sourdough waffles
Need to get rid of your sourdough starter discard but don’t want to throw it away? Use it to make these easy and delicious sourdough waffles! Tender, fluffy and lightly sweet with a hint of sourdough flavor, these waffles make for a tasty breakfast any day of the week. Bonus: You can make pancakes with the batter, too. HAPPY DAY.
Girl Versus Dough Turns 10 Years Old
This week marks my 10th (!) anniversary of starting this dear ol’ blog. On a muggy August morning in 2009, I hit publish on my first post for basic bread dough (I’m not going to link to it to save your eyes from the photography, but trust it is a sight to behold). I had no idea what I was doing, both on the blog and in the kitchen, but it became my mission to learn how to better at all of the above (what can I say: It’s the Enneagram type 3 in me, for better or worse).
Fast-forward a decade, hundreds of recipes, thousands of photos, places traveled, friends made, a long hiatus, a return, life lived in an RV, two kids, houses purchased and sold (and thus, multiple kitchens used) and here we are. It’s so cliche, but so true: Some days, I feel like I’ve been blogging for 100 years. Other days, it feels like I started last month. Such is the path of a journey lived in the ever-changing world of the Internet.
I have nothing extravagant planned to celebrate a decade of GVD, but I do want to say: THANK YOU. Those two words don’t even adequately express how grateful I really am for this community. You blow me away with your enthusiasm, your encouragement, your humor, your kindness. You’ve helped me through the best of times and the worst of times. You’ve made my recipes and it still shocks me (in a good way)! Like, wow, this is the real deal. YOU are the real deal. So, thank you for being the best group of baking lovers a blogger could ever have. We are family. I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING.
Sourdough Waffles
Anyway, before I get too misty-eyed, let’s talk about these sourdough waffles! I promised y’all back when I posted my How to Make Sourdough Bread series that I would try to offer recipes for using up that sourdough starter discard so it doesn’t go to waste every time you feed your starter (for more info on that whole deal, check out How to Make a Sourdough Starter).
So yes, it’s true that you’ll need to have a living, active starter to make these waffles. It’s what gives them a delicate sourdough-like flavor. The good news is, if you have a starter going, you’re just steps away from having homemade sourdough bread AND sourdough waffles in your life. Hooray! Looks like we’re celebrating, after all.
How to Make Sourdough Waffles (or Pancakes)
The process to make sourdough waffles is very much like that of making regular waffles: You mix together a batter, cook it in a waffle maker (I purchased this one recently and I love how it makes four thick waffles at a time) and eat. The biggest difference here is that you add sourdough starter discard to the batter so you don’t have to throw it in the trash instead.
The end result is a fluffy, light, soft, sweet and slightly sourdough-flavored waffle that tastes even better topped with fresh whipped cream, berries and a generous glug of maple syrup. I speak from experience.
Bonus: You can also make pancakes with this batter! Just cook the batter on a hot griddle instead as you would any other pancake.
Tips for the Best Sourdough Waffles
A few tips to win at waffle-making:
1. You can add anywhere between 6 to 8 ounces of sourdough starter to your batter–it really just depends on how much you have. I usually have about 6-7 ounces of starter left over to discard/use in my batter. Generally speaking, I like to use sourdough discard that’s been out of the fridge and fed a few times so it’s very lively and bubbly and flavorful–however, you can also use starter from directly out of the fridge. In short, this is a very forgiving and flexible recipe!
2. Make a double-batch of these waffles and freeze them for on-the-go breakfasts throughout the week. I like to let my waffles cool completely, then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer until fully frozen. Then, I’ll put them in a resealable freezer bag and store them in the freezer. In the morning, I’ll pop one in the toaster, slather it with peanut or almond butter and be on my merry way.
3. Feel free to add a handful of chocolate chips or chopped berries to the batter for extra flavor. Honestly a chocolate chip sourdough waffle with peanut butter and maple syrup on it sounds like heaven right now.
For more sourdough adventures, be sure to check out my How to Make Sourdough Bread series (with printable guides, step-by-step photos and instructions and more!). Happy Monday, my friends, and enjoy these wondrous waffles.
