When it comes to waffles, crispness and fluffiness reign supreme. A waffle without these characteristics is not worthy of its name. Most waffle recipes are simply a textural affair that aim to hit that ideal crunch while relying on sweet maple syrup, fruit, and whipped cream for punches of flavor. But my best sourdough waffles open up a new world of taste. They absolutely nail the texture requirements and they have a richness of flavor not found in other recipes. That’s because you taste the grains used in the batter, as well as a touch of sourness from added sourdough starter discard–and you can even amp up the flavor more with a longer fermentation time.
Most waffle recipes call for adding buttermilk or yogurt to the batter, and there’s a reason why. That hint of sourness elevates the simple waffle by lending a bit of savoriness and making you want more. This sourdough waffle recipe uses fermentation and its acidic byproducts to the same effect (and a little buttermilk, too).
You can take one of two paths with this waffle recipe: a simple morning-of approach with less fermentation or a longer overnight-fermented dough that brings even more tanginess and depth of flavor.
Which one do I like more? The overnight method. But if I’m honest, more often than not, we sleep in on the weekends without giving that extra thought to breakfast plans, so we mix them up and cook them as soon as waffles come to mind. And either way, my best sourdough waffles recipe has you covered—there’s a reason why they’ve been in my top 3 sourdough starter discard recipes for so many years!
Use Ripe Sourdough Starter or Starter Discard
These sourdough waffles can be made using sourdough starter discard you have saved in a jar in the fridge, in your sourdough starter discard cache, or ripe sourdough starter from a starter you fed the night before.
Tools for the Best Sourdough Waffles
These sourdough waffles can be made in any waffle iron, but I’m partial to the two I have. It’s nice to have two irons (though I admit it’s a bit extravagant) since we can alternate between them depending on the type of waffle we’d like to make—and, more importantly, how much patience we have that day.
My Favorite Waffle Irons
Waffles with the Best Texture and Color
For the best color and texture (see right), nothing I’ve used comes close to the NordicWare cast aluminum Belgium waffle iron. This thing is amazing. It takes some practice to become adept at using it, but once you do, the crispiest and most beautifully colored sourdough waffles are always within reach. The one drawback to it, though, is it’s slower to make a large batch of waffles because you have to do each one individually.
Fast and Convenient Waffles
Some mornings, it’s all about speed and efficiency. When the kids are hungry and there’s no patience to be had, I reach for my Breville Smart 4-Slice Waffle Maker.
The Breville waffle maker makes four deep and large waffles at a time and is as easy to use as turning the knob to “on,” pouring the batter in, and waiting for the machine to beep. It’s hard to argue with the convenience of waffles at the press of a button!
The Best Flour For Sourdough Waffles
Waffles are fun because you can get creative with the flour used for the batter to elicit more flavor, nutrition, and a different texture (even more crispness!). Below are some of my favorite flours and grains for making my best sourdough waffles—and as always, you can always simply use 100% all-purpose or bread flour, too.
| Flour/Grain | Percentage of Total Flour | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Cairnspring type 85 | 50 to 100% | I almost always pick type 85 flour. It adds a wonderful whole-grain flavor but still makes for a light and airy waffle. |
| Whole wheat flour | 20 to 100% | For a super hearty and healthier waffle, add whole wheat. |
| Fine cornmeal | 20% | Add cornmeal for a distinctive corn flavor and golden hue. To get even more creative, use blue cornmeal. |
| White rice flour | 50% | Rice flour lends incredible lightness to waffles. |
| Buckwheat flour | 5 to 10% | Buckwheat adds a dark hue to the waffles and a deep, earthy flavor. |
| Durum flour | 20 to 30% | For golden, ultra-crispy waffles, use finely milled durum flour. |
Tips For Making Great Sourdough Waffles
A Hot Waffle Iron
I think we all know this, but it bears repeating: the hotter the waffle iron (within reason), the better. But more than that, the effectiveness of heat transfer is also important (that’s why the cast aluminum NordicWare waffle iron is so, so good). Aluminum and cast iron are both fantastic choices. If you’re using a cast iron waffle iron, be sure both sides are fully preheated before pouring batter into it (wait until it is just about smoking).
