Friendship Bread Starter Waffles

So my impatient self decided to bake with my brand new starter on day 6 as I had planned, knowing I couldn’t let a Sunday pass without waffles when I had that starter on the counter. I confess, I think it would have been a good idea to wait until day 10, and I plan to restart my starter the proper way, but the waffles were absolutely needed! This has been the first time I made waffles as a married woman, and I have to say, it felt like a right of passage. My husband isn’t big on waffles, or sweets in general, but he did have one of these waffles and he gave them a glowing review.

The only starter I ever worked with was given to me, and it had been going for some time, so it was well established. This one just didn’t have the tang that I was craving and I know part of that is my own impatience and part of it is that it’s new. I can’t wait until I have a nice, aged starter. But until then, I do have a good recipe to share and I will probably be using what’s left of this starter as I start my new one the proper way.

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I also decided to make this a dairy free recipe and use almond milk in my starter and also in this recipe. I was assured that this works just fine. Although I’m not completely dairy free, I do try to limit my dairy most times since I find that too much gives me slight symptoms of intolerance.

I have to say, these were the best dairy free waffles I have ever had! I am so excited to try pancakes next and to go beyond bread when my starter gets established.

I found a basic waffle recipe off of the Friendship Bread Kitchen website, but I decided to tweak it a fair bit. I wanted a smaller batch for just two people and I also swear by using brown sugar in just about everything. I also had to add more flour to get the consistency I was looking for. I intend to modify the recipe further next time, but this was a great place to start.

In a year when money is a bit tight for many of us, starting a starter was a great choice for me. I plan to make all kinds of goodies to give away as gifts to those I work with, and also to extended family members this holiday season. It’s also a perfectly delicious thing to take to any small family or work event.

Since it’s only the beginning of December, go ahead and start one now. Do your research at http://friendshipbreadkitchen.com, she will seriously teach you everything, and keep following me for my own starter creations, adventures, and misadventures.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Waffles made with Starter

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1 c. starter
• 1/4 c. milk (or non-dairy milk, I used almond) plus more if needed
• 1 egg

Instructions:

Plug in your waffle iron to let it heat up.

In a large mixing bowl, mix your first 5 dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine your wet ingredients, including the brown sugar.

Make a well in your dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients just until combined- some lumps are fine.

Depending on your waffle maker, you may need to use more or less batter. Ours takes a little over 1/2 c.

Our waffle maker has a dial and I put it slightly above the middle and the waffles took around 2 minutes to get them where I wanted them. Definitely experiment if you don’t already know your waffle iron and write down your personal preferences for time and setting for next time.

Serve warm with fruit, syrup, or whipped cream.