*NOTE: The flowers on these waffles are for decorative use ONLY. Please do not decorate your waffles with inedible flowers if you plan to decorate them/eat them as such.*
PrintSourdough Waffles
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 7 to 8 waffles 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simple and delicious sourdough waffles — perfect for using up that sourdough starter discard!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk, plus more as needed
- 6 to 8 ounces (weight) sourdough starter
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs and 1/2 cup milk until well combined. Whisk in sourdough starter until completely blended. Add flour mixture and melted butter; stir until combined. The batter should be the thickness of pancake batter; depending on how much starter you added, you may need to add in more flour or milk to reach the desired consistency.
- Cook in heated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
Notes
- Adapted from Serious Eats
- I used about 6.5 ounces of sourdough starter and needed to add about 1/3 cup extra milk to reach pancake batter-like consistency with my batter. So don’t be surprised if you need to add quite a bit more flour or milk!
- If you don’t have a waffle iron or don’t want to make waffles, you can make pancakes with this batter. Just cook them on a greased hot griddle instead of in a waffle iron.
Keywords: sourdough starter, homemade waffles, Belgian sourdough waffles, sourdough pancakes
Congratulations Stephanie! 10 years!! So glad you still blog!
Mary, thank you so very much! I appreciate you!
Congratulations on your anniversary! I cannot believe it’s been 10 years! I love watching you grow in so many ways! You inspire me to do so much more, not only with baking, cooking, and grilling but with life., with parenting, with friendships and so much more. Thank you for who you are!
On a different note, Sourdough ANYTHING is alright in my book! The waffles look great and I’m sure they taste great too. I may have to steal a starter from you!
★★★★★
I can’t believe it, either! Thank you, mama. You are my original inspiration. 😉
Misty-eyed? Yes i am. I love your recipes and expressions on home life and travel.
Thank you!
And congratulations on 10 wonderful years!
Patiently waiting for the next 10!!!
BTW. I love sourdough!!!!!
★★★★★
Denny, Thank you SO much. Here’s to another 10 years (+ more! :))!
Delicious recipe!!!
★★★★★
Elisabeth, Thank you!!
These are delicious, simple and quick waffles! I love that they don’t require buttermilk (in my mind the sourdough discard fills that role) or any proofing time, and they still had a great texture. I actually halved the recipe because I’m only cooking for two and it turned out perfect!
★★★★★
These were delish!
I used only 4oz of discard, added 1/2 cup chopped strawberries and 1 mashed banana. Will definitely make this again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Best sourdough waffle recipe I’ve found, and I won’t be looking for another. The flavor is great, and the texture is perfect. I made Belgian waffles , which rose beautifully and didn’t deflate. Doubled the recipe so I’d have some to freeze. No problem there either. Thanks for helping me end my search for the perfect waffle,
★★★★★
What did you do to make them “Belgian” waffles?
Belgian waffles are a style of waffle. They have deeper ‘pockets’ that a typical waffle.
★★★★★
I guess feedback would be just the yield that these make. I doubled the recipe and only got 8 waffles. Delicious though thank you!!!!
Me too!
Made these today with a doubled recipe and yum! They were perfect.
★★★★★
Made it for breakfast last week now I have to make it again. Definitely making a double batch
★★★★★
Easy to follow and tasty.
★★★★★
I was looking for savory lunch waffle from my sour dough discard. I left out the sugar ,added a tsp of onion powder, 1/2c corn and half roll of cooked spicy breakfast sausage. I served with red beans. I put out green salsa and red salsa and maple syrup along with sour cream and butter. People chose all different combinations. My waffle iron made 11 3 inch squares. I calculated calories approx 185 per square. I was pleased.
★★★★★
Another variation I use if I know I am making pancakes or waffles the next day is too use a pre ferment. I adopted this from King arthurs recipe and daniel leader. Mix 2 cups of lower protein flour and 2 cups of milk with sourdougn starter (~1/4 cup (100g) . Add a little honey. Let sit on counter in a warmish place (70F) overnight. the next day mix a 1 t salt, 1 t baking powder with a small amount of milk to dissolve. Beat two eggs well and melt 1/4 c of butter. mix together with preferment, add a little milk as needed to set consistency you like. cook on pre heated waffle iron or a griddle. Absolutely the lightest waffles and pancakes ever.
This is a great recipe!!
The only flour I had was whole wheat flour, so I used that. They still turned out delicious, and I make them weekly!
Easy recipe and simple cleanup, would definitely recommend.
