... but which is the best? Which makes the crispiest waffles?
I must admit... It's a hard decision because all of these recipes are really good and they are all good in their own ways!
Why and what makes waffles crispy? I have identified a list of key crispy waffles ingredients at here and learned that the crispy texture is primarily created by two essential conditions... (1) The Aeration and (2) The Fat!
(1) The Aeration
Have you noticed? Having extra air pockets in waffle batter will make extra crispy waffles. Apart from relying on the basic baking powder chemistry to create the primary aeration, many clever recipes uses additional strategies to create even more aeration and they are:
- using alkaline baking soda to react with the acidic buttermilk or sour cream as shown in the recipes at here, here and here.
- beating egg white to stiff peaks as shown in the recipe at here.
- using yeast to create more air bubbles in the batter as shown in the recipes at here, here and here.
(2) The Fat
Based on all the crispy waffles that I have made, I have noticed that the minimal amount of butter or oil required to make a waffle crispy is at least 10g per 9 x 9 cm square waffles. Ewww? In fact, the fat that has the higher saturated fat will make the waffles crispier! Double ewww??? LOL! If you don't want this amount of fat in your crispy waffles, I will tell you which recipe to use later...
Mainly that I want to do here is to find the recipe that makes the crispiest waffles and so I Googled! LOL!!!
As usual, I found many recipes and the top hits are the same as my easy buttermilk waffles recipe but these recipes beat their egg whites to stiff peaks in order to further enhance the aeration of their waffles batter.
Disappointed? Not yet... As I searched further, I saw another interesting and easy recipe at Food Network that make really GOOD plain classic basic CRISPY waffles!!!
I'm impressed!!!
These basic waffles are very crispy!
Why and what makes THESE basic waffles so crispy?
(1) The Aeration
There is NO baking soda, buttermilk or sour cream, beating egg white and yeast in this recipe. This recipe uses baking powder only and the additional aeration is created by chilling the batter with pockets of fat!
(2) The Fat
Like most crispy waffles recipes, the amount of fat needed in this crispy waffles recipe is about 12-15g per 9 x 9 cm square waffles. And the fat used has to be able to solidify when it is chilled for 30 mins. Hence, I'm using salted butter (Golden Churn) and shortening (Crisco trans fat free) in 1:1 ratio to make my waffles. No butter and shortening for you? No worries, you can substitute any of these fat with coconut oil or ghee if desired.
However, you can't use canola oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil or any vegetable oil! Simply because the fat has to be able to solidify when it is chilled for 30 mins.
Very impressive!!! These waffles are very structurally stable!
They will stay crispy for about 20-30 mins and won't shrink at all.
So stable that you can keep the leftover in a freezer.
Very crispy and delicious with this well-aerated texture!
I'm impressed. Are you?
Like crispy waffles but don't want your waffles to have too much fat?Like crispy waffles but can't be bother to beat egg whites to stiff peaks?Like crispy waffles but don't want to buy buttermilk and sour cream? LOL! ...but don't laugh at this comment! There are REALLY a lot of people who seems to be afraid of using buttermilk and sour cream!!! After I published any recipes with buttermilk and sour cream, I will sure have many readers asking if they can substitute buttermilk and sour cream with other ingredients!!! *sign*Like crispy waffles but don't want to use butter or shortening?So which crispy waffles recipe should you use?
Alright! Here's a concise summary of all the crispy waffles that I have shared.
If you are after crispy waffles with the least amount of fat, please use this Classic Yeast Raised Waffles recipe at here or Easy Crispy Light Pandan Waffles made with Real Pandan Juice at here
If you are after crispy waffles that are hassle-free to make and don't need to beat the egg whites, please use any of my recipes at here, here, here, here, here (2nd recipe), here and here. Plenty to choose because I like hassle-free waffles recipes too!If you are after crispy waffles that contains NO eggs, please use this Easy Pour-Mix-and-Cook Buttermilk Waffles at here or Vegan Banana Bread Waffles (recipe two) at here.If you are after crispy waffles that is dairy free with NO milk or butter, please use this Vegan Banana Bread Waffles (recipe two) at here or Easy Crispy Fluffy Pandan Waffles (with coconut oil, not butter) at here.If you are after crispy waffles that has NO buttermilk and sour cream, please use THIS recipe! Or you can use this Fast and Easy Yeasted Crispy Belgian Style Waffles with NO yeasty taste at here or Vegan Banana Bread Waffles (recipe two) at here.
If you are after the crispiest waffles??? Up to now, I still can't provide a firm answer for this question because all of the crispy waffles recipes that I have shared are ALL good! However, I can't deny one thing... Waffles that are made with vegetable shortening or coconut oil or sour cream and coconut milk are actually the crispiest. Agree?I hope that my waffles summary helps!Here's a video showing how I made these crispiest waffles.
Music: Bensound
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Here's the recipe that is adapted from Food Network.Makes four thick or five thin 9 x 9 cm waffles
The dry ingredients:
150g (1 cup) cake flour with 8% protein content
20g (2 tbsp) demerara or coarse white sugar
7g (1/2 tbsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp salt, omit if you are using salted butter
The wet ingredients:
30g (2 tbsp) salted or unsalted butter - I used salted Golden Churn butter.30g (2 tbsp) vegetable shortening - preferably the trans-fat free Crisco*
180g (3/4 cup) cold milk
1 large egg, cold
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or extract, optional and if you are cooking sweet waffles
vegetable oil spray to grease the waffle iron
*If unavailable, substitute with coconut oil or ghee or butter. Do not use canola oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil or any vegetable oil. The fat has to be able to solidify when it is chilled for 30 mins.
Combine all dry ingredients. Set aside.
Combine butter and shortening in a small heatproof bowl. Use a microwave or double-boiler to heat butter mixture until it is all melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
Add milk, egg and vanilla paste into a large mixing bowl first. Then add melted butter mixture. Use a fork to whisk to combine all wet ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use the same fork to whisk gently until just incorporated. Do not over-mix and it's okay if there is lumps in the batter.
Cover batter with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid and allow it let rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
When ready to cook the waffles, preheat waffle iron to its medium low heat setting - not the lowest!
Spray preheated waffle iron with vegetable oil spray. Caution: If you are cooking waffles on the your stove, please do not spray cooking oil into direct fire! Pour adequate waffle batter (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup depending on the size of your iron), close the waffle iron and flip immediately.
Cook each side for about 5 mins or until both sides are crispy and golden brown. Remove waffles out from the iron and repeat cooking with the remaining batter. Enjoy these crispy waffles when they are freshly made.
Serve immediately or keep warm in a 100°C or 200°F oven until ready to serve. Serve with any syrup fruits or toppings that you like. Waffles will stay crispy for about 20 mins if they are not keep in cool oven temperature and won't shrink when they are completely cooled or even frozen. Hence, it's ok to freeze any leftover for up to 3 months. To reheat the frozen waffles, bake frozen waffles (no need to thaw) in a single layer in a preheated 200°C oven for about 3-5 mins or until crispy.
Enjoy!
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