This vegan waffle recipe (or a whole stack of waffles) would be great for a vegan breakfast, brunch, dessert, or dinner, depending upon what toppings you wish to use. I love the texture and aroma of yeast-raised waffles. I’m also posting it to provide a sample of one of the recipes from The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook.

I enjoy getting artistic with the toppings, having been inspired by the creations of Global Vegan Waffle Party hosts and guests. I mean, food like kiwi fruit and strawberries are works of art all alone–add a waffle and some vegan whipped topping, and you’ve practically got a gastronomic Van Gogh!

Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles

Because the dough needs time to rise, begin at least 3 hours in advance of baking the waffles or 1 1/2 hours in advance if you are using quick-rise yeast.

• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (see note below)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large non-metal bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt until well blended.

Cover the bowl and place it in a warm location until the flour mixture has almost doubled. You can use your oven to create a warm spot for the flour mixture to rise. Make sure the oven rack is low enough for the bowl to fit in the oven. Turn the oven on for 1 to 2 minutes at 200 degrees F. (It shouldn’t actually reach 200 degrees, but just warm up slightly.) Turn off the oven, place the covered bowl on the rack, and close the oven door to keep in the warmth. If you wish to let the batter stand overnight, strengthening the yeast flavor, covering the bowl and leaving it at room temperature will work fine.

After the flour mixture has risen, combine the brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, soymilk, vanilla extract, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly, breaking up any clumps of baking powder or baking soda. Pour into the raised flour mixture and stir until well blended. Mixing with the handle end of a spoon or other thin item like chopsticks can make it easier to break up the long strands into smaller clumps. The batter does not need to be completely smooth, but you don’t want too many clumps larger than the last segment of your pinky finger.Let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat the waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes while the batter is standing. Spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it can be removed easily.

Note: Use warm water between 105 and 115 degrees F. You can judge this by splashing a bit onto the sensitive skin of your inner wrist—it should feel warmer than lukewarm but not hot or painful.

It’s a very warm summer day here in the ‘Burgh, as I know it is in many other parts of the world. To be honest, I’m slightly less enthusiastic about hot foods in July and August than I am other times of the year. Hence, my fewer postings during the summer months. Lately, cereal with some nice cold soymilk and some fresh fruit have been a common breakfast food. However, another Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup member recently requested ideas for cold breakfast foods, triggering a few neurons.

While waffles themselves aren’t generally good when they’re cold, they can go very well with cold toppings. Here are a few easy suggestions for making your vegan waffles a cool and refreshing dairy-free summer treat.

• When making waffles in the summer, make them in larger batches and freeze them. Next time you’re craving a waffle, you don’t have to spend much time in the kitchen near the hot iron. Just pop them into the toaster. If your iron makes round waffles, just don’t forget to break them into quarters before freezing so they fit into the toaster.
• If you’re craving a waffle with fruit, don’t bake the fruit into the waffle or cook it into the syrup. Keep it cool and fresh. Make a big bowl of fruit salad, and chill it to make a delicious waffle topping. This is particularly great to do this time of year, when fresh fruit is in abundance in many more locations–and local usually means fresher and tastier. The fresh blueberries from our local CSA farm share have been excellent this year!
• Use soy ice cream or sorbet, if you want it to be a little healthier, cold soy yogurt on top of the waffles. What I really enjoy is a “waffle ice cream sandwich”–two waffle quarters with some vegan ice cream in between. This is particularly good with some of the dessert waffles on this site.
• If you like chilled avocado, guacamole, or hummus, those can also add a cool twist to a waffle.
• The other day I even had the crazy idea of making waffle-shaped ice cubes or frozen orange juice-sicles! Yeah, I know I think about waffles a bit too much sometimes. However, none of our waffle makers have removable grids, and we don’t have one of those old-fashioned waffle makers that you use over a gas flame or campfire. The latter probably wouldn’t fit into our freezer with the long handle anyway. Oh, well… If you’re feeling adventurous and give this a try, let me know!