This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has just read the above title. But it is always best to be upfront about these things. Here it goes: you need to start this recipe a day ahead. Maybe a few hours would be fine… but I haven’t tried that! It is so worth it though. The flavour develops so much more and makes for delicious, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside waffles. What could be better?

I will post the basic recipe as well as some ‘next morning variations’ as I usually divide the batter into two and flavour them slightly differently. You also need a waffle iron for this recipe.

Ingredients

3 cups spelt flour (or any flour you choose)

7g yeast (one sachet)

125ml warm water

600ml buttermilk

1 Tbs melted butter or coconut oil

2 Tbs maple syrup (optional but add 2 more Tbs of one of water or buttermilk if you omit)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Variations:

Vanilla waffles: 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds scraped from one pod or 1 tsp pure extract)

Citrus waffles: a Tbs fresh orange juice and the sext of 2 pieces of citrus fruit (orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin)

Blueberry waffles: dot blueberries over waffle once batter hits the iron.

Directions:

Mix the yeast in a medium sized bowl with the warm water until yeast has dissolved, leave for 5-10minutes until it has become frothy.

Put flour, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well. Create a well in the middle and in quick succession add 500 ml of the buttermilk, the yeast mixture, the butter/coconut oil and the maple syrup. Mix well to combine. Cover in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning remove the now well risen dough from the fridge. Whisk together the eggs and baking powder and 100 ml of buttermilk. Whisk or mix into the waffle batter.

You’re now ready to add whatever combinations you please, I divide the dough and make different things to keep it interesting.

Laddle batter into the centre of your waffle iron, don’t fill right to sides just do 2/3 as it will spread once you close the lid. You can brush butter or coconut oil on the waffle iron if it is not non stick. They will need a few minutes – just cook until golden and crispy, according to the instructions given for your iron.

The mix makes approx. 8 waffles (depending on size of your iron). I always use all the mix at once and then freeze the cooked waffles. They reheat in a pan, toaster or the waffle iron really well once defrosted.

Top with any combination you please –  sweet or savoury! Some of my recommendations are captioned below the pictures in this post.

HH. x