Here’s a recipe for Vegan Sourdough Waffles so crisp on the outside, so fluffy on the inside and so delicious all around, you’ll probably never want to make any other kind ever again.
But first, here’s something that’s on my mind, as mom to a former outdoor cat (my sweetheart Billy) and to two ferals (Georgia and Cannoli) who come by to eat on our front stoop every day.
A beautiful stray cat in Bombay
There’s a new book out by a Smithsonian researcher and bird advocate who has, for a few years now, conducted a war on outdoor cats, and you’ve probably already heard about it or at least read reviews. I won’t spend a dime buying a book that calls a cat a “cuddly killer,” but I am angry enough to say something when a book calls on killing all outdoor cats “by any means necessary” because they hunt birds.
In our home, we love all animals. Desi and I often will ignore mice when they share our home, or — if the problem gets acute — we set out humane traps so we can trap the mice and set them free outdoors. Desi has rescued many mice from Billy and, before him, from Pubm, our calico hunter who loved to play with mice and eventually kill them. He also lovingly feeds the many birds that visit our backyard each day because who doesn’t love birds?
We have never allowed our cats outside for their own safety — cats do get run over by cars in urban areas — and because it is true that they will kill birds. That would be fine if they depended on nature for their meals, but the fact is that house cats don’t. Even so, instinct in animals is not easy to suppress: when a cat sees a mouse or a bird, that primal urge to stalk and kill kicks in. They can’t avoid it any more than you and I can avoid reaching for that free donut at the morning meeting.
Billy the king
Billy was clearly an indoor-outdoor cat before we adopted him. He has a yearning for the outdoors and would escape when he got the chance, although he always came back. Now that we’ve gotten smarter about his ways, we are more successful at keeping him indoors. I can see it doesn’t make him happy, but we have lots of windows with trees outside where he can sit and observe birds without sinking his teeth into them. Desi has also been thinking of building him a catio.
But for stray and feral cats, the solution is not so simple. These animals, no different from house cats, are either cats that once had people and ended up on the streets for some reason or the other, or they are cats who were born in the wild and are unsocialized. They live outdoors, and the outdoors comes with birds who, beautiful as they are, are natural prey for cats.
I agree that when a cat has a home, it is best to keep him or her indoors to avoid unnecessary harm to other wildlife. But calling for killing all outdoor cats because they hunt birds is a ridiculous and downright dumb argument. The Humane Society of the United States has a comprehensive statement on outdoor cats and reducing their populations humanely, through trap-neuter-return or TNR (we got Georgia spayed and Cannoli neutered early on, keeping the feral cat population in our neighborhood under control). It’s a great way to bring about a balance without choosing one species of animal over the other.
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Now back to those vegan sourdough waffles, I started another batch of sourdough a few weeks back after my old starter had been thoroughly neglected and then cleared out of the refrigerator to make room for other things. This time I made the starter the really old-fashioned way, with nothing but flour and water, following this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. Everything went very well and I had a bubbling, happy sourdough starter within a week. The first thing I decided to make with it were these vegan Sourdough Waffles — with whole wheat flour. They were so good, I’ve been making them every weekend since — even more often, I think, than my delicious Whole Wheat Vegan Waffles
There’s an alchemy that takes place when you add sourdough to baked goods. They become lighter, airier, and flavorful without becoming tangy, as you would expect (unless you add a ton of the sourdough, which you don’t in these waffles). We also discussed the importance of probiotics and prebiotics in food and their effect on your overall health in a recent post: sourdough has a ton of those probiotic bacteria because it’s fermented, while whole wheat provides the perfect prebiotic fiber for those bacteria to thrive on.
I loosely followed a recipe I found on the King Arthur website. It had eggs, buttermilk and butter, but I used my usual substitutes for a waffle that was spectacular. But don’t take my word for it– try them!
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Try these recipes next:
Sourdough Skillet Pancake
Sourdough English Muffins
Vegan Sourdough Sticky Buns
Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast, 15-minute Breakfast
Whole Wheat Sourdough Ciabatta
Vegan Eggless Sourdough Challah
The Best Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Yeast-Free
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Vegan Sourdough Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 cups nondairy milk like vanilla soymilk or vanilla almond milk mixed with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil I used avocado oil because I didn't want the strong flavor of coconut oil in this
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxmeal + 6 tbsp warm water whisked)
Instructions
- Make the overnight sponge by mixing together the sourdough starter, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar and milk-vinegar mixture in a very large bowl. The dough will expand by morning as all those good bacteria and yeast go to work, so make sure you have enough room in the bowl.
- In the morning, just before making your waffles, mix the baking soda, salt, oil and flax eggs into the overnight sponge.
- Use a 1/2 cup measure to pour the batter on a preheated waffle maker. Bake according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Serve hot with some fruit and maple syrup.
