For the longest time, we had a stash of pancake mixes in our pantry. They were jumbo bags from Sam’s Club that we’d purchased for a community event a few times, and the extras always came home with us. We’ve probably been eating pancakes and waffles out of that stash for, oh three years or so. Sometime late this summer, we finally used up the last bag that we had- which was perfect timing as the best by date was November of this year. What this meant for me though, was that when the pancake or waffle craving hit, I actually needed to find and use a good recipe instead of relying on the bag of mix to do the dirty work.
So I hunted and dug, and poked around, looking for a great everyday waffle recipe. I had a hard time finding one that didn’t require multiple steps. I didn’t want to beat egg white separately, I didn’t want to use yeast, I just wanted some waffle batter that I could mix up and pour into my waffle iron. I finally found a Buttermilk Waffle recipe at Epicurious that I thought fit the bill. It called for powdered buttermilk, which thrilled me, because I had a can in my pantry, and no plans to use it at all. Except that when I went to use it, it was hard as a rock, so the dried buttermilk went into the garbage, and I reached into the fridge to pull out the quart of buttermilk that happened to be in there. The waffle batter mixed together quickly and effortlessly. I decided at the last minute to swap out the melted butter for canola oil, because it was easier to grab and use.
The waffles turned out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and they were delicious! One batch of batter was very generous and made several standard size waffles- so much that we had plenty leftovers to hide away in the freezer. We all enjoyed these waffles, and we’ll definitely be making these again the next time the waffle craving strikes.
Buttermilk Waffles- adapted from Epicurious
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons canola oil (or melted butter)
vegetable oil or cooking spray for waffle iron
Preheat a waffle iron to about 350ºF. Spray with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, and 6 tablespoons canola oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.
Cook on your waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions.