Our family loves waffles. They are our family’s breakfast of choice most weekends and the kids almost always request them as their special birthday breakfast.
I’ve tried so many different waffle recipes over the years, I’ve honestly lost count. I’ve made them with various flours as well including kamut, spelt, soft white wheat, einkorn, rice, oat and various flour blends in between. Perhaps you’ve even tried the soaked waffle recipe I posted awhile back.
My favorite recipe for classic Belgian waffles is the one by Chef Emeril Lagasse. To his credit, Emeril’s recipe calls for real eggs and butter which many of the modern waffle recipes do not.
However, there are still a number of things about Emeril’s recipe that aren’t healthy choices like the use of cake flour, refined sugar, white salt, and nonstick cooking spray (yikes!).
If you’ve ever wondered how to modify a conventional recipe into one that is traditionally based, healthy and nourishing, it isn’t a hard task. Typically, what I do is substitute the unhealthy ingredients for healthy versions on a 1:1 basis. Once in awhile, things don’t turn out right, but most of the time, the dish turns out just fine.
I had a bag of sprouted kamut flour ready to go for Christmas Eve breakfast yesterday and so I decided to morph Emeril’s Belgian waffle recipe into a totally healthy version. It is so nice to be able to buy sprouted grain now so I no longer have to sprout my own which is rather time consuming. I sprouted my own flour for years, but now I simply buy the whole grain already sprouted in large bags and grind sprouted flour fresh in my kitchen at my convenience.
My Sprouted Belgian Waffles turned out so light, fluffy, and amazing that my family has decided that this is our new favorite way to eat this classic breakfast dish.
Do you have a favorite way to prepare waffles healthy? If so, please share in the comments section!
Sprouted Belgian Waffles
Makes 10-12 large, plate size Belgian waffles
Ingredients
4 cups sprouted flour of choice (sources)
4 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt (sources)
8 large eggs, separated
4 Tbl sucanat or coconut/palm sugar (sustainable sources)
1 tsp vanilla extract (sources)
1/2 cup melted butter, preferably grassfed
4 cups whole milk, preferably grassfed
Drizzle of expeller pressed coconut oil (sources)
Directions
Preheat the waffle iron and lightly coat with expeller pressed coconut oil.
Sift sprouted flour, baking powder and sea salt together in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat eggs yolks and whole sweetener of choice until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla, melted butter and milk and combine with a whisk.
A few ladles at a time, add the liquid mixture to the flour and whisk until just blended being careful not to over mix.
In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of sea salt until soft peaks form.
Gently fold in the whipped egg whites into the batter being very careful not to over mix.
Ladle just enough batter to just cover the grid of the waffle iron. Close the waffle iron lid and cook until light brown.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for quick breakfasts or snacks!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
|
|
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
These waffles look delicious! What a healthy way to celebrate Christmas! I love the idea of making a big batch of these up and having them on hand for kids’ breakfast. A very satisfying way to start their day. Thanks for demonstrating how to take a conventional recipe and make it much more nutritious!
Sabrina\’s last post: Delicious and Simple Squash Soup!
We love the sourdough waffles in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook. We just substitute freshly ground spelt for all of the flour. So light and crispy!
Lee\’s last post: Violence and Aggression – A Dietary Link?
Do you need to soak the flour first?
No, not if it’s sprouted. Soaking is for flour that is not from sprouted grain.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Sprouted Belgian Waffles Recipe
Can you recommend a waffle iron? What do you use? I miss waffles ever since I got rid of my non-stick pans!
I need to replace my waffle iron. My husband doesn’t like belgian waffles…he likes the thinner ones. Does anyone know if there is a non-belgian type waffle iron on the market that doesn’t have non-stick coating? Thanks.
Sarah,
This looks wonderful! Thanks. We have had trouble finding a recipe for the Belgian waffles that cooks all the way through and doesn’t taste “doughy” at the end. We’ll be trying these soon, but first I have to dig the Belgian maker out of storage.
Also, is there some baking soda or something missing from the nutrient dense waffle recipe, by chance? I have trouble getting light waffles from that one. Maybe it’s the cook, though.
There is aluminum free baking powder in this recipe.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Sprouted Belgian Waffles Recipe
But should there be baking soda and /or baking poweder in your “Nutrient Dense Waffles”. I too foudn htat they taste great, but are too doughy.Thanks!
This might be a dumb question, but does sifting whole grain flour make it no longer whole grain?
