WaffleParty.com: Delicious Vegan Waffles!

I was in the mood to experiment with a relatively neutral gluten-free waffle that wasn’t quite as dense as one using only buckwheat flour. These are pretty light and fluffy, bind quite well without using Ener-G egg replacer, and are a great basic waffle for any type of topping. As with some other yeast-raised waffles I’ve tried, the exterior is relatively soft and breadlike, not that crispy–they’re great syrup sponges! They were inspired by a pancake recipe from what some call the mother of many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. (A little secret: the “Old-Time Buckwheat Cakes” recipe there makes pretty decent waffles in its original form if you decrease the water by 1-2 T.)

This recipe makes roughly 4 round Belgian-style waffles.

Ingredients

• 1 C buckwheat flour
• 1C white rice flour
• 3/4 t salt
• 3/4 C + 1 T warm water
• 2 t dry yeast (I’ve used quick-rise dried yeast a few times with good results; note that some yeasts contain gluten)
• 1 C unsweetened soymilk
• 2 t raw sugar, blackstrap molasses (we’ve enjoyed this recipe with both), or other sweetener of choice
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/3 C hot water
• 3 T vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance–if you use canola oil, add an additional 1/8 to 1/4 t of salt)

Directions

The night before you plan to bake and eat the waffles, whisk together the flours and salt in large bowl. In separate bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix in soymilk, then blend yeast-water-soymilk mixture into flour mixture. Stir until very well blended (this is a case where the batter doesn’t have to be lumpy). Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise slightly at room temperature.

The next morning, dissolve the baking soda in the 1/3 C hot water, and add the sweetener and margarine. If necessary, place the mixture in the microwave just long enough to soften the margarine (for our microwave it’s 30 seconds). Whisk to break up any lumps of margarine and pour the mixture into the flour-soymilk-yeast mixture. Stir until well blended, and allow to sit another half hour before baking in waffle iron.