Saturday Sourdough Waffles

Posted by May 25, 2013

Waffles, in my humble opinion, are one of the best weekend breakfast foods around.  I can get pretty excited about butter and maple syrup puddling in pockets of tangy sourdough.  They’re a good reason to put on a pot of tea instead of a quick cup, and to stay in your pj’s until the sun is beaming widely through your Saturday morning windows.  They’re a reason not to put a hat over your bedhead and leave for the weekend market just yet; to rest your chin on your baby’s soft hair as she sits on your lap licking syrup from her fingers.

Sourdough Waffles | www.purplehousecafe.com

The only thing that might compete with waffles for breakfast is thick-cut bacon and over-easy eggs with the edges crisped in brown butter.  Then again, maybe you could make a waffle sandwich filled with bacon, fried egg, and a dab of homemade salsa, and get the best of everything this weekend.  Including the time to let the morning yawn and stretch a little bit before starting in earnest.

These waffles use some of the sourdough starter you made with me a few weeks ago.  They are easier to make than sourdough bread, and yield the flavour profile that sourdough enthusiasts go crazy for.

Here’s what you need:

for the sponge –

waffles the next day –

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil)
  • the sponge
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Here’s what you do:

***You read it right:  you need to throw the sponge ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly the night before you want to eat these waffles.  I know, but…just remember to do it before you go to bed on Friday night, okay?  Think of all the anticipation that will build overnight for your Saturday breakfast.  You might not even be able to sleep!  This happens to me all the time when I make these waffles, and cinnamon buns.

Anyways, put together your sponge, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it overnight.

The next morning, preheat your waffle maker.  Add the rest of the waffle ingredients to your sponge and stir well.  Ladle the batter onto your waffle maker and let them bask in its’ warmth until they’re golden brown and ready to cut into strips and give to your toddler to dip in maple syrup.  Or, you know, your best friend to eat while sipping her mimosa.  These waffles are everyone’s favourite.

(**these also taste unreal topped with apple butter).

Recipe courtesy of my favourite blog ever, Annie’s Eats.

Sourdough Starter…a monster in the fridge

Posted by May 16, 2013

When I was a kid, we had a monster in the fridge.

A real one.

Seriously.

We inherited it from my grandmother.  It was a sister monster to my grandma’s monster.  Multi-generational monsters, if you will.  When I moved away from home and started making old family favourites in my own kitchen, I created a monster of my own.

It was at this time that I learned that the “monster” I had imagined ravenously feeding off a mixture of flour and water in my mom’s refrigerator was what the rest of the world calls sourdough starter.  Alas, the cheddar and green onion-studded “monsterdough biscuits” that mom used to make for us to dip into tomato soup on Sunday afternoons did not come from a monster at all.

Sourdough starter is a yeast, sugar, flour and water mixture that you allow to ferment and then store in your fridge as a replacement for yeast in sourdough bread, biscuit, waffle (etc…etc…etc…) recipes.  It creates a distinctively tangy flavour and is a totally delicious variation on your usual recipes for bread, biscuits, waffles (etc…etc…etc…).

I guess maybe we called it a monster because every two weeks or so, you have to either use or dump 1 cup of your monster…I mean starter…and “feed” it with fresh flour and water.  Like a little pet for your fridge.   If you don’t have a reason to use your starter every two weeks and can’t bear to dump it out, you can share it with someone else – just tell them to “feed” the starter and there you go:  more monsters.  Just like my mother’s monster and my grandmother’s monster before it.

Sourdough Starter | www.purplehousecafe.com

Here’s what you need:

2 cups warm water

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose white flour

Here’s what you do:

Dissolve the sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast over top.  Gradually whisk in the flour until the mixture is combined.  Cover with a dish towel and set in a warm, draft-free place.

Let the starter develop 2-5 days, stirring daily to re-combine the ingredients as separation will occur.  Once the mixture stops bubbling and starts to develop a sour smell, place in an air-tight container and refrigerate.

When you use a cup of your starter every two weeks or so, either for baking, tossing, or giving away, “feed” with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water.  Let the starter sit out on the counter at room temperature for 12 hours before returning to the fridge.

Stay tuned for my sourdough bread and sourdough waffle recipes!

Recipe courtesy of Annie’s Eats.