Waffles!

Admittedly, I have been 100% off my homemade bread game this Fall. My kitchen is normally stocked with french bread, rolls, bagels, you name it. While my daughter and I were nearing the end of our morning walk today, I was fantasizing about this delicious sandwich I was going to make for lunch. Then of course we get home and I remember that I haven't baked bread in almost two weeks! I mean, who does that?! Usually not me is the correct answer. My brain immediately started weighing the options: Wait a few hours to eat and bake bread now? No, too far away. Go to the store and buy bread? No, that would be the ultimate betrayal. Eat cheese and crackers for lunch? For real, Melissa, this is absurd. What does a girl have to do to get something bread-y and carb-y around here? And ASAP.

Then it dawned on me. Waffles!

I go through these phases when I remember that I have this magical tool called a waffle iron, and we eat waffles non-stop for like a week. Followed by me forgetting about it again for three months. So while they're fresh on my mind, I'd love to share my favorite small-batch waffle recipe with you.

I love how versatile this recipe is. Totally adaptable for sweet and savory. Vegetarian or vegan. Multigrain options, even gluten-free.

Here is what you'll need for the basic recipe:

• 1 cup all purpose flour*

• 1 TBSP sugar**

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 cup milk***

• 3 TBSP liquid oil (I use avocado oil)

• 1/4 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce****

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Then whisk in the milk (gradually to avoid adding too much liquid), oil and applesauce until combined. You should end up with a thick, pourable batter. Using a preheated waffle iron, add 1/3 cup batter to the center of the iron, and cook until golden brown and crisp to the touch. Remove to a plate and serve immediately with toppings of choice OR cover with a clean, dish towel until you're ready to serve. Every waffle iron is different, so do be sure to follow cooking instructions specific to yours. Continue with this method until you have used all of your batter (usually yields 4 or 5 waffles).

Let's talk variations.

*Flour. I love experimenting with different flours for waffles, as waffles are usually very forgiving. I have found that a good rule of thumb is to start out by only substituting up to 1/3 of your total flour volume. So for example, if you wanted to incorporate something like buckwheat into this recipe, you'd use 1/3 cup buckwheat and 2/3 cup all purpose flour. Each flour has a unique set of qualities, and you might find a very significant change in texture/flavor/consistency that would require additional adjustments to the recipe for a larger proportion to be used. So let's continue with our example of buckwheat. This is a very thirsty, gluten-free flour that requires the addition of more liquid to maintain the batter consistency you're looking for. I love adding buckwheat to my waffles because it gives the finished product this really lovely, hearty texture.

**Sugar. I like to use turbinado sugar, but you can easily substitute honey, maple syrup, agave, etc. Just be mindful that liquid sweeteners are often much sweeter than sugar, so use them sparingly. If you're planning to make a savory waffle, cut your sugar use in half (1/2 TBSP for the recipe above).

***Milk. You can use any type of milk here. Whole milk, buttermilk (which is really awesome for savory waffles), almond milk, coconut milk...really, any liquid with that consistency. I made some caramel apple waffles a few days ago that I used 3/4 cup apple juice and 1/4 cup whole milk for with good results.

****Applesauce. This is actually my go to egg replacement in baking. 1/4 cup applesauce per large egg. You can also use things like pumpkin puree, mashed bananas, black bean puree...the list goes on. I used 1/4 cup of cottage cheese in place of the applesauce today for some savory waffles that I used as sandwich bread. Super yummy!

Other variations for waffle batter would be add ins (chocolate chips, chives, dried fruit, etc.). You can really add almost anything. Probably 1/4 - 1/3 cup total for the recipe listed above.

Enjoy, and share your waffle creations with me on IG (@honeybeeyaw)!