Usually I’m not a fan of pancakes, but I think this recipe just turned my thinking 180°. Not only was this recipe easy to put together, but the pancakes turned out wonderfully spongy with lots of airy holes. Thanks for adding your notes which gave me some latitude with which to work. Additionally, I just discovered that you don’t have to have butter and maple syrup to eat a pancake with. You can eat the pancake with yesterday’s leftovers! What a revelation.
★★★★★
Great recipe. I made it with buckwheat flour and a tsp of cinnamon. I used 8 ounces of starter and the batter was thick but worked fine in my waffle iron.
★★★★★
My family LOVES this recipe! So easy that it’s ready right away and doesn’t need to be refrigerated overnight. When my starter is ready to make bread, the leftovers are ready to make waffles. So yummy!
★★★★★
I made the waffles for my grandkids. They said they are the best they have ever had. Easy recipe. We loved it!
★★★★★
Hi Stephanie! Is it possible for my sourdough starter to be too sour (in the fridge for a week since the last feeding) that it would affect the taste of the waffles negatively?
Jinyoung, Yes, that is entirely possible! It might be better suited to your tastes if you use a starter that’s been fed a few times since it was in the fridge — give it a try!
i made this morning. Thank you. it was delicious!
★★★★★
I have made several sour dough recipe’s THIS IS THE BEST !!!!!! buttermilk wins the day. TKS
★★★★★
These turned out amazing! I had a bunch of extra starter so I made several batches and froze the waffles for later. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
I have made this recipe twice and the waffles come out great! They have a similar taste to overnight waffles, so if you don’t think about waffles until Sunday morning and you have the sourdough starter, you can still have waffle magic.
Both times I got seven square waffles from the recipe, so double it if you have more people (or a bigger appetite)!
★★★★★
really good. I’d add a pinch of cinnamon next time. they were so fluffy, they escaped from my waffle maker.
★★★★
Perfect as written. I didn’t change a thing.
Big fat fluffy waffles!
★★★★★
perfect!
★★★★★
Delicious! Made these with a brown rice sourdough discard and used gluten-free flour. So crispy on the exterior!
★★★★★
This was the first sourdough waffle recipe I tried and it’s a winner! No need to look anywhere else. Thank you!
★★★★★
Turned out great. Added vanilla. Used a Cuisinart waffle maker and the recipe yields 4.
★★★★★
These waffles are AMAZING! I recently started making sourdough bread and was looking for ways to use the excess starter. They turn out crispy and so flavorful. Thanks for such a great recipe!
I did. My first try at making waffles. I used my slightly immature starter, so not much SD flavor, but the texture and crunch was unlike any packaged mix I’ve used. I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on ours after I buttered them and before the maple syrup as the grand daughter was over. We loved them. Never would of thought to use BP in the mix
★★★★★
Steve, I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this! That crunch is my favorite part. Thank you for the 5-star review!
Hi! We loooove this waffle recipe! Thank you! Wondering if you have ever overnighted the already made dough to give it some extra ferment benefits for the tummy? And do you also happen to know how many mini waffles this makes? Thank you!!!!!
Leslie, I have not! It’s worth a try, though I can’t speak to how it will affect the texture. I also would recommend leaving the batter in the fridge overnight. I also cannot say how many mini waffles this makes because I tested it only for regular-size waffles.
So good!! I made a double batch to freeze. Only change is I added a little vanilla.
★★★★★
Thanks! Used 8 oz of sourdough starter that would have discarded. And found a little frozen eggnog that I thawed and used instead of milk…and added a few blueberries to each waffle. Added extra flour…not quite 1/3 cup. Batter was thickish…but waffles turned out super. My wife devoured! Froze some to see how they might reheat.
★★★★★
Love the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Little bit of advice from a florist, the baby’s breath that you sprinkled on it to make it look so pretty is actually toxic and can be dangerous in small amounts. I wouldn’t recommend decorating with flowers that aren’t edible or sharing pictures with flowers that aren’t edible. Not only for your safety but for anyone else that tries doing the same thing and doesn’t know the danger. Feel free to delete this post once you’ve read it. Best regards 🙂
★★★★★
Marie, Thank you for the advice! I had no idea, obviously, lol. I will put a disclaimer in the post now so readers know not to add them to their own recipes.