Don’t Overmix the Waffle Batter
Overmixing the batter can make the final waffles tough. Mix the batter until it just comes together with some scattered lumps remaining.
Give the Waffle Batter a Rest
After mixing the batter, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to relax the gluten and help the flour(s) absorb the liquid more fully. This will result in fluffier waffles that are more tender.
If you have kids, this is a serious time saver, and if you don’t, it’s a real treat having a freezer full of waffles.
Can You Freeze Sourdough Waffles?
Yes! Make a double batch of these sourdough waffles, and then freeze any leftovers for fresh waffles throughout the week. After cooking the waffles, let them cool completely on a wire rack. Then, stack them in a plastic freezer bag and freeze them for up to 6 months. To eat, take one or two out and toast them directly in the toaster (if your toaster, like my Breville Smart Toaster, has a “frozen” setting, now’s the time!).
If you have kids, this is a serious time saver, and if you don’t, it’s a real treat having a freezer full of waffles.
Print
My Best Sourdough Waffles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 waffles
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy, crispy, and fluffy golden waffles with a touch of tang from the added sourdough starter.
Ingredients
- 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 14g (2 teaspoons) sugar (optional)
- 5g (1 teaspoon) fine sea salt
- 3g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 460g (2 cups) low-fat buttermilk
- 86g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 100g (1/2 cup, stirred down) ripe sourdough starter
- 108g (about 2 medium) eggs
- Maple syrup, for serving
- Chopped fresh strawberries and/or fresh blueberries, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Same-Day Method
- Preheat your waffle iron or waffle maker. If using a cast iron or aluminum waffle maker, be sure to lightly grease it with oil to ensure the waffles do not stick.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, and sourdough starter, and eggs. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Whisk until only a few small lumps remain. The batter should pour from a spoon but not be runny or soupy. If the batter is too thick, thin it with a little water, one tablespoon at a time.
- Cook the batter in your hot waffle iron until done to your liking. Serve hot with maple syrup and chopped fresh strawberries or blueberries.
Overnight Method
- The night before, in a large bowl, combine the buttermilk and melted butter. Add the sourdough starter and whisk thoroughly. Sprinkle the sugar over the top, add the flour, and whisk to incorporate. If the batter is very thick, add a little more buttermilk to loosen it. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight (if your kitchen is warmer than 72°F/22°C, place the covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight).
- In the morning, preheat your waffle iron or waffle maker. If using a cast iron or aluminum waffle maker, be sure to lightly grease it with oil to ensure the waffles do not stick.
- Take the bowl of batter out of the refrigerator. The batter will have risen in the bowl and show signs of fermentation (bubbles and a sour aroma). Sprinkle the salt and baking soda on top of the batter.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then pour them into the fermented batter. Gently stir until incorporated.
- Cook the batter in your hot waffle iron until done to your liking. Serve hot with maple syrup and chopped fresh strawberries or blueberries.
Notes
- If you don’t have buttermilk, use whole milk instead. Or, my preference, use half whole milk and half yogurt.
- For blueberry waffles, add ⅔ cup of fresh blueberries to the batter.
- To make this recipe vegan, substitute the buttermilk for any full-fat nut or oat milk, a vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) for the butter, and “flax eggs” for the eggs.
- For a savory version of these waffles, omit the sugar and mix in any savory ingredients (scallions, bacon bits, etc.).
My Best Sourdough Waffles FAQs
Can a nut or oat milk be substituted for the dairy milk?
Yes. Use full-fat nut milk, such as almond milk, or oat milk for all or part of the buttermilk.
Does this sourdough waffle recipe work with a stiff sourdough starter?
Yes. Add up to 50 grams more buttermilk to compensate for the reduced water in your starter. As always with waffle and pancake batter, adjust with more or less water as necessary.
Can I use a sourdough starter or starter discard straight from the refrigerator?
Yes, if you keep your sourdough starter or a jar of collected discard in the refrigerator, that can be used as the starter in this recipe.
How can I reduce the sugar in these sourdough waffles?
You can safely omit the sugar entirely—they’ll still be delicious. If you still want them sweet, add mashed banana or applesauce instead of the sugar.
