How to Make the Perfect Waffle

There are very few people that don’t enjoy having a tasty waffle from time to time with their favorite topping. Most people would eat them more often if they could, but they don’t own a waffle maker. If you are one of those people then maybe you should strongly consider checking out some waffle maker reviews so you can enjoy them more often. Making waffles is easy and fun if you have the right waffle maker and the right batter recipe. This article will help you with both of those critical waffle making requirements.

Waffle Batter 101

The first thing you will have to decide when making waffles is what type of waffle style you prefer to eat.

Classic Style

These are waffles that are characteristically crispy not only on the outside but the inside too. They are also thin style waffles. They cook up crispy all the way through to the middle because they use a large amount of baking powder in the mix. This makes them bake more like a cookie than a piece of bread.

Here is a popular and time-tested classic style waffle recipe:

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour/1 teaspoon salt/ 4 teaspoons baking powder/ 2 tablespoons white sugar/ 2 eggs/ 1 1/2 cups milk-warm/1/3 cup butter-melted/ 1 teaspoon vanilla extra

Directions:

1. Combine in a good size bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar the put aside. Preheat the waffle iron at this time too.
2. Place the eggs in another bowl and beat them before stirring in the milk, vanilla, and butter.
3. Combine the egg and flour mixtures and stir
4. Add the batter to the preheated cooking grids until all they are completely covered with waffle mix. Cook to desired outside texture

Belgian Style

These are waffles that are characteristically crispy and golden brown on the outside but soft and fluffy on the outside. There are two key ways to get them to stay soft on the inside, and that is to either add yeast to the mix or separate and beat the egg yolks. So unlike classic waffles these type waffles will expand a little when cooking like bread does when baked.

Here is a popular and time-tested Belgian style waffle recipe:

Ingredients: (1) 25 ounces of active dry yeast/1/4 cup milk – warmed (2) 3 egg yolks/ 2 ¾ cups milk – warmed/ ¾ cup melted butter, cooled to lukewarm/ ½ cup white sugar/ 1 ½ teaspoons salt/ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract/ 4 cups all-purpose flour (3) 3 egg whites

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients under #1 in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes until creamy (yeast mix)
2. Combine ingredients under #2 in a bowl (except the milk and flour) and add in the ingredients from the yeast mix. Once this is done then alternate between adding milk and the flour into the mix. Beat the three egg whites and then gently fold them into the waffle mix. Let the mix stand approximately 1 hour.
3. Add batter to preheated waffle maker and cook until golden brown.

Waffle Maker

Once you decide what style waffle you want to bake, you will need to buy a waffle maker that bakes that specific style of waffle. You cannot use a classic style waffle maker to make Belgian waffles and vice versa.

Here are some of the key characteristics to consider before making any waffle maker purchase.

1. Budget

You will find prices of waffle makers run anywhere from $15 – $300. It makes no sense to look at a $200 waffle maker’s features if you have set your waffle buying budget at a limit of $50.

2. Waffle Maker Construction

All waffle makers are not built the same. Some have much higher construction standards as far as the materials they are built of. Here are some key attributes to look for in a waffle maker’s construction.

• Non-stick cooking surface
• Stay cool handles
• Batter overspill channels
• Removable cooking grids
• Upright locking storage mode

3. Waffle Cooking Attributes

Here are some waffle maker cooking characteristics which make the actual waffle cooking process much more convenient if your model waffle maker has them.

• Temperature control settings
• Preheat & ready indicator lights
• Built-in timers
• Browning settings
• Multiple waffle cooking capability

4. Intangibles

Here are some other waffle maker characteristics which are nice to have on any model waffle maker you might purchase.

• Stainless Steel or ceramic outside finish
• Flip tops
• Fast preheat and cooking times
• Aluminum cooking grids
• Innovative non-stick coatings on the cooking grids

The Perfect Waffle Combination

So there you have the secret to making a perfect waffle. It is not complicated at all. You just have to have the right waffle batter and the best waffle maker, and then you can make perfect waffles each and every time you get a craving for them.