My daughter and I have been working on this sourdough discard waffle recipe for a long time. At last, we are proud to share it. These waffles are ridiculously tasty. I don't think they can get any better than this. The crumb is exceptionally light, open, and airy. The crust is thin and very crispy. The flavor is complex with a lingering pleasant, slightly tangy aftertaste. These sourdough discard waffles have everything that good sourdough waffles have, but they are more airy and require much less effort and time. Once you try them, you will never be making regular waffles.
As I mentioned above, we've been working on this recipe for a while. The waffles have always been tasty, but we always felt like there was something missing. I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was. The breakthrough resulted from a mistake, as it often happens. I miscalculated the amount of flour, which resulted in a lower flour-to-milk ratio. What a difference it made! My sourdough discard waffles loved the higher hydration, just like my French baguettes, Italian focaccia, and many other breads I make.
Immediately, we noticed how the crumb got much lighter, more airy, with much bigger holes. It also felt more moist. A truly dreamy texture! Just take a look below.
The airiness and big bubbles would become apparent as soon as the batter hit the waffle iron. It was amazing to see!
The crust became crispier and thinner. And it stayed crispy for longer. Normally, waffles would soften quite quickly. Not these ones. Just look at that beautiful crispy crust!
A few thoughts on sourdough discard
My sourdough starter (or levain if you want a more precise term) is 83.3% hydration. I feed it 120 grams of flour and 100 grams of water. Many home bakers use a 100% hydration sourdough starter, feeding it equal parts of flour and water. The recipe below is written for my 83.3% hydration sourdough starter discard. When using a 100% hydration sourdough starter, you will need to make a small adjustment, which I will mention in the recipe notes.
I feed my sourdough starter every evening, at which time I remove and discard all but one tablespoon of it. Evening is hardly a good time for any baking, so how do I go about using the discard? It's very simple. I take as much of the starter in the morning as I need, making sure to leave at least a tablespoon behind, which would be fed the following evening. Morning sourdough starter is the best - it's young, strong, very mildly acidic, and has a very pleasant smell. It's great for making waffles, rye bread, white bread, cinnamon rolls, English muffins, biscuits, and more.
What if you don't have sourdough discard?
I am sure I will get this question, and it's a good one. The closest you can get to the sourdough starter is by making poolish. Poolish is fermented dough similar to sourdough starter, except it uses commercial yeast instead of naturally occurring wild yeasts. To make the poolish, combine 100g grams of flour with 100 grams of water and 3 grams of instant yeast, and let it ferment for 3 hours at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.
Serving
These waffles are so tasty and flavorful on their own that I often like to eat them as is, with tea or coffee, as you would a cookie or a muffin. Sometimes, I like topping them with some sour creme, Greek yogurt, or creme fraiche. They are also fantastic paired with fresh berries or chopped fruit, my preferred way to eat my favorite buttermilk pancakes.
If you want to add a touch of sweetness, dust them with a little bit of powdered sugar. For more sweetness, drizzle with honey or maple syrup.
Enjoy!
Sourdough Discard Belgian Waffle Recipe
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 200 g discard sourdough starter scant 1 cup if using my 83.3% hydration starter; full cup if using the typical 100% hydration starter
- 180 g flour about 1 1/4 cups
- 455 g milk 2 cups minus 2 Tbsp; room temperature or slightly warm; 430 g (1 3/4 cups) milk if using 100% hydration starter
- 100 g vegetable oil 1/2 cup
- 50 g sugar one level 1/4 cup
- 15 g baking powder 1 1/2 Tbsp
- 10 g corn starch 1 1/2 Tbs
- 2.5 g salt 1/2 tsp
- 2 eggs egg whites and yolks separated
- 4 g vanilla 1 tsp
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks.
- In another separate bowl, combine the milk and the sourdough discard, and whisk until the starter is well-dispersed. Add the egg yolks, oil, and vanilla, and stir gently until homogenous.
- Add the sourdough discard and milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
- Next, fold in the egg whites.
- Preheat and lightly butter the waffle maker.
- Cook in a waffle maker over medium-high heat for around 5 minutes or until the waffles are crispy and have a beautiful golden brown color.
Cookease says
Not sure how 83.3% is more hydration than 100%?
Your recipe has proportionally more flour than water?
Thanks
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
The former has less flour, the latter has more flours, hence my recommendation. Sure, the latter has more water, but this recipe is quite forgiving so I didn't go into fine grain specifics. I tested both ways and both had excellent results.
Jane says
I have Celiac Disease so our house is 100% gluten free. I made these with my sorghum sourdough starter (discard) and used 120g cup4cup flour and 60g sorghum flour and they turned out phenomenal! Made them in they type of waffle iron that you flip over after opening batter into. I set it to 4ish on heat! After some trial and error haha. It made 7 waffles! Best waffles I have made yet, including the traditional yeasted Belgian waffles with pearl sugar I make! My husband loves them and has requested them again (only a few days later)! Thank you!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
I am so glad to hear that, Jane. You are very welcome. Thanks for the details, I am sure some of my readers with similar health challenges will appreciate your tips. Enjoy!!!
Tara says
Oh wow this recipe is amazing! I just got a new belgium waffle maker and wanted to find a recipe where I could incorporate sourdough discard. This recipe is a little bit of more of a project than other waffle recipes, but it is so worth it! I followed the recipe exactly except that I did not have regular milk so I used almond milk… I forgot to warm it or even have it at room temp… And it worked just fine! The recipe is amazing! The waffles were amazing! Light, airy, nicely crispy and brown ….. Just perfect!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Happy to hear it, Tara. Enjoy!
Susan K says
Hello! I was wondering what the weight of 100% hydration sourdough discard would be for this recipe. Thanks for these wonderful recipes. I make the pan bread every week, and the cinnamon rolls were out of this world. Im dying to try these waffles!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Susan, I'd keep the weight at 200g, you shouldn't notice the difference. Enjoy!
Laura Walker says
OMG these are stupid delicious!
Malty, crispy, chewy! I didn't even manage to take a pic of them because I just went to town gobbling them up! My super picky 3 year old loved them! Cook hot and hard with extra butter. Crispy, caramelized edges with a super chewy center make me love Saturday mornings even more.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
LOL Glad to hear it. We try not to make these often as you just can't stop eating them. I can easily eat 3 if you let me 🙂 I love eating these topped with homemade strawberry or apricot jam and a little bit of sour cream. Topped with only a little butter is also delicious. So good!!!
John says
Amazing recipe. The best waffles I've ever had. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside - a great combination. And the flavor was very rich. Will be making them again soon.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad to hear it. Enjoy!
Kristin says
Absolutely delicious! Can hardly wait to make these again!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Happy to hear it. Enjoy!
Tod S says
Just curious - have you tried butter instead of oil? Looking forward to trying.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Tod, I have. I felt that butter waffles were richer, but oil gave them a better crisp. Would love to hear your feedback once you make the recipe.
Tracey says
Can you freeze these waffles? If so how do you suggest?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
I rarely freeze my baked goods but what has worked for me was letting them cool down, pre-freeze then vac seal and keep in the freezer for a few months. Re-heating can be done in the oven or a toaster oven. Good luck!
Katie says
Your recipes have always been a hit in my house—can’t wait to try these!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad to hear it, Katie. Let me know how they turn out. I hope you like them as much as we do.
Hailee says
Would lard or coconut oil be an ok substitution for the vegetable oil? Trying to make a more digestable version. 🙂
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Haven't tried this recipe with those yet.