I never had waffles as a child. In fact, I never fed them to my kids until the oldest was a teen. It just never occurred to me the need to buy a waffle iron until we stayed in a hotel on vacation. After that, my kids were excited to open a waffle iron on Christmas. Now, I’m excited to try Michelle’s Sourdough Kefir Waffle recipe, you can never have too many variations when it comes to waffles.
Waffles hold a special place in my heart. I have many memories of my mom whipping up a towering batch of airy, crispy squares-within-squares and piling them high with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and syrup.
Now that I’m a mom, I like making waffles for my family to enjoy as well. After tinkering around, I made up this wholesome recipe for whole-wheat waffles. They come out crispy on the outside and are hearty enough that they can hold up to a generous topping of fruit. Furthermore, these waffles are also a great way to use up the extra starter and kefir when you start getting a little overwhelmed by the productivity of your fermenting kitchen.
Sourdough Kefir Waffle Recipe
Yield: approximately 5 waffles
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup kefir
- 3/4 cup recently fed sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 Tb honey or cane sugar
- 1 Tb butter, sunflower or coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 Tb cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
Directions:
- Preheat your waffle maker. If you use a cast-iron waffle maker on the stove top, set it to medium heat. Halfway through your prep, be sure to flip it to allow the other side to preheat before you start to cook.
- In a large bowl, whisk together starter, kefir, oil, honey, and egg. Mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. The baking soda will react strongly to the acid in the kefir making lovely, airy bubbles, so don’t mix the dry materials with the wet until your waffle irons are ready to go. Then, mix until just combined. The consistency should be a little looser than pancake batter and able to be poured easily. If you find that it is a little too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is right.
- Finally, pour 1/2 cup of batter into your waffle iron (or however much it holds) and allow to cook.
Additional tips:
For cast-iron waffle makers, cook three minutes on one side at medium-low heat, flip, and cook two more minutes.
Enjoy topped with grass-fed butter, chopped fresh fruit, honey, or whatever else you love to have on your waffles! I love to cook fresh apples, raisins, and honey with a little bit of butter and cinnamon for a quick fruit compote.
Finally, for a savory brunch spin to this recipe, omit the sugar/honey from the recipe and instead mix 1/3 cup of shredded cheese, 1/3 cup minced onion, and slices of turkey sausage into the batter. Top with sliced tomatoes and yogurt/sour cream, and a sprinkle of chives!
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For some other great healthy bread recipes, check out:
Whole Wheat Brownie Sourdough Bread
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Andrew and Michelle are the new owners of a 12-acre homestead in rural America. They are just embarking on this journey that is far removed from their city-life upbringing, so they realize that they have a lot to learn in order to succeed in this new place. Come along with them and read more about what they learn as they make this transition at their blog Simple Life Homestead.