Acorns were good enough until bread was invented. ~Decimus Junis Juvenalis, A.D. 125

This is dedicated to the many customers and fans of my pastry goods sold at the cafe. My hope is that you will all dust up your workspaces and nourish your soul by baking something today, and, baking enough of whatever it is you make to share with a neighbor or friend.

Waffles are hands-down or up, my favorite breakfast food. The frozen ones have about as much flavor as a fence, so when I was searching for the perfect waffle I came across a recipe handed down from a guy who has been making them 25 years at a corner cafe in my neighborhood. I call him Mr. Waffle.
One day I sat at his tiny four barstool establishment, while he ran the grill in a fever to get orders out. In between tickets we talked about the business and I watched him make probably fourteen waffles including my crispy, crevasse laden, maple syrup delivery device. It couldn’t wait any longer and I asked him point blank about what makes up these delicious damn things. Without quip or quabble he jotted the recipe down on a napkin for me. I was stunned, and grateful, so I paid up and Immediately drove to the restaurant supply house and purchased a sturdy belgian waffle maker, went home and stirred up a batch the next morning. They simply were not the same.. not even close. So, I assumed after all our restaurant banter he just didn’t want to give away the secret recipe and have me making HIS waffles at my cafe. Sure, I understand.. but, I didn’t want to get fooled again, so I set out to concoct my own prize waffle recipe. After much trial and error I had what I considered the perfect waffle.

About a year or so later I ran into Mr. Waffle during a shopping run and he remembered our conversation about such things. I got up the nerve to blurt out something about the recipe and how I thought it was bogus.. that he duped me a little.. in a wink and smile kind of way. He seemed puzzled and genuinely concerned, so I told him from memory the recipe he gave me and he laughed. “There are no eggs in there! .. you have to have eggs, so, I must of accidentally left em out.. sorry about that, but you probably figured that out right away.” “Yea, oh yes..” I replied. Sure, I did.. No, actually it never crossed my freekin mind in all those blurred moments of waffle science in my kitchen. I blasted home to make HIS newly amended recipe and my recipe side by side. Fired the iron and popped out about three of each.. Which one was better? That is for the golden waffle gods to know.. but for now.. try the recipe below and be thankful I included eggs in it.

~ To get it right, the iron needs to be hot, very hot.. and no peeking during the cooking or waffle catastrophe will prevail. Also, if you don’t have a venerable bathtub of real butter and a two-thousand dollar bottle of liquid love they call grade B maple syrup, then you ain’t got nothing.

Belgian Waffles
Ingredients:

½ lb European butter (find it at Trader Joe’s!)
6 tbs peanut oil
6 tbs honey (use some good local stuff, not that mass marketed clover honey)
1/3 cup sweetened applesauce
3 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs (don’t forget em)
4 cups pastry flour
1 cup AP flour (AP stands for All Purpose)
2 Tbs malted barley flour (another Bob’s Red Mill trip for you to make)
1 Tbs double acting baking powder
4 cups whole milk at room temp (don’t skimp.. use whole milk and not skim or it wont taste the same)

Method:

Melt butter in saucepan, tun off the heat and add in oil, vanilla, and honey, mix well and whisk in eggs then set aside. Sift all dry ingredients together, twice. Yea, trust me twice IS necessary to get the light and airy crispy thing going.., add milk, and add applesauce to the dry mix and stir very gently, (don’t overmix or stir wildly as this will make frisbees instead of waffles) then whisk in the butter/egg mixture and continue stirring just until combined (again, stir delicately, or better yet FOLD it together with a wide spatula). Do not grease waffle iron. Bake on level 4 on waffle iron (or according to the waffle iron manufacturers instructions) until golden brown. Serve on a preheated, hot round plate with room temperature butter (you did take the butter out of the fridge before you started right?) and a drum of maple syrup (heated gently of course).

So you need a waffle iron and some inspiration?

First, go to a restaurant supply and pick up the best waffle iron you can afford. They are much better than the one’s they sell at Tarzshay or some ranky all purpose appliance store. Make sure it is round, flippable, and has an indicator light to tell you when your crispy friend is done. And, look for tallness.. the taller the little cast squares on the iron, means deeper syrup holes and that means.. well you know what that means.. MORE syrup to be held by the waffle! and, that is the goal right?
Happy Waffling.