Poppy Seed Wholegrain Waffles

When Matt was growing up, his Dad would make waffles just about every Sunday for the family.  He has such fond memories of it, and wanted to start the same tradition with our kids.  Even though our little girl isn’t due for another 6 weeks, and even though she won’t be eating solids for quite some time, he wanted to get a head start on his waffle making experience.   About 3 years ago I totally splurged on the All-Clad 4 square waffle maker from Williams Sonoma.  Even though it has received very little usage since then, I don’t regret the purchase.  This thing will likely survive a nuclear attack.  It is SOLID.

Wanting to try a whole grain recipe, I did some research to find one that looked especially tasty.   There are surprisingly FEW waffle recipes out there… I went to a favorite source for healthy recipes, 101Cookbooks, and found exactly what I was looking for.   Heidi has a recipe for Multigrain Waffles, that can easily compete with any traditional waffle recipe out there.  These waffles start out with a flour mix of three different grains: oats, barley and rye.  We had all three on hand, and so happily used them.  I think the major player in this recipe are the poppyseeds.  Heidi recommends soaking them in the buttermilk overnight, which we gladly did.   These waffles came together very quickly, and the taste was outstanding!  They had a great crunch, light, full of flavor, and weren’t sickeningly sweet. She said that the recipe makes 6-8 waffles, but we had a full 10.  We each ate 2 that morning, and then par-baked and froze the other 6 so that they’d be great for easy grabbing and toasting during the week.  I brought two to work with me the next morning, and everyone inquired as to where I bought the waffles from.  They really are quite pretty.  Proudly, I responded “my husband made them” to which they all oohed and aahed, green with envy   :)

I wish that waffles were a bit more photogenic… I’m going to continue working on my skillz’.

Here is the recipe, verbatim from Heidi’s site, 101Cookbooks:

Multigrain Waffles

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups / 475 ml buttermilk
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100g barley flour
1/2 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g oat flour
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g rye flour
1 tablespoon natural cane sugar or Muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 large eggs, whisked
1/3 cup / 3 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit

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If you happen to remember, soak the poppy seeds in the buttermilk overnight, if not, it’s no big deal. Just add them to the wet mix later on.

Preheat your waffle iron. I set mine to medium heat, but you’ll have to play around a bit with the settings on your particular waffle iron to settle on the right temperature.

In a large bowl mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs into the buttermilk mixture, then whisk in the melted butter. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.

I use about 1/2 cup / 120 ml of batter per waffle. Close the iron, and resist the urge to peek for a couple of minutes, the waffle needs time to set and develop a bit of a skin. After that you can check to see how your waffle is coming along. Cook until deeply golden. If you aren’t eating the waffles immediately, keep in mind they can get a bit soggy if you place them directly on a plate. I tend to set hot waffles on a metal cookie rack in a warm/hot place while cooking the remainders. Serve with syrup, preserves, or sprinkled with more Muscovado sugar.

Makes 6 – 8 standard waffles.