The primary reason to sift flour is to add some air to make the end result more fluffy and light. Sifting can also remove some of the bran if you like which makes it more digestible for some people who have trouble with fiber. People with any sort of IBS, colitis etc (even reflux) tend to have issues with fiber from what I’ve seen. My husband used to not be able to handle bran in the grain at all when he had reflux. Now that he has recovered thanks to GAPS Diet, he doesn’t have the same issues any longer. Rami Nagel also recommends sifting flour to remove the bran as this is what traditional societies did quite frequently and his research has indicated that this ironically better for dental health. Here’s a post I wrote about Rami’s research in this area: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/whole-grains-cause-cavities/
Converting things back to traditional is the way we roll! Thanks again healthyhomeeconomist!
I couldn’t believe Emeril’s recipe calling for nonstick cooking spray! This should be embarrassing for any chef!
@Bonny: I think when u sift u r just getting rid of some of the bran and not so much the germ. The latter is where most of the nutrients reside, or so I’ve read. Getting rid of some of the bran makes for a nicer texture — without making or breaking the situation!
I thought sprouted grains lost their nutritional value fairly quickly. Do they retain them if they are in the freezer or not grounded?
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us!! Very grateful!!
You have to buy sprouted wheat or sprout it yourself? I thought you could just saok the wheat? I really can’t figure out the wheat thing
Thanks for the answers on sifting!
You can soak the wheat flour. But to get sprouted flour, you have to soak and then sprout and then dry (at low temp) the wheat kernels.
Yay! Just got a waffle maker for Christmas, and this is the first recipe I’m trying!
Some people do both with regard soaking flour. In other words, they use recipes which call for soaking flour that has already been soaked and sprouted in grain form. It doesn’t hurt to do both, obviously, but it can become time consuming so u really have to “think ahead” when scheduling all your traditional baking. It requires a very organized mind as well as an organized kitchen–to say the very least!
Happy baking everyone!
Can you do a post on how to sprout and dry the wheat/grain? The already sprouted wheat has been really expensive so I can’t afford it (and I’m sure I’m not the only one).
In recipes that require butter/lard we use canola and apple juice (1 C butter = 1/2 C canola and 1/2 cup apple juice) and replace sugar with Domino Light sugar Stevia blend (1 C sugar = 1/2 C blend). Makes for wonderful Christmas cookies!!
Hi,
Thanks so much for the recipe! We love Belgium waffles!
Our problem has been finding a waffle iron that isn’t non – stick. Wondering what you use? Many thanks for all of your posts :q
I too just LOVE Emeril’s recipe. I’m glad to find an alternative like this. I stopped using the cake flour a while ago, but need to either use sprouted or soaked flours from now on. Btw, I have found the Kitchenaid Belgium waffle iron to be the best for these waffles. You get deep full squares of the classic belgium and you can make two at a time & once it’s oiled and you got the first waffles going, it’s virtually non-stick; very easy to remove them. Having a family of almost 10, it’s perfect getting them all made by 2′s instead of singles. And it has a timer so you stay on track. A bit pricy, but so far, it’s lasting through our baking needs and has more than paid for itself, especially if it is to be a family favorite!
Did you use raw milk for this recipe?
ugh. canola oil is evil..butter is the healthy option
WOW, buying the sprouted wheat berries, now there is something I can do! I have to be honest, cooking traditionally is a bit intimidating and time consuming, That is one thing I had not ventured into, sprouting and soaking my own wheat, but buying already sprouted now we’re talking! Where did you get the sprouted kamut berries? Also is kamut similar to the einkorn berries, I rememer your blog over the summer where you really liked how light that flour is to cook with. Will you ever soak flour now, or just use the ground sprouted berries ?? Thanks Sarah.
Sarah, this recipe looks delicious! Just like a few others, I am wondering about a waffle iron that is not non-stick.
Thanks!
Just made these. Soaked and dehydrated my own wheat. Delicious! Thanks for sharing. All the best in 2013.
Hi Sarah,
Where do you buy your already soaked and sprouted whole grains? I didn’t see any retailers offering sprouted whole grains on your resources page. Have you been soaking and sprouting Einkorn berries?
I am seeing organic cold pressed coconut oil by Nutiva at our local Costco. Does anyone know if this is a quality coconut oil. It is sold in a giant plastic tub… I havent bought it because of that reason, and because what I normally buy in a glass jar is also “raw” which I assume is a better option. Any thoughts??? THANKS!!!
{ 3 trackbacks }