While I have long been a fan of pancakes for breakfast ( a culinary love affair that took root one Shrove Tuesday during a year 3 cooking class), I must admit that as of late, I find myself slightly more partial to waffles.
Let’s break this down.
Waffles basically cook themselves – and if you’re the proud owner of a good quality waffle iron (thank you for the birthday present, B), they come out perfect almost every single time. Crisp and golden on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside. The humble breakfast waffle is also incredibly versatile. Whether it’s fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nuts and seeds, or even a savoury variant – pretty much anything goes.Waffles are also extremely portable and keep very well when frozen and reheated – much better than their circular flat counterparts do. Also, as a dear friend of mine pointed out recently, they come with syrup pockets built right in.
Long story short – I love me some waffles.
Especially when they’re packed with nutrient dense flours, healthy fats and naturally sweetened.
This recipe was actually inspired by a basket of goodies sent to me by one of my favourite health food shops on the island, LiveWell Foods. LiveWell carries an amazing range of organic and vegan products, including hard-to-find specialty flours, superfood powders, sweeteners, nut butters and of course my beloved Yogi Tea.
Needless to say I was pretty excited to receive a package from them and rifled through it instantly like a kid on christmas morning. I took one look at the buckwheat and rice flours and immediately started conjuring up plans for a spectacularly satisfying gluten-free breakfast treat.
- 1 cup organic buckwheat flour*
- ¾ cup rice flour*
- ¼ cup gluten-free rolled oats*
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1¾ cups unsweetened almond milk*
- ¼ cup organic virgin coconut oil, melted*
- ¼ cup organic maple syrup*
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 medium banana, mashed (roughly half a cup)
- Combine the flours, oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix well.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk together until well incorporated. At this point you'll want to heat your waffle iron and lightly grease using coconut oil.
- Combine wet ingredients with dry and mix thoroughly until no major lumps remain.
- Pour the batter on to your waffle iron in ½ cup increments and cook as per the instructions specific to your waffle iron.
(*For Bahrain based readers – all ingredients marked with a star can be found at LiveWell Foods, located in AlJazeera Supermarket, Zinj)
Serve with a simple fruit compote (mine was a reduction of frozen blueberries with a little maple syrup and stevia) or even some fresh fruit and almond butter.
Dense yet moist, mildly sweetened and banana-infused with the lightest whisper of cinnamon and vanilla, it’s hard to believe these waffles are even healthy.
Let’s also take a second to appreciate the incredible fluffiness of this gluten-free creation.
On a more serious note, I’ve made it a couple of times already and this recipe is pretty customisable. Switch out the banana for pumpkin puree for a fall-inspired variant or throw in some chocolate chips and a hint more vanilla for an indulgent spin. You really can’t go wrong.
Happy breakfasting, friends!
Is the 1/2 tsp of baking powder amount accurate? That seems low for basically 2 cups of flour.
Hi Geoff – yes that’s correct.