Raised Waffles
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 8:42AM 
Breakfast is hard. It’s not my favorite meal to cook, although I like a nice breakfast as much as the next person. It’s mostly that early morning thing… I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t feel like mixing, stirring, whipping, or chopping in the early morning hours.
But I will cook these waffles anytime. Not only are these the lightest, fluffiest, crispiest, most tender waffles you can imagine, but all the work is done the night before. OK, not ALL the work, but most of it anyway. Upon rising, all one must do is crack a couple of eggs, add a little baking soda and heat up the waffle iron. I like that.
And I think the process of making waffles is actually somewhat calming and relaxing. Rather zen. The batter is poured onto the hot iron (I use a Belgian waffler), and while your waffle cooks you can sip coffee, read the paper, check your email or simply sit. Quietly. And wait.
Now, we must talk about this batter, because this is no ordinary waffle batter, no sir. This a yeasty, frothy, aromatic concoction that defies comparisons to the standard mix. And once that batter hits the hot iron, there is an instantaneous reaction of yeast and heat that causes these waffles to rise like no waffle has risen before.
So, right before you turn in for the night, just mix together your ingredients… yeast, milk, flour, sugar, butter, salt and water, stir, cover, and say goodnight. In the morning, you’ll have a bubbly batter to which you’ll add a couple of eggs and a little baking soda and that’s it. If I’m making waffles for more than a couple of people, I place the waffles on the rack in a low-heated oven, and when they’re all made, they can be served at once.
And then I like to keep it simple… Grade B dark amber maple syrup and some fresh churned butter (just kidding about the fresh-churned part) is all I need to dress my waffle. But I realize that some of you are probably very creative in your waffle toppings… is syrup just too mundane for you? Maybe I need to broaden my horizons and take a few risks with my waffles. Hmmmmmm. Whaddaya think?
Raised Waffles
Click here for a printable recipe
Recipe Courtesy Marion Cunningham via the San Francisco Chronicle
1/2 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups milk, warmed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS: Use a rather large mixing bowl -- the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, until yeast dissolves. Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast and beat until smooth and blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.
Just before cooking the waffles, stir in the eggs, add the baking soda and stir until well mixed. Cook on a very hot waffle iron and bake until the waffles are golden and crisp to the touch.
Note: If there is any leftover batter, store in a covered container in the refrigerator. It will keep for several days.
Yields 8 waffles
Patrice Berry
I extend my apologies to all of you for not noticing that the number of eggs was left off of the original recipe. Somehow in the process of transferring the recipe from my data base to the blog, that little number "2" was cut off. I so appreciate that you brought it to my attention, Blake, and apologize again that I didn't catch that sooner. My bad. I do hope you will all make these waffles and perhaps their deliciousness will persuade you to forgive me.
Reader Comments (18)
Those look like perfect waffles. The texture and color comes through so well in your photos. Yum!
Thanks so much, Stella. Yum, indeed!
i think that Grade B Syrup is all anyone should ever need for waffles and pancakes!! this is a breakfast that comes in dreams!! Absolutely gorgeous pictures too! i can practically smell the hot nutty yeasty steam filling the air!
Oh, it is intoxicating, Sarah! I think that's why I stand right over the waffle iron while they're cooking! :)
How many eggs?
I'm so sorry, Blake! Thank you for noticing that. Somehow the number of eggs got cut off the recipe. It's 2 eggs!!
Hhmmm, I think your waffles look perfect, but please tell me that not all your waffles looking this like. Perhaps I need a new waffle iron :D
Well, d, they do mostly turn out looking like that ,except when I walk away and leave them in the waffle iron too long. Then I have to say that burnt doesn't look very pretty. I haven't tried these with a regular waffle iron, but this is how they look with a belgian waffler.
I just made these for dinner (made the batter this morning) and they are SO GOOD!! So crisp, light and fluffy, I could not stop eating them. I've made a lot of waffles, but these may be the best yet- love the use of yeast. Love, love, love these. I also love that they are light, crisp, and fluffy with only using one bowl and not messing up your whole kitchen! I've made recipes where you separate the eggs, use 3 bowls, blah blah blah, and the results were not nearly as good as your simple recipe. This one is a keeper!
Thanks, Michelle! So glad you liked them. Aren't they GOOD?!? And how fun to make them for dinner! Good call!
Question - you say to cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Does it need to be close to airtight (hence, the plastic wrap) or could I just use a towel? Trying to avoid the use of plastic & non-reusables wherever possible.
Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to trying these.
I'm sure that using a towel would work just fine. The point is to keep the batter from drying out and to keep the gasses from the yeast from escaping. If you use a large enough bowl (allowing plenty of room for the the batter to rise) you could put a towel over the top of the bowl and then place a sheet pan on top of that to seal the edges. Enjoy!
I have been desperately searching for a "CORAS" crispy waffle recipe. I have tried crazy recipe variations such as, with cornstarch, or by whipping the egg whites but nothing makes "the perfect waffle". I tried yours this morning, (made the batter last night) and they came out pale in colour (but well cooked) and they tasted like yeast. It is possible that I need a new waffle iron now that I think of it... Is there a simple modification that I can make to this recipe to help the colour and the taste?
It does sound like your waffle iron isn't getting hot enough. Your yeast and batter aren't cooking through all the way. When you cook on a hot waffle iron, the browning cooks the yeast and gives it that delicate texture. I can't think of a waffle variation that will work without high heat. Wish I could be more help...
Got a fancy new waffle iron for Christmas! I am watching the batter rise as I type this... can't wait to see what tomorrow yields
Pretty sure this will be on my table tomorrow morning.
So, if I'm making the batter for use during the week, and don't mind doing the math to individually measure the eggs and the baking soda, can I leave it out, or will it spoil because of the milk?
I guess I'm not really sure what you mean by "individually measure the eggs and the baking soda". If the recipe doesn't seem clear, I apologize. But basically all you have to do is mix everything but the eggs and baking soda together the night before you want to make the waffles. In the morning, just before you cook them, just stir in the eggs and baking soda. You can cook up the waffles all at once and freeze what you don't use right away. They keep for months in the freezer. You can just pop them in the toaster or toaster oven to reheat. I hope that helps. If not, I hope you'll ask again.