This was originally shared in March 2018. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe, new photos and step by step pictures, and a video as of January 2020.
I make waffles a handful of times every month, often with some seasonal variations tossed in – blueberry, pumpkin, apple – but these sourdough waffles are hands down my favourite. They’re so easy, always bake up perfectly, and, best part, they’re prepped the night before.
Vegan waffles can be a bit fiddly to get right. Usually you need some kind of starch or other binding agent (banana, applesauce) and the texture can be wonky. With sourdough starter, though, they’re spot on without adding anything!
Sourdough Waffles
This recipe uses spelt flour (see below for subs), so the taste is more complex and a little nutty. They’re overall much more interesting than normal waffles. The outside is still crisp, with a nice soft inside, and a slightly chewy texture.
There is a fairly significant flavour difference from the sourdough, but it’s pleasant rather than overwhelming. If you’re looking for diner style waffles, though, this is not that. The taste is more mild than with a long-ferment sourdough bread, but there is a bit of tanginess.
If you tend to get a bit bloated or some slight stomach upset from normal waffles, you might be able to digest sourdough waffles a bit more easily, much the same as with bread. I usually have a bit of trouble with waffles but these ones are easy on the stomach due to the fermenting process.
Sourdough Starter or Discard for Waffles
If you have an active sourdough starter and only use it to make bread, you’re discarding a lot of useable starter. This is a great recipe to make use of some of that discard! When you feed your starter, use the discard to mix up a batch of waffles instead of tossing it in the compost or whatever you do with it.
It does need to be quite active, though! If you’re storing your starter in the refrigerator, the discard from feeding it that first time won’t be strong enough to give these waffles a good rise. If that’s the case, you’ll want to use a starter that was fed about 12 hours beforehand, just like you would to make a loaf of sourdough bread.
What I’m saying here, is that if you feed your starter daily, the discard from that will work well. If you only bake once a week or so, use a starter that’s been fed and is active. Need a good recipe for less active discard? Try these sourdough crackers.
Please note that this recipe requires a 100% hydration starter. Mine is made with rye flour, but any active starter will work well.
Making the Waffles
Couldn’t be easier! You can see the process more clearly in the video or in the step-by-step photos below. Everything is mixed in one bowl, there are just 7 ingredients with no weird additives or hard to find ingredients.
After mixing, simply cover to rest overnight at room temperature (no need to clear out a shelf in the fridge) and then bake the following morning. The batter can rest for anywhere from 8-16 hours so there’s a flexible timeframe if you need it.
Depending on the type of waffle iron you have, the cooking time will vary. I’ve only used the one pictured and the type that makes thin heart-shaped waffles, but I’m certain this recipe will work in any kind of iron. Either way you’ll get some great waffles!
Substitutions
Don’t have a starter? That’s fine, you can use yeast instead! A teaspoon of yeast will do the trick and can be subbed in for the starter. The flavour won’t be as pronounced, and they’ll be slightly less chewy, but they’re still good.
The recipe calls for spelt flour – this can be either light or whole grain – but all purpose, whole wheat, or other ancient grains like kamut or einkorn all work well. I haven’t tried making these gluten free.
Any kind of dairy-free milk with the exception of canned full fat coconut milk can be used here. Dairy milk, as is the case 99% of the time, can be used as well if you don’t need them to be dairy free. The waffles will have a slight yogurt scent if you use dairy milk.
Want more sourdough? Try these!
Rye Bread
Honey and Oat Sourdough
Sourdough Bagels
Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via email, facebook, and pinterest.
Sourdough Waffles
Ingredients
- 340 grams spelt flour*
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 500 ml oat milk
- 50 grams sourdough starter OR 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil**
Instructions
- Add the flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add the milk, starter, and oil. Whisk again until just combined and no streaks of flour remain in the bowl.
- Cover with a a tea towel and board or plate and set aside to rise at room temperature overnight, from 8 to a maximum of 16 hours.
- Once the batter has rested overnight, heat your waffle iron and bake the waffles as usual, filling the iron quite fully. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
- Serve hot with desired toppings. These are best eaten fresh and will lose the outer crispness if stored. If you do have leftovers, toast briefly before eating.
Melissa says
Will this still work with dairy milk?
Alexandra Daum says
I'm sure it will! It might smell a bit yogurt-y in the morning but that's normal.
Claudia Lamascolo says
I love working with spelt flour and these waffles sure look great and would be a huge hit for breakfast in our home.
They look so pretty!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I love working with spelt flour and these waffles sure look great and would be a huge hit for breakfast in our home.
They look so pretty!
Andy says
Made these this morning, delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe, even my 3 year old daughter enjoyed them, will definitely be making again.
ferryboat George says
I made this up and had it for dinner last night, almost everybody loved it : ) My friend decided she doesn’t like mixing “sweet” and “sour” (she also won’t cook savory dishes in coconut oil, she’s weird like that :)) I did have a question though. There were six of us eating, and since we wanted about two each, I double the recipe. Unfortunately, it only made 7 waffles. Was this because I doubled it? I know some recipes don’t like to be increased. I also didn’t have enough spelt flour, about 3/4 of one recipe, so I subbed in a bit of gluten free all purpose for the first and rye flour for the doubling. Is that why it didn’t make the expected number of waffles? If I use all spelt can I double it ok? I’d like to make it again now that I’ve been able to buy spelt flour. Thanks again for the awesome recipe.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I’m glad you liked the waffles! I think it’s probably just that your waffle maker is much different from mine. I have a small-ish Belgian style waffle maker but can’t get the big American style ones over here (I’m not sure where you are). It does seem a bit crazy that it still only make seven with doubling, but I don’t think using different flours in the same amounts would’ve caused that. In general you should be able to double it no problem! You can see in the pictures the number I ended up with for one batch so I think it’s just differences in irons.
ferryboat George says
I’ll try again to double it. To me the iron we used was very small, but I think not as small as yours. In the iron we had growing up your recipe would probably make two or three : ) Maybe you should add the dimensions of the iron to the number of waffles made so people with bigger irons think about it : ) like “makes 8 2×3″ waffles” or something like that. Looking forward to trying it again soon.
Susan says
so happy to find this. After I made my levain at midnight for baking sourdough bread tomorrow, I put this together for breakfast. I’ve made similar before, but this recipe has everything I would like!
Amy says
I have tried numerous times to make plant based waffles in the Belgium waffle iron and they always stuck to the iron. This recipe worked! No stick! Plus my husband and I really enjoyed them. They are airy, crisp and tasty! This is now the only waffle recipe I will use! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Frizzle says
I’ve really gotten into sourdough this year & I found a brand new waffle iron at goodwill so I needed a vegan sourdough recipe- this is the first one I tried because I didn’t want to mess with flax eggs. It is SOO good! I’ve made it several times now. I am cooking for one, so I love that the batter can sit in the fridge multiple days & I can just scoop out as needed (I do add a little more water or soy milk if it gets too thick). Last time I accidentally added twice the amount of sourdough discard and it turned out great.