What’s Next?
Not in the mood for crispy waffles this morning? Try my sourdough starter discard pancakes for a fluffier side of breakfast.
Or, check out my full collection of sourdough starter discard recipes and never waste sourdough starter again.
61 Comments
The waffles are amazing!!!!! Crunchy, crispy, cloudy!
Happy you like them!
Hey I love this recipe, but can't seem to get the crispy exterior. I think it may be that I need a new waffle iron. I just have a low-cost rotating belgian waffle iron. Thoughts?
Yes, almost for sure the iron. Ive found there's a wide range and many just arent as good as the top tier ones. It's worth investing IMO!
It would be most helpful if your recipes state an option of using discard…as RIPE implies more time in advance
Thabks
Ripe just means it's when your starter would normally have a feeding.
HELLO there, i have tried with this waffle recipe, my first sourdough discard recipe. And wow! Succes! I have also added, walnuts, pears and cardamom… so tasty and crispy. I was delighted. Thank you so much for sharing that experience with us. Looking forward to try also the banana bread recipe this afternoon and I think I might be read for my first sourdough bread tomorrow!!
Brigitte, love those creative additions to the waffles – walnuts, pears, and cardamom sound like a delicious combination! It's great that you're starting with discard recipes before moving into bread baking. Sounds like you're building confidence and having fun with the process. Good luck with the banana bread and your first sourdough loaf!
I love this recipe and my daughters always ask for it. I don't use any sugar but add a cup of shredded cheese and chopped green onions. It is so addictive. They freeze well too!
Oh my that sounds delicious, Cindy! Really happy you guys like this one 🙂
Hi Maurizio, I want to try this recipe but we don't eat eggs. Can they be replaced by anything? Thanks
You can use a "flax egg" substitute!
Hi Maurizio – my kid has requested pumpkin spice sourdough waffles for their birthday dinner. Any thoughts on how to modify this recipe? It’s my standard waffle these days!
Use my pumpkin pancake batter in your waffle iron!
I had some fun with this recipe and am SO happy with how it turned out, so I had to share! I had some over-ripe bananas I wanted to use, so I subbed out 1 cup of the buttermilk with 275g of mashed banana. I used the overnight instructions, and added the banana at the same time as the buttermilk. Next day it was SO FLUFFY and delightfully sour (I do love to taste the raw batter). I cooked them up on my belgian waffle maker and ate them with strawberry jam as if they were toast 🙂
A reminder to anyone who hasn’t made waffles in awhile: The first batch of waffles/pancakes/blinis is an offering to the waffle gods…don’t be discouraged, and happily snack on the mess while you cook up the subsequent perfect batches!
Amazing. So glad these turned out well for ya! Love your mods, too JRF.
Just wonderful. I admit I had my reservations in the beginning. But they turned out great. Did the overnight version. I used olive oil instead and low fat sour cream. Apart from that, I stuck to the recipe. Thank you.
So glad these turned out well for you, Nikki! I’ve made these for so long, they’re a staple here 🙂
These are bomb.
Can the waffle dough be in there refrigerator for longer than overnight? I want to make mid-day the day before.
Hello. I only have nine hours to ferment the batter. Can I add a bit more starter and/or proof the batter at 100 degrees fahrenheit for an hour or two to shorten the fermentation time? Thanks!
Never mind. 110 grams ripe starter for nine hours at room temperature worked. No need to proof in the oven. Delicious! Thank you!
Why in some recipes do you add the eggs prior to the long fermentation and other times wait to add them until right before? Thank you!!!
Right before cooking I mean!
Hi, thanks so much for the recipe! I wanted to try the overnight version but didn’t read the directions very thoroughly, so I added the salt, baking soda, and egg the night before (my bad!). Will the recipe still work?
Thank you!
I’d love to try this recipe with my discard, but I only have a silicone waffle pan for baking in the oven, not an actual waffle iron. Has anyone tried baking these?
What would be the purpose of cooling butter slightly? It hardened the second I added the whole milk. The recipe didn’t specify the temperature of the milk. I’m not sure either I’m missing something. Haha. I do hope these still turn out. Thanks for the recipe!
