7 easy secrets to making crispy waffles

Always mix your dry and wet ingredients together separately before bringing them together. Sift together all the dry ingredients or stir with a whisk in a large bowl. This ensures all the ingredients, especially the raising agents, are evenly distributed. Stir all the wet ingredients together, including any eggs. If your recipe has melted butter, make sure it’s cooled before adding to eggs to avoid scrambled eggs. Now you can mix them all together and be sure all the ingredients are evenly combined.

 

An evenly mixed batter means all your waffles will be as crisp and fluffy as the next.

 

It’s OK for waffle batter to be lumpy! Whisk your ingredients together slowly and gradually, and mix only until just incorporated. Some lumps are fine and will cook out. If your recipe calls for whipped egg whites, carefully fold them into the batter in three or four batches. 

 

Don’t overmix. Overmixing your waffle batter can leave you with tough, chewy or hard waffles instead of crisp waffles with tender insides.

Resting waffle batter in the fridge allows the gluten in the batter to relax and absorb the moisture, resulting in tender waffles. Also, a cool batter will keep the insides of the waffle from overcooking while the outside gets nice and crisp.

 

Let the batter rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes. This is the perfect time to preheat your waffle maker and prepare any toppings.

No peeking, please! Lifting the lid and checking on the doneness will lower the temperature, resulting in less crisp waffles. It can also pull the waffles apart, stop them from rising properly and ruin the texture.

A waffle maker with lights or sounds that indicate when your waffles are cooked is ideal. However, if your waffle maker doesn’t have these features then keep an eye on the steam. Once the steam stops coming out of the side, your waffle should be nice and crispy.

If you’re making stacks of waffles to feed a few people, turn on your oven. Not only will it keep the waffles warm while you cook the rest, but the oven will reinforce the crispiness. 

 

Preheat your oven to 100°C. Place waffles directly from the waffle maker onto a clean oven rack in a single layer. This allows air to circulate around the waffles and prevents them from going soggy. For best results, all the waffles (including the last one) need at least 5 minutes of oven time. 

Have all your toppings ready and at room temperature. Room temperature toppings will keep your waffles nice and hot, and hot waffles stay crisp for longer.