yeasted buckwheat waffles

Breakfast for me is usually pretty simple, a bowl of cereal, sometimes a hard boiled egg with a piece of toast. Very rarely do I plan out the meal starting the night before. But I knew in advance I'd have the day off, so I planned out a lazy morning of a comforting breakfast, the paper, and a cup of espresso. Buckwheat pancakes and crepes are one of my all-time favorite breakfast choices. Buckwheat's nuttiness can fool you into thinking it's an earthy whole grain, but in fact, it's actually the seed of a fruit. (It only cooks like a cereal.) And so, it's completely gluten free. And thus, most buckwheat batter recipes generally call for equal parts flour and buckwheat flour, to give it more gluten proteins for a finished product that's more chewy and elastic.

Yeast is an amazing organism. Within minutes, it starts its life cycle, able to thrive on sugars alone. The overnight fermentation, or rise, gives these waffles a distinctive heady aroma, a wonderfully nuanced yeasty flavor, reminiscent of a good microbrew. The rise produces an incredibly light texture with a delicate crumb and a crispy exterior. Definitely not your everyday frozen Eggo waffle. Speaking of, these waffles reheat well. Throw them in the toaster or toaster oven to recrisp them.


Yeasted Buckwheat Waffles
Gourmet, October 1997
makes 8 waffles

1 tsp active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp baking soda

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast into 1/8 cup warm water and stir in the sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Put the warm milk and salt in a large bowl, then add the yeast mixture and whisk in the flours. Cover and refrigerate overnight if the weather is warm or leave out on the counter if it's cool.

3. Next morning, add the sugar, oil, eggs, and soda. Cook according to your waffle iron's instructions.