Sourdough Waffles -- When the Kitchen Was the Only Thing That Made Sense

Second week of the pandemic. I am cooking constantly. This is not an exaggeration. I cook something every day, sometimes twice a day, because cooking is what my hands know how to do when my mind is not at rest and my mind has not been at rest since March arrived. The news is bad and the numbers are going up and no one knows what this means yet.

My classes are online and I am doing the work from my apartment. Priya is doing nursing school online and Diane is working from home and we are all in the apartment all day, which is new, and we have settled into a truce with the shared spaces that mostly works. I cook. Priya sometimes helps. Diane eats and thanks us. We have been watching movies in the evenings, which is a form of being together that requires less energy than talking and which I have found comforting in the specific way that communal quiet is comforting.

I made sourdough starter this week because I have flour and yeast and time and because everyone seems to be making sourdough. I fed the starter twice a day and it began to bubble and grow and smell tangy and alive. I made my first sourdough loaf on Sunday: dense and sour, not perfect, but real. Made from flour and water and wild yeast and patience. The apartment smelled like bread baking and I opened the window a little and listened to the quiet street and thought: we are all in our kitchens right now. All of us are in our kitchens. That is something.

After my first sourdough loaf came out of the oven that Sunday — dense and imperfect and completely mine — I knew my starter wasn’t going anywhere. The next morning I wanted to keep using it, keep feeding that small ritual of something alive and growing on my counter, so I made sourdough waffles with the discard. They were tangy and crisp at the edges and Priya ate three of them, and for a little while the apartment smelled like a place where things were okay.

Sourdough Waffles

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup sourdough starter (active or discard)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar, rested 5 minutes)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Nonstick cooking spray or butter for the waffle iron

Instructions

1. Preheat the iron. Preheat your waffle iron according to manufacturer instructions. Lightly grease with nonstick spray or a thin layer of butter.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet mixture. Stir gently until just combined — a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix.
4. Rest the batter. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes. It will begin to puff slightly as the baking soda reacts with the starter’s acidity.
5. Cook the waffles. Pour enough batter to fill your waffle iron (about 3/4 cup per waffle, depending on your iron). Close the lid and cook for 4–5 minutes, or until the waffles are golden brown and the steam has mostly stopped.
6. Keep warm and serve. Transfer finished waffles to a wire rack in a 200°F oven to stay crisp while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 480mg