"Everything-free" Waffles!!! no wheat, no dairy, no eggs, no soy ~ just waffle-y goodness!

Waffles are a thing of beauty. <3

In the nearly eight years since learning I needed to give up wheat and eggs, I had not had a really good waffle. For several years, I have used a gluten-free baking mix to make waffles. They were pretty good, but not really good. "Good enough" is often what we settle for, in the world of food intolerances. Sometimes, I really want more than just good enough.

Last weekend, I started thinking about yeasted Belgian waffles. I did some research and cobbled together several recipes into something that I thought might work. I mixed up the batter and let it rise overnight. Here's what it looked like next morning:

So bubbly and alive! :)

I cooked up the yeasted waffles, and they got mixed reviews. Our daughter Anna and her sweetie Zach were here, and thought they were pretty good. My hubby Lee didn't care for them so much. The yeast flavor is very strong, almost like a strong sourdough flavor. I won't make them for my hubby again, BUT next time I'm visiting my sweet mama and she makes her amazing sourdough pancakes for people, I will definitely mix up some of this batter for myself! :)

That experiment launched me on a Week of Waffles!

The next morning, I worked out a regular baking-powder recipe for, as we call things, "everything-free" waffles. They were good! :)

Granted, it has been a long time since I ate a "real" waffle, but these made me pretty happy. Gluten-free things tend to be more hard/crunchy than crisp, but after a few minutes they did soften more toward a crisp texture. Outer crunch, soft and moist inside- yum!

In less than a week, I have made waffles four times. First, the yeast-raised batch, then variations on the baking-powder idea. I tried one using a can of full-fat coconut milk (pretty good), one with coconut milk beverage (the one I liked best), one using flaxmeal to replace the egg (more hearty, less even texture)...oh! I guess I've made them five times! This morning, I one made more batch, to re-test the version I liked best. :)

This post will have the baking powder recipe. I'll make a separate post about making flax gel for egg replacement, so it's easier to find, and another day I'll share the yeasted waffle recipe. Because I used (coconut) milk soured with an acid (lemon juice), these are more like a buttermilk recipe, so that's what I'll call them.

"Buttermilk" Waffles
In a large, square Belgian waffle maker, this makes 2 complete waffles, or 8 squares.
The recipe should double well; just don't quite double the salt. 

To:
1 cup alternative milk (I use Coconut Dream unsweetened original shelf-stable "milk")
add:
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
     (I've been using the kind from a bottle. If I wanted to make actual lemon waffles, I would go for
      fresh lemon juice, use more of it, and add some zest. With this amount of juice, the waffles don't
       taste of lemon to me, at all.)

Let the milk sit and "sour" while your mix up the rest of the ingredients.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon coconut flour
     (I feel this cuts down on the gummy feeling you can get with tapioca starch)
2 Tablespoons sugar (I've been using coconut sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    (I've been taught that any time you use soured milk, you should add a little baking soda to work with it)

Whisk the dry ingredients together well.

Wet ingredients:
 1/3 cup oil (I've been using a light avocado oil. Any neutral oil will do.)
3 Tablespoons flax-gel egg replacer *I'll post separately about this

Whisk together the oil and flax gel, then combine with the soured milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together well, until completely combined and smooth. With wheat flour, you'd have to be more cautious in mixing so the batter wouldn't be tough. Gluten-free flours are not so finicky.

Allow the batter to rest while you heat the waffle iron.

When the waffle iron is ready, spray the top and bottom surfaces with baking spray (or oil them, using a natural-bristle pastry brush). Plastic bristles melt. (voice of experience) I have had numerous struggles with gluten-free things sticking to hot surfaces. I oil before every batch, to save on frustration.

I use a large scoop to portion out the batter. (Ice cream scoop/dough scoop. It's the in the picture of the yeasted batter. I think it holds about 1/2 cup. I put one scoop on each square of the waffle iron.

Let the waffle bake, without peeking. If you try to lift the lid too soon, you'll tear the waffle to bits. (Learned from impatient experience!) :)

Most waffle makers have a light that turns on or off, to let you know when it's ready. Another way to tell is by watching how much steam is coming out. If large amounts of steam are still pouring out, leave it alone. When the steam gets noticeably less, it's time to start checking.

If you pull these out when they're too pale a gold, they'll have soggy bits. Leave them until they're a nice, solid golden brown color.

Any that we're not eating right away, we put on a cooling rack so they don't get soggy. They reheat well in a toaster. They would freeze well, too.

Enjoy!