Vegan Sourdough Waffles Recipe

Sourdough discard makes waffles that are crisp outside and tender in the middle, with a mild tang you cannot get from a plain batter. Discard is the unfed starter you would otherwise throw away, and it is not lively enough to raise anything on its own, so this batter also uses bicarb soda and baking powder. Mix the sponge at night, cook in the morning.

The fiddly part of vegan sourdough waffles is remembering the night before. These are not a recipe you can start from scratch at breakfast time. The flour and liquid need hours to soften and ferment, which is where the flavour comes from, so you make a sponge before bed and finish the batter in the morning.

If you keep a starter going, you will have discard building up in the fridge. This is a good way to use a decent amount of it in one go.

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Below you will find what discard actually is, how old it can be before you bin it, the ingredients, the method and the storage.

What is sourdough starter discard?

Sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that ferments naturally, and it needs regular feeding with fresh flour and water to stay healthy. If you fed a starter without removing any first, it would double in size every day and you would be buying flour by the sack.

So before each feed you take a portion out. That portion is the discard. It is not spoiled and it is not waste, it is simply unfed starter, and it works well in batters like this one.

How old can sourdough discard be?

Kept in a sealed jar in the fridge, discard is good for about a week, and many people stretch it to two. It gets more sour as it sits, so week-old discard gives a sharper waffle than discard you pulled that morning.

A layer of grey or brown liquid on top is called hooch. It is alcohol from fermentation and it is harmless. Stir it back in for a stronger tang, or pour it off for a milder one.

Bin it if you see fuzzy mould of any colour, pink or orange streaks, or if it smells of nail polish remover rather than tangy yoghurt.

Does sourdough discard make waffles rise?

Not on its own. This is the point people miss. Discard is unfed, so the yeast in it is hungry and slow, and it has nowhere near the lifting power of a freshly fed, bubbling starter. The overnight sponge gives you flavour and a softer crumb, not lift.

That is why the morning step adds bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. The discard and the apple cider vinegar make the batter acidic, the bicarb reacts with that acid the moment it goes in, and the baking powder gives a second push in the heat of the waffle iron. Skip them and you get flat, heavy waffles.

Is sourdough discard good for you?

Fermentation does a few useful things to flour. It starts breaking down phytic acid, which is the compound that binds minerals like iron and zinc, so those minerals may be a little easier for your body to take up. Long fermentation also changes how the starch behaves, which is the same reason sourdough pancakes taste the way they do.

Be realistic about how far that goes in a waffle, though. The live bacteria and yeast in discard do not survive a hot waffle iron, so these are not a probiotic food. And the low glycaemic index often quoted for sourdough comes from long-fermented bread, something like sourdough shokupan, not from a sweetened batter cooked in a few minutes. Treat sourdough discard as a flavour ingredient that also happens to reduce food waste.

Serving the vegan sourdough waffles

Serve them hot, straight out of the iron, with fresh cherries and peaches or blueberries. A spoonful of vegan yoghurt is good on top. Maple syrup, cinnamon sugar and hazelnuts turn them into a proper breakfast.

For dessert, go with vegan chocolate cream, ice cream or vegan white ganache.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sourdough starter discard (about 240 g)
• 2 cups soy milk (500 ml)
• 2 cups wholemeal flour (about 240 g)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (20 ml)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (40 ml)
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water, left to gel for 10 minutes)
• 2 tbsp sugar (30 g)
• ½ tsp salt
• Vegan butter, for the iron
• Fruit, to serve
• Maple syrup, to serve

Kitchen tools used for the recipe

• Large bowl
• Spatula
• Waffle maker
• Measuring cups and spoons

Vegan sourdough waffles recipe

At night:

• Mix the sourdough discard, wholemeal flour, sugar, soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl to make a sponge. Use a bowl at least twice the size of the mixture, as it will expand overnight. Cover it and leave it on the bench.

Morning:

• Stir the vegetable oil, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and the two flax eggs through the overnight sponge. Mix only until it comes together, then leave it for a few minutes while the iron heats.
• Pour about ½ cup (125 ml) of batter onto the preheated waffle maker, greased with a little vegan butter. Close it and cook.
• Serve with fresh banana and maple syrup.

Variations in the vegan sourdough waffles recipe

• Stir almond meal and a spoonful of poppy seeds through the batter for a nubbly texture.
• For a gluten-free version, use buckwheat flour and a gluten-free starter. A wheat starter will carry gluten into the batter, so the flour swap alone is not enough.
• Add cocoa powder, or fold chopped dark chocolate through the batter.
• For a savoury waffle, leave out the sugar, add a little more salt and fold through grated vegan cheese.

Notes

• Any plant milk works here, and so does a mix of milk and juice if you want a fruitier batter.
• A starter kept on wholemeal flour gives more flavour than one kept on white bread flour, though either will work.
• For a gluten-free waffle you need a gluten-free starter, kept on rice or buckwheat flour.
• Do not leave out the bicarb and try to make up for it with extra salt. Salt does not aerate anything, and in a fermented batter it actually slows things down. If you want to skip the bicarb, use 1 tbsp of baking powder instead and expect a slightly cakier waffle.

Nutritional facts about vegan sourdough waffles

Roughly 146 kcal per waffle, with about 27 g of carbohydrate, 6 g of protein, 2 g of fat, 1 g of saturated fat, 204 mg of sodium, 3 g of fibre, 3 mg of vitamin C and 1 mg of iron. The exact numbers shift with the plant milk you use and how much sugar you leave in.

How do you freeze vegan sourdough waffles?

Cook a double or triple batch and freeze what you do not eat. It is far less effort than making the sponge twice.

Cook the waffles as usual, then lay them in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Freeze the tray until the waffles are firm, then stack them with a square of baking paper between each one and move them to a freezer bag or container. They will not stick together, so you can pull out one at a time.

Reheat them straight from frozen in a toaster or a hot oven until crisp, then serve with fresh fruit.

How long do waffles take in the waffle maker?

About 2 to 3 minutes, until the outside is golden brown and the steam coming out of the iron has slowed right down. Steam still pouring out means there is moisture left in the middle.

Should the waffle batter rest?

The overnight sponge does most of the resting for you. Once you have stirred in the bicarb and baking powder, give the batter only a few minutes before cooking. Leave it much longer than that and you waste the first reaction between the bicarb and the acid, which is where a good part of the lift comes from.

Are waffles vegan?

Traditional waffles are not, because the batter is built on eggs, dairy milk and butter. Plenty of vegan versions exist now, both homemade and in the freezer section, but frozen waffles vary by brand and by country, so check the label for milk solids, whey, egg and honey rather than assuming.

Final thoughts

Vegan sourdough waffles are a good weekend breakfast and an even better way to clear the discard jar. The sourdough brings a depth of flavour you do not get from a straight batter, and the overnight sponge means the morning work is about five minutes.

If you liked the recipe, share your experience in the comment box. We would love to hear from you.

• sourdough waffles
• vegan waffles