My kids and I love this recipe. Turns out moist and slightly tangy. I like to add some frozen berries before cooking. Double up and freeze half for quick toaster breakfast.
★★★★★
This was my first time making waffles with my sourdough discard. I bought a waffle iron Christmas 2019 as my Christmas present to me and never used it. My discard had been in the fridge for quite awhile but I’m not afraid of a sour taste and they weren’t sour. They were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I’m wondering about the best way to reheat them.
Made these today. My husband first didn’t believe they were from a batter. Then he couldn’t believe I made the batter!
They were perfect! Thank you.
★★★★★
Absolutely love this recipe! I add approximately 1 teaspoon of fresh ground cardamon to my recipe, plus for the salt I use Jacobson Sea Salt with Vanilla for an extra flavorful waffle. As Stephanie recommends, I freeze my waffles after cutting them in half and pop them in the toaster with a generous spread of almond butter…makes such a nice breakfast treat when running out the door to work! I’ve made this recipe several times and is my go to for my sourdough discard.
★★★★★
Hi, I have a question about whether you are using discard or fresh started. I saw both words used interchangeably in your description and recipe. I currently have a starter that sits out on the counter and I have a discard jar that I keep in the fridge. So should I be using my active starter to make the waffles or can I use the discard thats chilling in the fridge? Thank you for your help and I can’t wait to make your recipe.
Becky, Hi! You can use either, but I like to use the active starter that I would otherwise throw away when I go to feed it. Less waste!
Made these using Stevia- Trying to minimize sugar intake 🙁 Used almond milk cause we were out of regular. My starter was at a perfect stage. Waffles were great, fluffy and hubster didn’t taste any difference. I will certainly add this to a weekend treat type breakfast.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
I’ve trued several sourdough waffle recipes, this on is by far the best!
★★★★★
Thank you for the wonderful and quick waffle recipe! I loved that I could use it immediately. I made it dairy free using rice milk and avocado oil as the alternatives and they turned out amazing!
★★★★★
Really great waffles, light and fluffy. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Made this strictly according to the recipe. Perfect! My sourdough weighed in at 8 oz. which was 1 cup for me. Have saved this recipe for future use. Thank you.
Barbara, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you!
Made these again this morning and decided I needed to say how much I love this recipe. I will never buy pancake or waffle mix again. These are fantastic. I have a rye starter and a wheat starter that I combined and used. Thank you.
★★★★★
JoeB, Thank you so much for your comment and review! I’m so glad this recipe works well for you!
Quadrupled the recipe and they were so yummy!
I was wondering, is there a way I could have this batter sit out so that the sourdough starter can integrate through all of the batter? I’m not sure of all the correct terminology, but I know that things are better for gluten-sensitive people if the sourdough can integrate throughout all of the batter.
★★★★★
Julia, Thank you, and that’s a great question! I have not tried to let the batter sit out before, so I don’t know how it would affect the recipe. I do worry that it might not work if the baking powder sits with the starter for too long, but it’s certainly worth a try! That said, I bet this recipe would also work with GF flour.
I usually use the King Arthur sourdough waffle recipe, but I forgot to make the batter to leave out overnight last night, so I thought I’d try this recipe since it didn’t require any rising time. Unfortunately, I found it pretty disappointing. When I mixed the dry ingredients with the wet, I got a sticky dough ball. I had to add a lot of extra milk just to get it to batter consistency. When I cooked the batter, the waffles barely rose and turned out really dense — totally the opposite of the King Arthur recipe. The taste was okay and you definitely got the sourdough flavour, but the consistency was really lacking. I’ll stick to the King Arthur recipe from now on.
★★
So good I think these are the perfect waffle I got 4 Belgian size from the recipe. Will be making again!
★★★★★
Loved this recipe! We doubled it and I only had 10g of discard, but they did just fine with a little extra milk! These were so good, way better than other sourdough pancake and waffle recipes I’ve found!
★★★★★
Kadi, Thank you so much for the comment and review! So glad you enjoyed these waffles as much as I do!
These are to die for! ?? I used 7.5 oz of unfed sourdough starter, and it was the perfect consistency. We paired the waffles with buttermilk syrup, and quickly realized this will be a recipe we use forever.
★★★★★
I needed to use my starting and it was late at night. This was super simple and fast. Breakfast is ready! 🙂
★★★★★