Sourdough Waffles (Quick or Overnight)

Use your sourdough discard in these Sourdough Waffles. Hearty, tender and so satisfying, they can be made quick for an easy breakfast or overnight. You’ll love these waffles with toppings like fresh fruit, maple syrup, homemade fruit syrup, homemade cultured butter or whipped cream.

Making waffles with sourdough discard

Waffles made with sourdough starter make every morning feel special. Since you don’t need to babysit them in a skillet, they are much easier to make than other breakfast faves like sourdough pancakes or sourdough crumpets. Sourdough discard brings a satisfyingly chewy, spongier texture than a conventional waffle which can often feel too airy and hollow. 

Cooking with Sourdough Discard

Want to know more about Sourdough Discard? Read my guide.

Make My Favorite Sourdough Discard Breakfast Recipes

• Sourdough Pancakes 
• Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
• Sourdough Discard Biscuits
• Sourdough Scones
• Sourdough Banana Bread

Make Ahead Instructions

You can either make this waffle batter on the morning off or the day before. In testing, I found that making the batter in advance results in a lighter, crispier waffle. The longer rest period allows the gluten you built during mixing to relax and the starch molecules to swell, resulting in a light and fluffy interior. 

If you don’t have the foresight to let your batter rest overnight, don’t worry your waffles will taste delicious in their own way, but will be a little denser, cakier and not as crispy. 

What You Need

Ingredients

• Whole milk - imparts moisture and binds the ingredients together, I love using whole milk because it also imparts fat to the batter which results in a much more flavorful and tender waffle (sub skim milk or a plant based milk if that’s what you have on hand) 
• Unsalted butter - adds richness for flavor and weakens the gluten which results in a soft, tender waffle
• All-purpose flour - the low protein content in all-purpose flour imparts tenderness to these waffles, do not substitute for bread flour or your waffles will be tough 
• Whole wheat flour - adds a nutty flavor and hearty texture, you can omit and substitute all-purpose, rye, spelt or einkorn flour if you don’t have any whole wheat on hand
• Sourdough discard - imparts a delicious tanginess and unique spongy texture to these waffles
• Baking soda - helps with browning, the main leavener, tenderizes and aerates the batter
• Salt - brings out the flavor of the other ingredients 
• Apple cider vinegar - tames the bitterness of the baking soda (sub lemon juice or white vinegar) 
• Eggs - adds richness, lift, flavor and binds the ingredients in the waffles (sub pumpkin, bananas or applesauce to make these waffles vegan)
• Brown sugar - imparts sweetness
• Vanilla extract - adds flavor 

Equipment

• Belgian Waffle Maker - You’ll need a 7-inch waffle maker for this recipe, preferably one with deep ridges. I have an old Oster model that we purchased almost 6 years ago. It was relatively cheap, nonstick and still works great (in fact I’d love to upgrade but it won’t break!), however I think it’s been discontinued. The one I’ve linked here is not the one I have but is highly recommended by both America’s Test Kitchen and Bon Appetit. 
•  Mixing bowl
• Kitchen scale or measuring cups
• Spatula

My favorite toppings

• Homemade cultured butter
• Fresh fruit (peaches, berries, strawberries)
• Stewed fruits (apples, peaches, pears) 
• Homemade whipped cream
• Homemade fruit syrups
• Maple syrup 

How to Make Waffles with Sourdough Starter

Small Batch Recipe

I usually make small batches of everything I create since there are only 2 of us in our household. This recipe makes about 3 waffles, if you want to make more simply double the recipe. 

Print