Outstanding Buttermilk Waffles

Outstanding Buttermilk Waffle Recipe

The Obligatory Recipe Story

Waffles have always been a favorite breakfast item for us. The crispy outside and light, fluffy inside of this culinary masterpiece are always welcomed in the morning for Ma, at noon for the teenage taste testers, or at night for Pa. We eat these fluffy buttermilk waffles any time of day or night.

One of our favorite variations of waffles is buttermilk waffles. This recipe adds an extra tangy layer of flavor to the classic breakfast dish. This is our go to waffle recipe for homemade buttermilk waffles.

Making Buttermilk Waffles Is Easy

Making perfect buttermilk waffles isn’t as complicated as it sounds. With just a few simple tips, you can make restaurant-quality crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside waffles whenever you want.

Then, sit back and enjoy all the compliments coming your way.

The author’s important note:

Please don’t fall for the idea that pancake mix makes good waffles. It makes for a passable waffle at best. Pancake mix makes pancakes, which are soft on the outside and cake-like in the middle. Those are good, too, but they aren’t delicious waffles.

Waffles have a crispy exterior and a fluffy interior that comes from being fried and squished between oil-coated iron.

I have taken components of pancake mix and modified it into a pretty good waffle mix. To get waffles though, you need to up the amounts of butter and sugar to get that crispy exterior.

You also need to give your waffle batter time to chill and prepare for the main cooking event. This gives the ingredients time to get to know each other so they can perform at their peak.

Quick Tips To Make The Perfect Waffle

Don’t overmix your batter. Combine it and let it be.

However it is important to mix both the wet and dry ingredients well. Just do it before combining them.

• I scramble the eggs
• Then, mix the melted butter with the eggs really well to get everything uniform and smooth.
• Then, I add the butter/eggs to the room-temperature buttermilk.

You can mix here as much as you want, but make sure it is all together.

The same goes for the dry ingredients. You can sift them together if you want, but I combine them with a whisk to get the same result. Again, you can mix this as much as you feel you need to. Just make sure it is all combined well.

But when you pour the wet ingredients into the dry, this is where you get the dry ingredients wet and leave them alone. Don’t worry about the lumps. It will be fine. I promise.

• Tip 1: If you over-mix the wet and dry, you will create more gluten, making your waffles tough instead of the desired fluffy.
• Tip 2: Pouring the wet into the dry will keep things clean, and you won’t have flour flying everywhere.

How this recipe is different

The most obvious difference from regular waffle recipes is the addition of buttermilk. Since I always add buttermilk to my pancake recipe, I thought I would try it in my waffles. I really like how the tanginess of the buttermilk adds an extra layer of flavor to the classic breakfast dish.

This is our go-to recipe for waffles. It turns out there are others who have thought the same thing. But I thought I’d share my recipe for the best buttermilk waffles with you anyway.

My recipe calls for wheat flour. A little goes a long way. If that isn’t your thing, just replace the wheat flour with regular flour. No big deal.

Another change is many recipes call for a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I choose not to add it, but if that is your thing, by all means, go for it.

It really is all about what tastes best to you.

Some waffle recipes call for separating the eggs and beating the egg whites to a stiff peak. This method is used to make what Americans call Belgian waffles. While you most certainly can do this to make fluffy waffles, it is not necessary.

As for ingredients, I don’t worry too much if it is salted butter or unsalted butter; I use what I have.

How to Store

Say you are like us, and end up doubling this waffle recipe, and you make a lot. You are cooking waffles on a small waffle maker. This honestly will take a while. I know this because our dinosaur waffle maker produces bite-sized dinosaurs.

I usually don’t have the patience to make all of them, so I use a second waffle maker to speed up the process and get us eating sooner.

Once you have cooked waffles, how do you keep those waffles warm? I put a cookie sheet with a wire cooling rack in the oven at 250ºF. As my waffles come out of the waffle iron, I put them on the rack.

This keeps them from getting soggy on the outside and also lets everyone eat warm waffles at the same time.

Like all of our recipes, we aim to feed an army. So, if you have too many waffles to eat all at once or would like to freeze some for later, put a piece of freezer paper or parchment paper between the individual waffles and put in a freezer bag.

When you are ready to eat, pop out a frozen waffle, pop it into the toaster or toaster oven, and warm it up just like you would if you bought frozen waffles at the store.

 

Let’s Talk Waffle Variations

There are many ways to change this recipe.

You could make it with brown sugar if you wanted.

Instead of classic buttermilk, you could use half buttermilk and half regular milk. You can use your own buttermilk.

If you choose to use powdered buttermilk, you would need to increase the amount of milk in the recipe. I have never tried it, so I can’t give an amount here.

You could add flaxseed meal for more nutrition.

Or, instead of whole wheat flour, which is what I use, you could use white whole wheat flour.

Or you could use almond flour.

You can use cake flour if you want. Cake flour is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which makes less gluten and gives a fluffier texture.

I have never tried it with gluten-free flour or pastry flour, so if you do, let us know how it works.

I go with the regular flour like you would make classic buttermilk waffles.

Let’s Talk Toppings

Breakfast toppings are the classic maple syrup, whipped cream, or fresh berries with powdered sugar…

For lunch, you can get creative and use the crisp waffles like you would toasted bread for a sandwich. Or use it as a scoop for chicken salad. Or, if you are in the mood for a BLT, go for it.

Dinner: In the South, chicken and waffles are a really big thing. You can try one of the many variations of this. Or, eat them like breakfast, but for dinner.

If you want to make a dessert topping, you can use frozen blueberries to make a blueberry compote (sauce) or maybe even chopped pecans in a pecan pie sauce. Or, if you like, you can top it with ice cream and drizzle it with chocolate sauce or top with chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Who knew waffles would give us so many choices?

Waffle Words

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word waffle can be used in different ways.

As a noun:

: empty or pretentious words: Tripe

As an intransitive verb:

waffled; waffling ˈwä-f(ə-)liŋ

1: Equivocate, Vacillate

|waffled on the important issues

also: yo-yo, flip-flop

2: to talk or write foolishly: Blather

|can waffle … tiresomely off the point—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

The kids’ definition is the one we want

waffle: nounwaf·​fle ˈwä-fəl : a crisp cake of batter baked in a waffle iron

Waffle Word History

|Dutch wafel, from Middle Dutch wafele; akin to Old High German waba honeycomb,

|Old English wefan to weave

Conclusion

Waffles are delicious. I think this is the perfect waffle recipe. There are many possibilities for what you can do with them. Try them. You might like them. We do. Maybe I will make waffles tonight for dinner.

Sources:

“Waffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waffle. Accessed 8 May. 2023.