Light and crispy whole-grain buttermilk waffles are entirely possible thanks to this amazing recipe. Made with 100% whole-grain flour of your choice (spelt, kamut, hard or soft white wheat or even gluten free oat flour made from ground oat groats).
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Hello my friends!
Are you enjoying the season?
I love this time of year. So much.
We got snow the other day.
I’m not much of a snow girl. I’ll blame it on my California roots. But even for me who would so much rather snuggle up inside with my bunny slippers when it snows, I have to say that there is something so magical about the first snow of the season.
The soft blanket of whiteness that covers the earth. The quiet stillness. The white glow at night when the snow reflects the moon and stars.
And then of course there is the magic of children playing outside in the snow. Making snow forts and snow angels and snow men. Riding sleds and throwing snow balls.
But there’s also the shoveling.
And driving white knuckled on icy roads –probably my least favorite thing to do ever. Ugh.
There’s spending thirty minutes layering all the snow clothes on the toddler, only to have her ready to come back inside just two and a half minutes after going out.
There’s the stinky snow boots, and the laundry and the messy floors.
Yeah that’s all happening too.
But today I’m actually here to talk about waffles
That’s right, my friends. I’m so excited to share this whole-grain buttermilk waffle recipe with you. We love these waffles so much and what I love the most is that they are 100% whole-grain.
Yes, believe it.
And believe that I am totally sharing a healthy waffle recipe right in the middle of the holiday gorging season.
Whole-grain waffles that don’t taste like it
The nice thing about these waffles is they don’t taste like they are healthy. Whole-grain foods often have a bad rep for being heavy and dense. But these waffles are still super light and crispy, despite the fact that they are made 100% with whole-grain flour.
Similar to this whole-grain buttermilk pancake recipe you may remember, I make these waffles with all different types of grains. Including freshly ground kamut flour, soft white wheat flour, hard white wheat flour, oat flour (gluten free, made from ground oat groats), and spelt flour, and combinations of all of those. Using different grains gives a slightly different flavor, but we love all of them; it’s hard to pick a favorite.
Grain mill or pre-ground whole-grain flour
And just because I can’t resist. Just another plug for having your own grain mill. If you don’t have one, it would be a great thing to ask Santa for this year. This is the grain mill (aff. link) that I have had for many years and love. It’s pretty basic, but does the job and like I said, it’s lasted me for years so I’ve never had a chance to try any others.
If you don’t have a grain mill and still want to try the recipe, there are some good whole-grain flours you can buy: Bob’s Red Mill kamut flour (aff. link) or Bob’s Red Mill spelt flour (aff. link). And of course there is always wheat flour. If you try wheat I highly recommend going with white wheat flour. It is much less dense than red wheat flour and I prefer to use it in most of my baking. You can usually find the hard white wheat flour in the baking aisle, just make sure it specifies hard white wheat otherwise it’s probably ground from red wheat.
Serving suggestions
This is the waffle maker I have (aff. link) and love (and it even made it to this year’s Holiday Gift Guide for Cook’s). I love that it cooks two at a time. And the flipping action in these Belgian Waffle Makers really helps get some nice air and lightness to the waffle. I’ve made this recipe with regular waffle makers and Belgian flipping waffle makers (that’s my unofficial name for them) and both with turn out great. But in my experience, the flipping waffle makers tend to produce lighter and crispier waffles that are so yummy.
How do you feel about breakfast for dinner? Mmmmh! These waffles are perfect for a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast for dinner.
And with tasty whole-grain waffles, it’s easy to justify a little splurge on the toppings. On regular days, we usually opt for homemade jam (this strawberry freezer jam is usually the first choice if we have it), or just butter with agave or maple syrup. Yum.
When we are feeling a little more festive for holidays or for company we love this coconut buttermilk syrup that is so good. Or probably the ultimate favorite is fresh berries (with or without nutella) and lightly sweetened whipped heavy whipping cream. Mmmh.
What about you? What do you love on a waffle?
Whole-Grain Buttermilk Waffles
Light and crispy whole-grain buttermilk waffles are entirely possible thanks to this amazing recipe. Made with 100% whole-grain flour of your choice (spelt, kamut, hard or soft white wheat or even gluten free oat flour made from ground oat groats).
