besides I can make a large enough batch and freeze them for later use.
I love these so much I will never part with my sourdough starter, whether I get the bread right or not. I hope you will try this recipe and share your obsession.
Ingredients
- Overnight Sponge
- 2 cups (241g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tbs (28g) sugar
- 2 cups (454g) buttermilk
- 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, unfed discard
Waffle or Pancake Batter
- Overnight sponge
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (50g) vegetable oil or 4 tbs (57g) melted butter
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Directions
Overnight Sponge:
Note: I usually will plan to make my waffles when feeding my starter and use this discard, or if you have saved discard from previous feeding, which I sometimes do, you can use your saved discard and skip the feeding.
For sourdough starter instructions go to https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe
The other option is, if you know anyone who already has a ripe sourdough starter going, ask them to give you a cup full.
- Stir your discard thoroughly before mixing in other ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together 1 cup of discard, flour, sugar and buttermilk.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest overnight for about 12 hours. The sponge should look bubbly the next day.
- Batter: in a small bowl whisk together eggs and oil or melted butter and stir into sponge.
- Add salt, baking soda and any additional flavorings you might like (I used lemon zest) and mix thoroughly. Batter will become very bubbly.
- Ladle batter into preheated waffle iron and cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings. I used fresh blueberry preserves, which beautifully complements the lemon flavor in the batter.