Whole wheat buttermilk waffles
Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 11:19PM 
One of the favorite breakfast choices since toddlerhood in this household has been a frozen waffle popped into the toaster. For WJ, a waffle is a tasty vehicle for his not-so-secret maple syrup habit. It is a big favorite from my point of view as well since it takes a grand total of about three minutes to prepare and I have been able to find brands that use whole grains.
These frozen waffles, however, do have high sodium content (between 10% and 20% of the recommended sodium intake for an adult) and feature a number of those sketchy, hard-to-pronounce ingredients we would all be happier if our children were not ingesting.
This week’s effort at eliminating the instant from our family's pantry (or freezer in this case) and our diet: Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles. Made at home; stored in the freezer. A healthy and money-saving replacement that will still be ready on a school morning in three minutes flat.
This recipe comes from a perfectly lovely cookbook called The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. I have made three substitutions, which are noted below:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat white flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar*
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup (one stick) melted butter
1/4 cup canola oil*
Stir the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl with a fork. In another mixing bowl beat the eggs until well blended. Stir in the buttermilk, agave, melted butter (cooled a little), and oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until well mixed. If the batter is too thick, stir in up to 1/4 cup regular milk. The batter should pour from the spoon, not plop (a direct quote from Ms. Cunningham--makes me want to meet her and hear her say "plop"). Bake in a waffle iron until crisp and golden.
*The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, which I replaced with whole-wheat white flour. This is a whole-grain flour that I have found often works well in recipes calling for regular white flour. I used agave nectar instead of two tablespoons of sugar and replaced 1/4 cup of the 3/4 cup butter in the recipe with canola oil. These quick changes make me that much happier about replacing the cardboard box in my freezer with these waffles of my own.
As you can see, my first waffle did not turn out. I was in a grove and failed to check the doneness setting. Apparently it was set on “sticky mess.” This sad glob went directly into the trash, all of it but a quick taste for me. Even in this soggy state, these waffles taste great.
I adjusted the settings and the waffles were quickly finished. The whole process took about thirty minutes. In the end I had one waffle saved for the morning, nine destined for a Ziploc bag in the freezer, and one RIP in the trash can. WJ will usually eat three of the five sections of these waffles as one serving. So my efforts tonight will result in at least fourteen quick and easy breakfasts in the coming weeks.
For serving her whole wheat buttermilk waffles, Marion Cunningham suggests, “The perfect complement is warmed honey—which becomes thin and pours like syrup when heated.” An added frugal bonus since the average price of a smallish maple syrup bottle at Whole Foods today was about $67.00.
What processed foods are you trying to eliminate?
Reader Comments (12)
Great idea! The first waffle never works out for me! I always have to throw the first batch away.
heh. i was just complaining that you hadn't posted when this popped up. looks WONDERFUL.
Your waffles look delicious! Your photos are beautiful and I love the idea of serving them with warm honey. What a great idea!
So now I'm starving! I might even be willing to eat the trash can one!
Emily, Your waffles are a work of art. I'm wondering can you put fruit in them such as blueberries? I'm sure WJ is a purest but I was just wondering if the waffle iron can take the fruit? As for syrup perhaps you should make a return visit to Spruce Lake:) Just kidding. They do have great maple syrup and I'm sure it has no preservatives of any kind in it. Maybe someone else can get some for you in a week or two.
I have had a question about finding the whole wheat flours. The reader made a good point about how driving around to specialty stores is not exactly encouraging the act of slowing down :-)
You can get regular whole wheat flour at mainstream markets, so you shouldn't need to make an extra trip. I like the King Arthur brand but have also used the more mainstream brand... I think it is Gold Medal. There may even be a discounted store brand. The whole wheat white is harder to find but I have gotten it in one of my regular grocery store as well. If I don't see it at the regular grocery store, I keep a list for a monthly trip to the high end health food store that shall not be named. But if finding it is an extra stress, then just use half whole wheat and half all-purpose. Still better than all all-purpose!
They turned out looking so tasty! We have a belgian waffle maker so ours are always fat. :)
If you really want them to be tasty, add a 1tsp of vanilla or Cinnamon or both. Or puree some blueberries and use them as part of your liquid. Or use almond milk. Or use almond meal (ground up almonds) as part of your flour. You can also add ground flax as some of your flour and/or oil. Oh...I'm getting hungry for waffles. Can you tell we make these a lot?
They look terrific. Perfect treat for tomorrow morning. We are trying to get rid of all processed everything. The fewer the boxes the better. No easy feat though!
Thanks, everyone! WJ and I had these for breakfast again this morning and I felt good about his having a hot and hearty breakfast before school even though we both slept late.
Maureen, you are right... WJ is a purist to the extreme so adding berries for us is a no go. But waffle makers usually have a no-stick coating, so there shouldn't be an issue in general. You might just want to spray or wipe with oil or butter between waffles.
Anglea, someone else also mentioned the Belgian waffle issue. I have a toaster that can take bagels. If your toaster can toast half of a bagel, this should still work. My waffles are too big in diameter to go into the toaster, but I just break them into sections that fit. Your ideas about adding spice or flavoring or some Omegas and protein are great. I will try some with my next batch!
we love whole wheat, and I have a ton to grind. Thanks for posting this. :)
mmm Emily those look yummy. I too like King Arthurs whole wheat flour