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10 ounces) whole-grain flour see note
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder see note
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 ¼ cups buttermilk
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
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Combine whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until mixed and then set aside.
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In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Then add buttermilk, canola oil, and vanilla and mix slightly.
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Pour egg/buttermilk mixture over flour mixture. With a large whisk, quickly beat the mixture in 5-10 large strokes all at once or until batter is mixed. Very important: do not overmix and once the batter is mixed, do not mix again!
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Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes. This will allow the baking powder to react and the batter to rise. REMEMBER do not mix it again or you will flatten all that air and end up with tough waffles.
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Gently scoop batter onto preheated waffle iron. The instruction manual that came with your waffle iron should tell you how much to use. For my 8-inch waffle iron I use about ⅔ cup.
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Serve immediately or keep warm in a 175 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. Or see recipe notes for freezing instructions.
Recipe Notes
1. The handy thing about this recipe is that it works for different types of whole-grain flour (including gluten free). I’ve made these waffles with freshly ground kamut flour, soft white wheat flour, hard white wheat flour, oat flour (gluten free that was ground from oat groats), and spelt flour, and combinations of all of those. All the waffles (no matter the type of grain I used) came out light and tender with wonderful flavor and each type of flour had a slightly different flavor. Feel free to experiment with other types of whole-grain flour as you wish, keeping in mind that freshly ground flour is always your best option for nutrition as well as flavor.
2. If you don’t have a grain mill and still want to try the recipe, they do sell some good whole-grain flours you can buy: Bob’s Red Mill kamut flour (aff. link) or Bob’s Red Mill spelt flour (aff. link). And of course there is always wheat flour. If you try wheat I highly recommend going with white wheat flour. It is much less dense than red wheat flour and I prefer to use it in most of my baking. You can usually find the hard white wheat flour in the baking aisle, just make sure it specifies hard white wheat otherwise it’s probably ground from red wheat.
3. I’ve found that the brand of baking powder does matter in waffles. I always use the Rumford brand of baking powder (aff. link) that is aluminum free. It makes the waffles nice and light.
4. I know I’ve said it twice in this recipe, but it deserves a third time, trust me! Make sure that once you mix it the batter, you let it rest (resist that urge to stir it again–I know you want to). Then when it’s time to scoop the batter onto the waffle iron, be careful not to smash all the nice air pockets. That will ensure that your waffles are nice and fluffy.
5. These waffles freeze great. We almost always make a double or triple batch so we have some frozen ones for easy breakfasts during the week. To freeze wait until the waffles are completely cool. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place waffles on the paper in a single layer. Place baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes or until waffles are most of the way frozen through. Then remove waffles from the parchment paper and place in gallon freeze bags and freeze up to a month (or probably longer). We usually reheat them in a microwave or toaster (if you want them a little crisper) until they are warmed through.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
I made these for breakfast this morning. Incredible! Husband said, “Best waffles I’ve ever had!” Kids all ate them right up.
New to milling my own grains and trying to find things the whole family loves can prove a challenge. But this was a definite win! We’ll make these a repeat. Thanks for the recipe!
For reference, I used 1oz kamut, 5oz spelt and 4oz soft wheat. Also Walmart baking powder. I never knew there was aluminum in BP so I have ordered some new stuff. Thanks for the heads up on that!
Thanks Nina! Glad you loved the recipe
Oh my goodness! I made the Whole Grain Buttermilk waffles using fresh ground half soft white wheat and half spelt flour. They were absolutely delicious. I think next time I will add some pecans and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips. But…they are the bomb as is!
Thanks Kris!
We made these with white whole wheat flour the other night and they turned out very nice. I think they were a little crispier than my usual recipe. Also, there was nowhere to comment on the Twix bars but my 9 year old and I made those and they were a huge hit with the whole family! Thanks for posting such solid recipes!
Thanks for your comment Carolyn. I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes. And I’m sorry about the Twix Bar post not having comments. Thanks for mentioning that — I actually am in the process of getting that resolved right now. Something to do with the new update that just released or some kind of technical jibberish. 🙂 Have a great day.