sourdough waffles: a tribute

Sourdough Waffles: A tribute

The kitchen of my childhood was not ours. We moved around a lot, never more than a few years anywhere, so even though I could give you more details about the kitchens of those houses and apartments (and even for a summer, an Airstream) than any other room; it is a patchwork of countertops and toaster ovens and moments. But the kitchen I can smell, and remember how the light comes through the windows at almost any time of day, and see the pictures on the walls and the New Yorker cartoons and newspaper clippings of various ages and fades on the bulletin board and on the refrigerator, was in my Aunt and Uncle’s house in Denver.

Some kitchens have owners, mine for example, is a space that others visit but is so much my own that they ask to come aboard as if I am the captain and it is my ship. John and Sally’s kitchen was shared. I can close my eyes and see both of them standing in the same spot, different years, different holidays, different times of day. As of yesterday, the kitchen remains but both Sally and John have moved on.

The last time I was in Denver was almost ten years ago when, two days before Christmas, my connecting flight left without me. It was either airline vouchers and a dank hotel room or an impromptu visit with family. Cousins were home for the holiday so after my Uncle’s wife picked me up at the airport (Sally had died several years before) I was met with an amazing sushi dinner. The next morning I was up early (time change, jet lag, unfamiliar space) but when I wandered into the kitchen Uncle John was already there ready and waiting with sourdough waffle batter and a hot waffle iron.  And so, while everyone else slept, my Uncle made me tangy, oh my goodness this is what comfort smells like, waffles. And as others awoke he made them waffles and I stayed at the kitchen table that I used to play under as a little girl and visited and Uncle John made waffles for anyone who wanted one and it was good.

So yesterday when the sad news of my Uncle’s passing came, I watched my father weep for his younger brother and sought to comfort him in the way I know best, through food. Quinoa might be the obvious choice  but the obvious is not always the most personal. So, today I invited guests and made waffles.

Want to know more about sourdough? King Arthur Flour has an excellent guide. What I love about their guide is that it acknowledges that there are few hard and fast rules for maintaining a sourdough starter—it forgives. I’ve had my starter for almost ten years now and I neglect it all the time but the bread always rises (eventually).

Sourdough Waffles

Don’t be scared by multiple steps the only hard thing about making sourdough waffles is remembering to get things going the night before)

Ingredients

The sponge

• 1 ½ cups sourdough starter (either refreshed or flat)
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (AP, Whole wheat, or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour will all work to slightly different results)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 TBS sugar

The rest

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup (half a stick) unsalted butter-melted but not so hot it cooks the eggs
• ½ tsp kosher salt (use slightly less if using salted butter)
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions

The night before combine sourdough starter, milk, flour, and sugar in a large bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature.

In the morning combine the remaining ingredients ‘the rest’ and add them to the sponge. Whisk or stir until thoroughly combined. Let the batter rest for ten or fifteen minutes before you bake, the batter will still make delicious, light and crispy waffles for hours after combining.

Heat up the waffle maker and bake according to manufacture instructions (which is my way of saying waffle makers vary in size and heat, at home I use a little over half a cup of batter per waffle and bake for about four minutes or until the steam has subsided but is still steady)

Eat fresh off the iron with your choice of toppings

sourdough waffles

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Ingredients

  

• The sponge
• 1 ½ cups sourdough starter either refreshed or flat
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour AP, Whole wheat, or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour will all work to slightly different results
• 1 cup milk
• 1 TBS sugar
• The rest
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup half a stick unsalted butter-melted but not so hot it cooks the eggs
• ½ tsp kosher salt use slightly less if using salted butter
• 2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

 

• The night before combine sourdough starter, milk, flour, and sugar in a large bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature.
• In the morning combine the remaining ingredients ‘the rest’ and add them to the sponge. Whisk or stir until thoroughly combined. Let the batter rest for ten or fifteen minutes before you bake, the batter will still make delicious, light and crispy waffles for hours after combining.
• Heat up the waffle maker and bake according to manufacture instructions (which is my way of saying waffle makers vary in size and heat, at home I use a little over half a cup of batter per waffle and bake for about four minutes or until the steam has subsided but is still steady)
• Eat fresh off the iron with your choice of toppings

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