waffling: non-political variety

I don't know about you, but I love waffles. When I was little, waffles were a pretty big deal in our house. We usually did a big breakfast on Saturday mornings, and while most weeks that meant pancakes, periodically my parents would break out an enormous mixing bowl and the waffle iron. We did not use mixes. No way! My father was the proud owner of a genuine Belgian waffle recipe, given to him by a Real Live Belgian. Waffles with this recipe required some advance planning, because the primary raising agent was yeast and it needed a while to work. But the results were worth it--using yeast instead of baking powder/soda gives a totally different texture and flavor.

Unfortunately this amazing recipe was....you guessed it, not vegan. I snagged a copy from my dad and thought about veganizing it but never quite got around to figuring out how to get the effect of whipped egg whites without actually whipping any egg whites.

Then I picked up Vegan Brunch, and what was there a recipe for?


Raised waffles! Made with yeast! Naturally I had to try it. I whipped up some batter, let it sit for the recommended hour, and then cranked up the waffle iron. I also made some strawberry rosewater sauce to go along with the waffles:



They make an attractive pairing, no?



Overall, I was pretty happy with the results of this recipe. The results were crisp, delicious waffles that were a perfect vehicle for maple syrup or fruit sauce. My only issue with this recipe is that there is a lot of sugar. There are a couple of reasons I wasn't too psyched about that. First, the waffles had a definite sweet flavor, which I admit I'm not used to. I generally think of waffles as a relatively neutral sweet/savory taste that is then sweetened with toppings. The other issue with the sugar is that it makes the outsides of the waffles brown VERY quickly, and they also had a tendency to stick to my (nonstick) waffle iron. Next time I make these I will probably cut the sugar down to 1 or 2 tablespoons instead of the 1/4 c. the recipe calls for.