There is a significant difference between waffle batter and pancake batter. Don’t believe the do-it-all pancake mixes that promise you can make great waffles with pancake mix. It’s like saying you can turn out a chocolate pie with a chocolate cake mix; it’s not going to happen.
There is also a big difference between American-style waffles and Belgian waffles. This recipe is for American-style waffles, about 1/2 inch thick and on a traditional waffle iron.
So if you are a waffle aficionado or if you are cooking for one, there are two things you need to know.
- First, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with a mixmaster until the whites stand on their own in firm peaks that don’t dissolve back down into the bowl. Mix all your other ingredients with the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Finally, gently fold the fluffy egg whites into the liquid batter and stir slowly until you have only small lumps (about the size of peas or smaller) of the egg whites to help keep the waffles light as air on the inside while toasting to a crispy golden brown on the outside.
- The second thing you need to know is that you can’t make waffles without a waffle iron.
Ready? Here we go!
Home-made American-style Waffles
- Waffle iron
- Pam or other spray vegetable oil
- 1-1/2 cups white or unbleached flour (don’t use whole wheat, it weighs down the egg whites)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder, which comes in a can (you can NOT substitute baking soda, which comes in a box)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, separated (yolks in one cup, whites in another)
- 1-1/4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup corn oil, canola oil, or other light vegetable oil
Separate the eggs
Have three clean and dry coffee cups ready for the separating process. Separating eggs means you crack open one egg gently over a coffee cup (or other container) and pour the white part off of the yolk and into the cup. Place the remaining yolk in a different cup or container. You cannot leave any part of the yolk in with the whites. Any oil, water, or other non-egg-white substances will prevent the whites from whipping into a firm texture, which is why you use clean, dry cups.
With the remaining coffee cup, separate the next egg over it, pouring the white into the fresh cup and adding the yolk to the first yolk in it’s cup. Discard the shells and pour the second white into the cup with the first white. If you have a recipe that calls for additional separated eggs, continue breaking and pouring off the white over that third coffee cup, pouring the newest yolk into the existing yolk container, discarding the egg shells and then adding the new white to the rest of the whites. Don’t try to separate your second and subsequent eggs over the existing whites cup or container. You’ll always drop a piece of egg shell, or accidentally break the yolk or something, contaminate the existing whites, and have to start all over. Always separate the eggs over one cup and store the whites and yolks in two other cups.
Beat the egg whites into a meringue
To beat the egg whites, pour the whites into a small metal or glass bowl and beat with a mixmaster on high. Both the bowl and the beaters have to be clean and dry or the whites will not rise. After beating 3 minutes on high, the whites should be foamy but they won’t be standing tall just yet. Keep beating on high. After beating a total of 6 minutes, stop the mixer and test the firmness of the whites. You should be able to gently sculpt the whites into peaks. If your peaks can’t hold a firm point, you need to beat a little longer. Turn on the mixer again to high speed and beat 3 more minutes. After 9 total minutes of mixing on high, your egg whites should be able to form stiff peaks if you caress them with a knife and lift the knife away from the egg whites. This is your meringue (Texans ignore most of the vowels in this word and just call it “muh-RANG”).
Mix everything else into a batter
Heat the waffle iron to 400 while you mix up everything else. The next steps will go pretty fast.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use your mix-master beaters to blend the dry ingredients. It is okay if they still have a little egg white on them. Beat the two egg yolks with a fork and add the egg yolks, milk, and oil to the dry ingredients. Mix with the beaters until the batter is smooth.
Turn meringue into batter. Fold the batter over the meringue, gently breaking the meringue into chunks and then into smaller pieces to disperse throughout the batter. Don’t break down pieces that are the size of green peas or smaller, you need these to hold up the waffle and keep the insides fluffy while it cooks.
Bake
Spray your waffle iron on both top and bottom sides with Pam or other vegetable spray. Allow the oil to heat 45 seconds. Pour one cup of waffle batter into the waffle iron and smooth to the edges of the mold with a spatula. Close the waffle iron and allow the waffle to cook for 6 minutes with no peaking. Open the waffle iron and use a pancake turner to loosen one of the corners of the waffle, then slide the waffle onto a cutting board or plate. Cut the four individual squares apart and serve warm with syrup or fresh fruit.
Spray both sides of the waffle iron again and repeat with the next cup of batter, cooking again for 6 minutes. Repeat with the third and final cup of batter.
This recipe makes 3 cups of batter. 1 cup of batter fills a traditional American 4-square waffle iron, and a traditional serving would be two of the four squares, so this recipe makes 12 individual squares (4 for each cup of batter).
If you are using a round waffle iron or a Belgian waffle iron (deeper pockets than American waffles), you may need less batter and you may not need to cook them as long. The waffles are done when the exterior is a crispy golden brown and there is no liquid batter remaining between the crispy top and bottom layers.