Waffles make weekend mornings special. It was one of my favorite breakfasts when I was a kid (and still is today). My parents would make waffles occasionally on Sunday morning. My mom would mix the batter and my dad did the cooking. I remember that old waffle iron like it was yesterday. Dad would have it in the middle of the table. He would pour in the batter and we would watch it bake as we got the butter and syrup ready. Those hot off the iron waffles were a sheer delight. I thought of all those wonderful mornings when I was making buttermilk sourdough waffles.
My recipe is different from the one my my parents used. One day I will post their recipe. I don't think it calls for buttermilk and I know it is not sourdough. We didn't have a starter in the fridge back then. I do now. I've had a starter going for many years, I think it's seven years old at this point. I named it "Bubbles". I haven't made bread with it in a while so I thought it was time. The good thing about this recipe is you use cold, unfed starter. I could put to use what I normally discard.
Buttermilk and sourdough sure do make tasty waffles. Separately they are wonderful. Together they have a flavor combo that is out of this world. The sourdough flavor will vary by region though. It would not taste the same in San Francisco as it does here in Atlanta. I could order some starter from out west but after a while the local yeast would take over. I figure I'll keep it local anyway. Good old Georgia natural wild yeast.
I made the waffles to celebrate a milestone. Which milestone? It's the one year anniversary of the TwelveLoaves challenge. My how time flies! I joined in the fun last year with my Rosemary Focaccia. It started as "Breaking Bread Society" and evolved to "Twelve Loaves". I've had a great time participating this past year and look forward to more fun to come.
May Twelve Loaves is an open theme. This month the Twelve Loaves challenge is to bake any bread - yeast or quick. Take a look at what the bakers have to share:
- Apple Kuchen by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Basic Focaccia by Holly at A Baker's House
- Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles by Renee at Magnolia Days
- Cinnamon Crescent Rolls by Krista at A Handful of Everything
- Cinnamon Rolls by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
- Cinnamon Sugar Challah by Paula at Vintage Kitchen
- Olive Bread by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
- Mexican Hot Chocolate Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
- San Francisco Sourdough Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Zucchini Pineapple Quick Bread by Lyn at The Lovely Pantry
#TwelveLoaves May: Open. Bake a bread, yeast or quick bread, loaf or individual. May is all about celebrating bread and the one year anniversary of #TwelveLoaves. Do you have a favorite bread? We would love to see it. Let's get baking!
Want to join the #TwelveLoaves group? It's easy!
- When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!
- Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
- Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this May, 2013, and posted on your blog by May 31, 2013.
Happy Baking!
Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup cold unfed sourdough starter
For the batter:
- All of the sponge
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
For the sponge:
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Stir down your unfed starter and remove 1 cup. In a large bowl, add the 1 cup starter, flour, sugar, and buttermilk. Stir to combine. Cover loosely and set on the counter at room temperature overnight.
For the waffles:
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Pre-heat your waffle iron before mixing the batter.
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In a small bowl, add the eggs and oil and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the sponge. Add the salt and baking soda and stir to combine. Batter will begin to bubble.
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Spray or grease your waffle iron. Pour batter on the preheated waffle iron and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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Serve waffles immediately or keep warm on a rack in the oven on the lowest heat setting.
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Serve with your favorite waffle toppings and sides.
Recipe Notes
Amount of waffles can vary depending on waffle iron size, shape, and style (traditional, Belgian, square, or round).
Recipe adapted from one on the King Arthur Flour website.
Your waffles look beautiful. Congrats on keeping your starter alive for so long!
Bubbles hangs in there even when neglected. I am still amazed I have kept it going this long.
Thank you, "Bubbles" for such an awesome waffle. Such beautiful photography, Renee!
Thanks Lyn! You are so sweet.
I need to buy a waffle iron, since I don´t know what happened to my last one, and see if my dormant starter will still collaborate. This will be a winter with sourdough for sure. Gorgeous waffles Renee! And I want to see what the flavor is when you combine sourdough with buttermilk, I´m very intrigued.
Thanks Paula and I don't know what I would do without my waffle iron. I don't use it often but love having it when I'm craving waffles.
Bill makes waffles or pancakes for the kids a couple times a month. I'm going to have to treat him to some of the real deal (he uses Bisquick!). These look wonderful, Renee!
Bisquick in your house Liz? I'm surprised. I suppose it's alright since it is for your husband to cook.
My husband loves sourdough. One of his favorite recipes from his Mother is Sourdough pancakes but I haven't made sourdough waffles yet. This will be a hit, I know already 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe. I'll have to get some tips for sourdough from you! Krista @ A Handful of Everything
My husband loves sourdough too. It's his favorite kind of bread. He has really enjoyed the waffles too.
I haven't yet baked with a sourdough starter and am amazed that yours has been going for so long. These waffles look like a great way to start any day of the week, particularly a weekend morning.
Thanks Holly!
Buttermilk and sourdough together in a waffle-totally fabulous idea, Renee! I have been craving your waffles since I saw it earlier this morning. Thanks for helping make our #TwelveLoaves event a success!
Thanks Lora and I really enjoy Twelve Loaves and glad I could help.
These waffles are gorgeousss and look so classic and amazing!!
Thanks Kayle! I like traditional waffles the best (over the Belgian style).
These look incredible! I wish I had a sourdough starter so that I could try these...
It's easy to get starter going. Much easier than most people think. All it takes is flour, water, and air.
Wow, sourdough starter. I'm seriously impressed...and hungry. 🙂
Thanks Anita!
I love that you named your starter Bubbles! And I really love the idea of using the starter that would normally get thrown away. I've actually never used starter to make waffles so this is on my must try list!
Bubbles seemed fitting because that is what starters do (if they are good).
Renee,
I love that you made waffles! yum! Ever since we got a waffle baker, we've been making a lot of waffles too! I love that your dad and mom would tag team and make breakfast for you guys growing up.. I really think that's great! Going to check out your Rosemary Focaccia now . . yum!
Thanks Alice! My mom and dad would cook together often and I'm so glad to have those memories.
Waffle! Great idea!
For me is a symbol of holiday. It's perfect for the 1st birthday of Twelve Loaves.
Thank you Rossella!
Blueberries and waffles in the same sentence...Oh my! 🙂 I'm hosting a new linky party at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/efforts-and-assets-linky-party-1.html
I would love to have you!
Angela
Thanks for the linky party invite. I'll take a look.
I had 3 leftover egg whites from another recipe so whipped those up and folded them in with the baking soda. I added one whole egg instead of 2. These were best waffles...light as a feather with crispy exterior and tender interior. I love my sourdough starter.
Thank you, Lisa! Glad you enjoyed them.