Whole Wheat Belgian Waffles

Are your children as obsessed with maple syrup as mine?  Oh my.  I swear they don’t even consider it a weekend breakfast if syrup isn’t involved.  And they always shoot for the moon with their requests — first they go for waffles, second choice is pancakes, and if they know Mommy looks especially “tired” after a late Friday night, they will relent and accept French Toast.  (Seriously, I shouldn’t stay up so late.  Nor should I drink that much red wine.)

I have to say, however, that I do love Belgian Waffles.  This version is made entirely with whole wheat pastry flour, which does a beautiful job here.  It keeps them very light, and not at all “whole wheaty.”  And I should add that these are not Belgian Waffles in the strict sense because they are leavened with baking soda and whipped egg whites (rather than yeast).  They are still very light and crispy and a quicker alternative to a yeast-raised waffle.  Even so, you probably won’t want to tackle these on a weekday morning (unless you are way more together than I am), but they are perfectly simple for the weekend.

Unless, of course, you decided that a shot of tequila sounded like a good idea after those glasses of red wine.  Then you better pray to the hangover Gods that you have a box of Eggos in the freezer.

Whole Wheat Belgian Waffles

(Inspired by Mark Bittman’s Rich Buttermilk Waffles in How to Cook Everything)

Makes 4 or 5 large Belgian style Waffles

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (very important to use the pastry flour)
1/2 t. sea salt
3 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
4 T. melted butter
2 t. vanilla extract

1.  Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl.

2.  Whisk together the yogurt, milk, two egg yolks, melted butter, and vanilla in a separate small bowl. Stir into the dry ingredients.

3.  Brush a waffle iron with a bit of canola oil and preheat.

4.  Beat the egg whites until they hold moderately soft peaks. I like to do this by hand, as I think it justifies the fact that I will be eating a waffle quite soon. Fold the beaten egg whites gently into the waffle batter in the large bowl.

5.  Put several spoonfuls of the waffle batter into your waffle iron (based on the size of your iron) and cook until brown and crispy, according to your waffle iron’s instructions. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes.  Serve with plenty of softened butter and real maple syrup (please don’t tell me you are using fake maple syrup…).