An audio version of this post:
Hi. Hola!
Wow, it's been a while. Is there an official method of brushing away the cobwebs of an old food blog?
Things have changed so much since I first started food blogging in 2007. The world is different. Smaller in some ways. Tiktok videos are far more shared and far far more popular than food blogs. (Maybe one day I'll sign up for an account!) Gluten-free is undeniably easier, even if when I buy various gluten-free foods now, I'm masked and moving through the store as quickly as I can.
I got my masters in library science. I've been working as a medical librarian for a nursing school for the past two and a half years and I love it. We still have way too many cats (and we're okay with that). I've been learning español via Duolingo and I love learning new words and picking up phrases that I overhear. And I lost my dad to COVID in late December of 2020. And that moment changed my life forever. And I didn't cook (or do much of anything) for a very, very long time. Then sadly, five months later Michael's dad passed away unexpectedly as well. To say we've had a bad few year is seriously beyond an understatement.
Grief is a strange friend. Sometimes awful. Sometimes amusing. Always close by and always quick to surprise. Sometimes it is a reminder that you have been (and still are) deeply, deeply loved. But I'll save those stories for another day.
In the past few months, slowly, I have started cooking again. Maybe more importantly though, I've started to find joy in cooking again. And that has been a gift. A much needed gift.
These quick, easy, and cheap gluten-free waffles have been a mainstay for the past month. I use them for breakfast sandwiches. I use them as "bread" with soups or salads. I even use them as "toast" to eat with breakfast, they are great popped into the toaster. And occasionally I will even actually eat them as waffles with butter and maple syrup. They are cheaper than both frozen gluten-free store bought waffles and gluten-free store bought bread. And they actually taste better. They're crispy on the outside when they're hot, and become a soft sandwich bread when they're reheated.
If you're like me, you've discovered 1-to-1/cup4cup gluten-free flours. Gluten-free flour blends that are meant to act just like regular, plain, refined, wheat flour. I've used several different brands. I don't have a particular favorite. They all seem to work well so I just buy whatever is cheapest either online or now at local grocery stores (which still boggles my mind since this was NOT possible in 2007!!) So use whichever brand you prefer.
Small Batch, Easy Gluten-Free Waffles & Quick Bread
Gluten-free, dairy-free, no added sugar
Makes 4-5 small waffles
Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten-free 1-to-1/cup4cup all purpose baking flour (should contain xanthan gum)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 large egg
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1 tbsp. preferred oil, melted butter, or coconut oil
Directions:
- Preheat waffle maker, per machine instructions.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients.
- Add egg, non-dairy milk, and preferred oil to the well in the center of dry ingredients. Mix with a fork or a stick blender until there are no lumps.
- Let batter rest for 5 minutes, it will thicken slightly as it rests.
- Pour batter (about 2 tablespoons per waffle) into waffle iron and cook according to machine directions. My small waffle iron makes 2 Belgium-style waffles at one time, and takes about 5 minutes per batch.)
- Remove waffles from iron and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Eat however you want them... as toast with butter, as waffles with butter & syrup, or just as a hot slice of crispy gluten-free bread.
Kitchen Notes:
- Non-Stick Spray (don't use it on a non-stick iron!) - My waffle iron is non-stick. After making this recipe countless times, I realized that the waffles WILL NOT get very crispy if you use non-stick cooking spray on the iron. The waffles DON'T STICK even without using cooking spray on my non-stick pan, which makes cleaning a breeze.
- Eggs: I have not tried this using egg substitutes so I have no idea how it would work. Sorry.
- Gluten-Free 1-to-1/cup4cup all purpose baking flours - I have used Bob's Red Mill brand, the Cup4Cup brand, the King Arthur Measure for Measure brand, and a couple that I'm not even sure what brand they were... but ALL of them have worked with this recipe. So I'm pretty sure whatever brand you use will work.
- Sweet Waffles: Many of the recipes I originally tried for gluten-free waffles called for adding vanilla and sugar to the dough. Sometimes cinnamon. All of these options are fine, they make for a good waffle... however, I really like this plain waffle because it's SO versatile not just as a waffle, but as a quick & easy gluten-free bread. If you want to try a sweeter waffle add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Doubling & Tripling the recipe: I've done both, multiple times... it always works. Sometimes on Sundays I'll make a triple batch and end up with about 16 waffles to use as bread all week. I also make them ahead of time to make breakfast sandwiches for traveling.
- Cost: No, I haven't done a real cost analysis... but generally I pay about $12 for a 4 pound bag of this all-purpose flour and I can't imagine how many waffles that bag will make. A lot. A box of GF waffles from the grocery store can be anywhere from $5-$7 dollars depending on the brand. A loaf of GF bread from the grocery store will cost at least $7-$8 for one loaf. I promise you that even with the labor, cleaning (there's not much), additional ingredients, and electricity involved... these are cheaper, much cheaper. And easy. And honestly better than any brand of bread I've bought!
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