This morning I made waffles. I always mix the batter from memory, so there can be quite a bit of variation in results, so sometimes I keep notes for later.

This time I experimented with a recipe based on buckwheat flakes, and I’m sharing my notes here.

Here’s what I tried:

  • 50 g bread flour
  • 50 g buckwheat flakes
  • 2 g (1/2 packet) of baking powder
  • about 3 dl lactose free yogurt
  • 1/4 c avocado oil1
  • 1 egg

Using a large mixing bowl on our kitchen scale, I sifted the flour through a sieve, then weighted the buckwheat and the baking powder. Our scale doesn’t register very accurately with small weight changes, so I just dumped the rest of the baking powder in an already open packet from our pantry drawer.

Then I added the yogurt until the consistency felt right. Slightly soupy, as the buckwheat will absorb a lot of liquid. I let it sit for about 5 minutes (ideally, the buckwheat would be soaked in the yogurt overnight, but I didn’t think of this last night).

Next I folded the oil and the egg into the yogurt mixture. It takes a while of careful folding to get the oil to combine and not separate right away.

I let this rest for a few minutes, then I poured 1/2 cup on the heated waffle iron and cooked it for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Actually 2 scoops of the 1/4 cup measure I had used for the oil.

a close up of an oblong patch of off-white batter on a black waffle iron. the edge of a metal mixing bowl containg more batter, with a wooden handle sticking out, is on the left. the waffle iron is on a black glass cooktop and a vent is visible to the right.

…and it tore apart when I opened the waffle iron.

the same waffle iron as in the first picture, but farther out. the bottom grid is clear (some crumbs are visible), but the top grid has half a torn waffle stuck to it. there is the bottom half of the waffle on a cooling rack to the right.

So, not enough binder (gluten), or not enough cooking time.

I try again, 3 minutes 30 seconds. This works! Maybe slightly overcooked.

a closeup like the first picture, but showing a golden brown perfectly cooked waffle with a perfect, the grid visible in an almost emoji-like shape

Meanwhile, I’m tasting the first aborted waffle. Its good! It needs salt, though. So I should add 1/4 t salt to the recipe for next time.

It turned out well! The outside was crispy when hot, the inside cooked. The buckwheat flakes were still slightly chewy and gave a nice nutty taste to the batter. The bread flour didn’t make the waffle tough, and I think the extra gluten helped hold the buckwheat together.

the same waffle from the previous picture on a silver wire cooling rack with a cross-ways grid of about 1 cm pitch. the waffle is rotated 90 degrees so the long side is extending from the foreground to the background. parts of the first torn waffle are on the left of the cooling rack.

I overcooked the next two waffles, so I will also reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes.

next recipe experiment

So, the next time I make waffles, I will try this:

the night before:

  • 50 g buckwheat flakes, soaked in…
  • 3 dl lactose free yogurt

the day of, combine following dry ingredients:

  • 50 g bread flour
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/2 packet baking powder

fold in:

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c avocado oil
  • squeeze half a lemon

cook 1/2 c batter for 3 minutes

  1. Yes, I’m mixing metric weight measures and customary volume measures. This is cooking, and 1/4 c felt like the right amount, and I had a 1/4 c measuring cup handy. ↩