How’d they turn out Rose? I just mean to cool the butter so it’s not super hot or boiling!
They turned out AMAZING! It was my first time ever making sourdough waffles and they did not disappoint. I made about 24 small waffles and froze them. They are all gone but 2 and we’re a family of 3 haha. I will be making more tomorrow. Thank you!
This recipe is delicious! I made it for brunch today. My brother said those were the lightest waffles he ever tasted! I added a little cinnamon, a little more raw turbinado sugar, vanilla extract, 75 grams of rice flour along with the organic unbleached APF. I will definitely be making these again!
Glad you like this one, Mikini!
Have had success with this recipe more than a few times, great way to reuse discarded starter. Originally I followed the steps pretty exactly but I now typically improvise, waffle batter is pretty forgiving.
Most recently substituted buckwheat for half of the flower mix, which adds a deeper flavor and color. Requires a bit more hydration to reach the right consistency, but even teenagers asked for seconds!!!
I’ve used buckwheat as well and they are amazing. Another thing you might want to try: sub some of the flour for rice flour. Super crispy! Have fun and enjoy, David 🙂
If I use whole milk instead of buttermilk, should I leave the baking soda, or replace with baking powder (and in what amount)? I know that baking soda and baking powder work differently with the acidity of the buttermilk.
I am worried about the waffles being too tangy since my discard is pretty sour.
Thank you!
Michelle—great Q. I would still stick with baking soda, there should be plenty of acidity there with the starter. If you use less starter, then swap for powder.
You changed the prior recipe I loved that separated the eggs and whipping the whites before folding them in. Same results with this one, just easier, or just an acceptable compromise?
Keen observations, Jake. I find it’s just as good this way (separating the egg whites is much more important with pancakes) and much easier!
If I want to double the amount of discard for a single batch of this recipe, should I reduce the flour and buttermilk by 50g each?
Yes, that’s what I would do! Let me know how they turn out for ya, Deana 🙂
Hi Maurizio, thank you for the recipe. I started to learn how to make starter sourdough two weeks ago using spelt flour. Today, it was the very frist time I used the sourdough by using your waffle recipe. I used only spelt flour to make these waffles. I followed your recipe as it is but cut the amount in half since I only had around 60grs of the sourdough discarded. The waffles turned out very light and very tasty. However, I found it a bit salty for my taste, I will use less salt next time. Note: the salty could be dued to I used the Himalayan salt. Thank you so much for the recipe again. God bless.
You’re very welcome! Yes, definitely adjust that salt if it was a bit much. I love the idea of using 100% spelt for these, by the way. It’s one of (if not the?) my favorite grains to use.
Happy baking, Kim!
Hi Maurizio, I made these as soon as I got your email newsletter this week, and they are superb! Creamy interior and crispy outside is the perfect waffle IMO. I use a Belgian waffle maker so they are a bit thicker than yours, and used 60% extra fancy durum plus 40% all purpose for the added flour, so it needed a bit more water before the overnight rest. I followed your procedure, and I’m not sure the salt and baking soda got uniformly mixed in to the batter as I could taste variation in the salt flavor throughout. Do you think the salt and baking soda could be mixed into the eggs before adding to the batter without affecting the texture?
So glad you liked these! I would not add the baking soda early (to ensure maximum effectiveness when cooking these), but the salt, yes you could. In the morning, spread the soda evenly over the mixture, and mix it in very well. No worries about “degassing” the batter at all, do your best to get the soda evenly mixed through!
These are my go to for weekend breakfast. Love that I can use up my discard. I didn’t have buttermilk but it was still a bit tangy from the discard. Thanks 👍😊
Awesome to hear you liked these, Diana! These are my go-to as well 🙂
So what is the right temperature? I saw many recipes, everybody is telling that iron should be really hot! That’s a bit vague isnt it. My waffle maker has a thermostat upto 250C. People always tell the baking temperature for any bread or cake. Why this “really hot” when it comes to waffles
I think because there’s just so much variability, iron to iron. There’s a balance with the temp, though. You want it hot enough to encourage drastic rise, but not so hot the outside cooks too much before the inside. You’ll have to test with your iron!