100% Spelt Overnight Waffles
We’ve been using spelt as our flour of choice since noticing that Oak Manor makes a “light” spelt, which has been sifted to remove some of the large bran particles. This sifting makes it easier to use it as a replacement for white flour.
Our family loves waffles, and for me as a sourdough aficionado (huh, or geek) I like to turn all pastry and baked goods into sourdough versions.
Enter Food and Wine’s Yeasty Waffles recipe. Yes, this is an excellent recipe, and one worth making. However, it doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities when it comes to health. Thus I replaced all the all-purpose white flour with light spelt flour and added a spoonful of sourdough starter to the batter. The results were far better than the original, but with all the great qualities that made the original so good; the waffles are light and airy, crispy yet soft, and most importantly full of rich, nutty flavour and good nutrition (plus some extra fat…).
Try them out, and if you can’t get light spelt flour try a 50/50 combo of all-purpose flour and whole spelt or whole wheat.
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 ¼ cups light spelt flour
- 2 tsp. instant yeast (use instant yeast so you don’t have to proof it first in water)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 spoonful sourdough starter
- Strawberries or whatever fruit is local!
- Cream, whipped
- Combine all the ingredients (except the fruit and cream) in a large bowl and mix until a smooth batter develops. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove in the morning and stir the batter to deflate it a little. Adjust if necessary by adding extra flour or milk to achieve the desired consistency. Allow the batter to warm for 30-45 minutes (if you can wait!).
- Thanks to all the butter in the recipe the waffle iron shouldn’t need any greasing, but if you want you can grease the iron a bit. Fill the iron about ⅔ full with batter and close. Remove the waffle when it’s golden and crispy*. Adjust the amount of batter if the first waffle is too big or small.
- Serve hot, topped with fruit and whipped cream. Allow extra waffles to cool on a rack so they don’t get soggy and then freeze them for later (this is very useful for a quick snack for kiddos later).
*We use the Cuisinart Round Classic Waffle Maker, which we love, and set it at the 4th (out of 5) level of “done-ness.” It is also available from Amazon.ca.