This makes the most delicious waffles! Thank you so much! I’ve been making these for 2 years, and they never fail to please❤️❤️❤️.
I never seem to have pastry flour around, so I’ve used a mix of half whole wheat white and half all purpose, or sometimes bread flour.
Always delicious!
These are so light, crispy, and tasty!
Unfortunately due to the current shopping situation I had to use AP white flour and lemon juice, but I’m sure they’re even more delicious with ww pastry flour and apple cider vinegar.
I’m throwing out all my other waffle recipes. This one is a keeper! Thank you for creating it!
Love the kitty remarks, too.
Hello,
Enjoyed your cat blog entry. I have two rescue neutered and spayed cats. I also volunteer very occasionally for a CAT rescue squad of amazing women…we trapped and had some feral cats neutered then returned them to their habitat. I totally agree with you!! One of my rescues insisted on going out a lot and at 12 he still does but mainly just to sit on the porch and watch the world go by. We have a very secluded area so I feel he is safe. He loves visiting the catnip bush and watching the wildlife. He used to catch an occasional bird and baby bunny, however.
Just made the sourdough sponge, and I realized I am using discard which is only 5 days old and very minorly bubbly…so I hope this works. I am also using discard to make pizza crust. We shall see how it goes. These days it’s experimental baking for us!! Thank you!
I was wondering if there is something I could substitute for the oil in this recipe? Would unsweetened applesauce work?
You can just skip the oil, I often do, and yes, applesauce would be great–add 1/4 cup.
OMG these wafflea are absolutely amazing and VEGAN. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Hi! I went to mix the first round of ingredients and the flour clumped really badly for some reason, what can I do to remediste this? Is this potentially because I keep my flour in the fridge? Never had this happen in my limited experience.
That’s really odd–with 2 cups of nondairy milk and the liquid from the starter there is no reason for that to happen, unless your starter has much lower hydration than mine. Check that and add more liquid if needed.
Is the sponge necessary (I.e. letting it sit over night?). And do you know if it sits for longer, a day and a half or so, will the recipe still work?
*i started this recipe before reading that it required an overnight wait time so I want to put it in the fridge (or counter?) and try again tomorrow morning).
Sitting overnight lets the sourdough bacteria work on the flour, making it healthier and tastier. You won’t get the same flavor and texture if you mix it all in and eat it right away. If you made it in the morning, leave in the refrigerator till bedtime, then leave on the counter overnight.
These are DELICIOUS!! I just started the journey of sourdough, and love having this in my toolbox for discard. Did it exactly as written (but halved the recipe) and it was perfect.
What type of waffle iron are you using? looks perfect 🙂
It’s this one from Cuisinart. https://amzn.to/2SidWaq
I made these for the first time today. The sponge did not rise the way I expected and the waffles were a little heavy but the tasted great and my son, who is a very picky eater, loved them. He said he never wanted any other kind of waffles again! Any idea as to why the sponge didn’t rise? I covered it with foil but not tight. Would that have made a difference?
Hi Cat, your batter may have been too thick. Next time try adding more liquid–nondairy milk–if that’s the case. You can also add some vegan yogurt or applesauce to thin it out. Also did you add baking soda?
Hi Vaishali, I had the opposite experience. I didn’t feel like my sponge rose a whole lot and the batter looked really watery. How thick is the final batter supposed to be? I followed the directions to a T. The resulting waffles were VERY light and airy. Is that how they are supposed to be? If not, I’m wondering if it could be the AP flour I was using.
Delicious! I’ve made this recipe twice now. The first time, I only used 1/2 cup of sourdough starter, but followed the rest of the recipe as described. This time, I followed the recipe exactly as instructed, including the full cup of starter. I have to say, the first attempt actually turned out much better! The waffles browned better on the outside with a nice crisp to them, and we’re fluffy on the inside without being chewy. This time around (Currently have a waffle in the maker as I type), the waffles are much more chewy on the inside. I tried thinning out the recipe with a bit of water as suggested in other comments, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Try using only half a cup of starter and you should get the BEST waffles you’ve ever had. We actually prefer these vegan waffles to others we make using eggs and flaxmilk. SO GOOD
Can this recipe be made without sugar or without any sweeteners at all?
Do you leave the overnight sponge in the fridge or on the counter?
On the counter, preferably it should be in a warm place.
Loved using our discard for the first time. These were a little gooey in the waffle maker. I read the other comments before cooking and added a tiny bit of water to thin it (it already was kind of thin). Switched to making pancakes and made thin crepe like pancakes with caramelized bananas. They were the best pancakes I’ve made even though they were thin! My husband and kids gobbled them up. We will definitely make these again! This was our first taste of “happiness” our sourdough starter! love!! Can’t wait to share some with my mother when we finally get to see her after quarantine.