For the love of waffles!

What’s in a name? A classic, when it comes to Marion Cunningham’s Yeast-Raised Waffles. I was late to discover these, but after much hounding from my kids and far too many waffle huts I found these babies that strike a nice balance between Eggo convenience and professional waffle master taste.  The only tweaks I added are in process, not ingredients.

There are two schools of thought on prep. The original recipe calls for mixing everything but the baking soda and eggs and leaving the batter at room temp overnight. Other versions include the eggs the night before and store the batter in the fridge. One time I added the eggs and forgot to put the batter in the fridge. The waffles still tasted great and nobody died or even got sick. Still, you’d better not tempt fate with that.

Either way you mix them yields buttery, almost sourdough-like waffles (especially if you opt for the original version and leave the batter out all night). These belong with the cardamom blender popovers  and  the yummy muffins in the Overnight Sensations realm because they require minimal effort  in the morning. That said, there is a learning curve involved and each waffle maker has its own sweet spot. Hopefully the notes below will help minimize your trial and error, and maximize your happy waffle moments.

MAKES 20 WAFFLES

Ingredients

1 (1⁄4-oz.) package active dry yeast
2 cups milk (or, even better, buttermilk)
1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for serving
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
canola oil for coating the waffle maker
Maple syrup, for serving

Method

1. Dissolve yeast in 1⁄2 cup warm water; set aside until foamy, 8 to 10 minutes. Add milk, butter, salt, sugar, flour, and eggs; whisk until combined. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

2. Heat a nonstick waffle iron. Whisk baking soda into batter. It will become very thin. Pour 1⁄4 cup batter onto iron; let set for 30 seconds.* Lower lid; cook until golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with maple syrup and butter.

*This took some experimenting and messy overflows but I have perfected the technique for my waffle maker. Brush the bottom of the waffle iron with some oil, pour in the batter, then lower the lid but prop it open with the down-turned bowl (the business end) of a long-handled serving spoon so the top of the iron hovers over the batter. When the batter is starting to set on the top, open the lid, brush the top of the iron with oil and quickly close it all the way to cook the waffle. This assures a super crispy and non-exploding waffle.