"This recipe for Better than Boxed Homemade Buttermilk Waffles is so easy to prepare - better for you and so much tastier - you will never reach for a mix again!"
The making of Homemade Buttermilk Waffles
Most of my life, I have been a packaged/boxed waffle/pancake kind of gal. It seemed so convenient.
A while back, I was out of boxed mix and wanted to have waffles for breakfast - so I went to my trusty cookbook collection to see what I could find for an easy, tasty, waffle.
Guess what I discovered - making your own fresh waffle mix was hardly any more difficult than it was to make it from a box. AND it was so much tastier. SO much tastier.
"Making it yourself is not only easy, but it's also healthier for you"
Boxed vs Homemade
Most every mix I ever bought required fresh ingredients - typically - milk or water, eggs, and oil. Some are all-inclusive with the eggs and oils etc. included in the mix. But still, dehydrated, done in a factory-made with chemicals and processes; lacking in rich flavor and...well, just not all that good for you.
Take Krusteaz Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix, for instance. This mix rates a C- on Fooducate as it not only contains trans-fats (even if the label says zero) but is also very high in salt and is highly processed.
Hungry Jack is rated to be one of the worst in its class, according to Fooducate, with controversial artificial flavors and colors, along with trans-fats, is highly processed, and contains more than 20% of your daily requirement for salt.
Mrs. Butterworth? Sorry Mrs. but you get a C- as well. Again, those bad trans-fats are present, even if the label says zero - and Mrs. Butterworth uses industrial caramel coloring.
What is that you ask?
When you make caramel, you do it by heating sugar in a saucepan until it melts and caramelizes. When a company uses industrial caramel coloring, it is made by reacting sugar with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures. The chemical reaction results in 4-methyimidazole, which the FDA has determined to contribute to cancers including lung, liver, thyroid, and leukemia. While the use of industrial caramel coloring is required to be disclosed on the label, you won't see it because the manufacturer will simply keep it below the guidelines that require it to be listed. Just like those trans-fats. Under .5mg and it doesn't have to be disclosed. But that doesn't mean it's not there.
Now doesn't that sound delicious?
Not.
Even Trader Joe's Multi-Grain Baking/Pancake mix has too much salt in it. Though rated a B- from Fooducate, which is NOT a bad rating, to make this product you have to add milk, eggs, and oil or butter. So what have you really saved yourself? Taking out a few ingredients?
And by making them yourself...you take control over what you put in your's and your families bodies.
And aren't you worth the extra effort?
You can make these waffles gluten-free by using all-purpose gluten-free flour, there are many good ones in the market. You could mix half whole wheat and half all-purpose, or use part oat flour.
Embellishments
This recipe for Homemade Buttermilk Waffles is my go-to basic recipe. What you put into your waffle after you make the batter is up to you too. BB and I like to add dried blueberries and toasted pecan pieces. Another favorite is diced fresh apple with a dash of cinnamon and some toasted walnut pieces. Summertime? Summer will find us adding fresh diced peach or strawberries. YUM!
It's all up to you. That's the beauty of making it yourself!
Once the waffle is on the table, put what you love on top. Blueberry Syrup? Maple? Just, please, make sure that those are all-natural as well...don't go throwing sugary made-up maple syrup on it (no Log Cabin is not real maple syrup) so read the label. You want 100% maple syrup.
So now, enjoy your waffles in good health.
Breakfast in bed anyone?
Delicious when the compote from my Polenta Waffles with Balsamic Berry Compote is spooned over the top! Or try them with some fresh butter and Fresh Country Peach Butter.
In the fall, you may be in the mood for these Pumpkin Buttermilk Pecan Waffles.
Homemade Buttermilk Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour I like King Arthur
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups 2% cultured buttermilk*
- ¼ cup melted and cooled unsalted butter
- ¼ cup mild olive oil or other neutral oil
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour into the dry and gently mix until combined. Do not over-mix, some lumps are ok.
- Heat your waffle iron up according to the manufacturer's directions. Once hot, spray with cooking spray or use a pastry brush to brush the grids with oil. Add batter to cover the grids, close and cook until crispy, about 3 - 5 minutes depending on your waffle iron. Remove and serve while crisp and hot. (You could hold in a 300°F oven, but the waffles will get a tad soggy.) Serve with your favorite syrups, jams, or fruits.
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