Plain Waffles (Waffle Maker Recipe)

It turns out that finding a waffle maker that I actually like in NZ is relatively difficult. Most of them seem to make thin, American-style waffles. Or be vertical waffle makers (which don't really work well if you like to put inclusions in your batter). Or they're underpowered. And so on and so on. And rotating waffle makers? Forget about it!

The best option I'd managed to find in all my searching was a very expensive Breville model. But, aside from being pricey, it was also huge. And it still didn't even rotate. So I couldn't quite bring myself to pull the trigger on it. Luckily, Farmers miraculously started stocking some new waffle irons that actually looked somewhat reasonable. So when one of them went on sale for $40, how could I say no? It was a little less powerful than I'd like and had removeable plates, which I generally feel are more of a hinderance than a help. But... for $40, it seemed worth a shot!

And, I have to say, having tried it... it's not half bad! I do miss the rotation. And I wish it were a little more powerful (1200W doesn't seem to be quite enough for some batters). But, overall, it does alright. Especially for the price!

So, after testing it out on some banana-oat waffles (which came out slightly soggy, but were able to be perked up in the toaster), I decided to give it a go with the basic waffle recipe given in the manual. It's very plain, but tasty nonetheless. And it does cook up much better than the oat waffles did. It's pretty similar to my other basic waffle recipe, but I wanted to include this one as well. Just for the sake of completeness.

Plain Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 c. (~260g) flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk, warmed
• 1/3 c. salted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder. Mix well.
2. Combine the milk, butter, and vanilla and beat in the eggs.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. (Some small lumps are okay, but try to avoid any large ones.)
4. Let batter stand while waffle iron preheats.
5. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron (mine takes ~1/2 c. per waffle), close lid, and cook until done (~5 minutes on highest setting for me).
6. Remove cooked waffle(s) from machine and repeat process with remaining batter.
7. Top as desired and serve.