Homemade Waffles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good waffles? ›

Add cornstarch.

If you're making waffles with baking powder and baking soda, adding cornstarch to the mix will get you waffles that are crisp on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside. Because waffle recipes vary, start with ¼ cup and work in as much as ½ cup to get the desired effect.

However, there are a few key differences between these tasty breakfast foods. For one, waffle batter has a little bit more sugar, butter, and eggs than pancake batter. This helps make the waffles richer because they'll have a higher fat content. Alternatively, the pancake mix is thinner and easy to pour.

Belgian waffles are usually thicker than their American counterparts. These Belgian beauties are made with a recipe that includes yeasted batter and crunchy pearl sugar. Belgian waffles have extra-deep pockets—the better for filling with butter, jam, maple syrup, or whipped cream.

We use the two together for the fluffiest, best tasting waffles. The baking powder really does most of the lifting and makes the waffles fluffy, and the baking soda reacts with the buttermilk for tender waffles with a tasty tang (and helps contribute to giving them a little lift, too).

Grease the Waffle Iron With Cooking Spray

If you're looking for how to make crispy waffles in a waffle maker, try using cooking spray instead. Cooking spray won't burn as rapidly as butter, and will help achieve that satisfyingly crisp outside you crave.

Recommended overnight or 2 hr resting – for the tastiest waffles, rest the batter overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours. This makes the flour grains absorb the liquid so it makes the inside of the waffles softer.

While sharing common ingredients like flour, eggs, milk and sugar, Belgian waffles stand out due to the incorporation of yeast in their batter, resulting in a lighter and fluffier texture. They also feature pearl sugar – a key component that caramelises during cooking, forming a sweet and crispy exterior.

If you don't have a Belgian waffle maker, you can use a regular waffle maker. It likely won't create the larger, thicker, deeper grooves, but you may still end up with fluffier waffles. Keep in mind that the time it takes to make Belgian waffles may vary depending on serving size.

Butter has a relatively high water content, and vegetable oil or rapeseed oil actually give your waffles a better crisp crust due to their lower water contents, allowing the batter to brown more easily and evenly. Additionally, butter is more prone to burning, since it has a lower smoke point and contains milk solids.

The milk in your waffles acts as a binding agent and adds a level of richness that you just can't obtain with water alone. That's not to say that you can't substitute water for milk in waffle recipes and you likely have at some point — you'll still end up with waffles.

Why are my homemade waffles not crispy? ›

The problem is moisture. You need some of it to make sure your waffles are tender, but too much and that extra moisture will quickly soften the waffle's outer crust. Buttermilk is also a tricky ingredient because it tends to make a heavier batter, which results in less crispy waffles.

Why are my waffles not fluffy? Classic waffle batter is leavened both chemically (using baking powder or soda) and mechanically (with beaten egg whites folded in). To make fluffy waffles, be sure the egg whites are beaten to perfectly stiff peaks.

Waffles toward the bottom of that stack will have no choice but to go limp. To keep a cooked batch of waffles warm, place them in a low oven directly on the oven rack, or on a wire rack where the air can circulate—never on a sheet pan, where they'll trap that steam and go soggy on the bottom.