Crispy and fluffy waffles are a great treat and fun to eat. No one wants to swallow a mouthful of soggy waffles, no matter how delicious the toppings are.
If you have successfully made crispy waffles and are on your way to baking another set, you have to make sure that your first batch of waffles remains crispy. You can call your family and start serving waffles as soon as you cook them, but it won’t be fun. Half of the family members would be waiting, while the other half would be licking their plates clean.
Waffles are to be enjoyed by the whole family together. So how to keep waffles crispy?
Luckily there is an easy hack for this. Grab your finished waffles and place them in an oven on low heat or preheat the oven. So you are cooking and baking your waffles. You are cooking them in the waffle maker and baking them in the oven so that they remain crispy.
It is a nifty trick used by bakers and restaurant chefs to serve deliciously made waffles to their customers.
The best way to make crisp non-soggy waffles
The secret to making crispy waffles is in the batter. Once you get all the correct ingredients, you will get the hang of creating crisp, light, and fluffy waffles every time.
The waffle batter itself is an art to master. Should you mix your dry ingredients first and then pour in the wet ingredients? What should be the consistency, thick or runny? What type of oil is the best, or should you opt for butter or perhaps buttermilk is a wise choice? Do you need to keep it in the fridge overnight for the batter to rise? Does the waffle maker have anything to do with adding an outer crisp to the waffles?
Getting the batter right should be your priority. Follow a recipe that you like and if that doesn’t work, try another one. Mix and match different recipes and see if you come up with something new and better. If your waffles still turn out to be soggy after countless tries, perhaps it is time to out with the old and in with the new waffle maker.
3 ways to keep waffles warm and crispy
So you got your batter right and are serving those crispy and fluffy waffles straight out of the waffle maker. Good for you! You now have to keep them maintained in that perfect state.
If you have made your waffles and still have plenty of cooking left to do, you need to keep them warm so that they don’t get wet and soggy.
Here are 3 ways you can keep your waffles warm and crispy.
Use a low heat oven
When your waffles are finished baking, you can place them in an oven to keep them warm. The temperature should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not pile waffles on top of each other or any surface such as a tray or baking paper. Your waffles will become soggy because of the condensation.
Place them directly on the oven rack so that the moisture will escape. Keeping your waffles for more than twenty minutes might dry them out.
It is best to use an oven for a few minutes only. Your waffles will stay hot and fresh, and that extra baking time in the oven will make your waffles more crispy and give them a beautiful brown color.
Preheat the oven
While preparing your batter, preheat your oven, switch it off when it has reached the required temperature, and place your baked waffles inside the oven on the wire rack. This way, the waffles will remain warm and crispy.
Use warming trays
Warming trays are another excellent way to keep your waffles hot. Just set the temperature to medium and cover it. An electric warming tray is not a common kitchen appliance. However, it is ideal for keeping waffles fresh and crispy if you’re cooking for a big gathering.
Cook In Advance and Freeze
If you need to cook a large batch to serve at a family gathering and don’t have a big enough oven to hold all of your waffles, then it is probably an acceptable idea to prepare your waffles a day before and freeze them. Another thing you can do is cook your waffles in advance, store them in a container and place them in the freezer. In the morning, you need to heat them again. There are different ways to recook frozen waffles, making them crispy and fluffy.
Warning, frozen waffles may not taste great compared to a fresh batch of hot waffles, but if done right, you might be able to recreate those crispy and fluffy waffles after defrosting them.
There are several ways you can cook a frozen waffle.
Use a frying pan
You can cook your frozen waffles in a frying pan. Add a slab of butter into a pan or spread the butter on both sides of the waffle. Place the waffle in the pan and flip it after 45 sections to a minute. Repeat the process till both sides are golden brown.
Use a toaster
Toasters are an easy way to cook frozen waffles. Place a waffle in the toaster, adjust the temperature settings and press the lever. The cooked waffles will pop right out.
Cook your waffles in an air fryer
How long do you cook frozen waffles in an air fryer?
To cook your waffles in an air fryer, pull out the basket and place your waffles one at a time inside it. Set the temperature to 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, after 3 minutes, open the basket and flip the waffles to cook them evenly. Put the basket back into the air fryer to complete the remainder of the cooking process.
Why are your waffles soggy?
Are your waffles soggy straight from the waffle mixer? It means there is something wrong with the batter. Think of your waffle batter as the building block. If your base is not strong, then your waffles will fall apart, and by fall apart, I mean they will end up being soggy.
Now don’t get upset and think about calling it quits. Focus on making the perfect batter should be your number one priority. Once you get the base right, your waffles will be crispy and fluffy.
When you are making the waffle batter, make sure that you have read and understood the recipe. Is the recipe asking for any special ingredient? Maybe you missed something out. Perhaps you have to keep it overnight in the fridge and let the batter rise? You also have to lighten the batter by separating the egg yolk and the white.
If you are confident that you are following the recipe on point and have made no mistake when preparing the batter, then there is something wrong with your waffle maker. Before pouring in the batter, you have to be certain that your waffle maker is preheated. The plates should be hot, and once you pour the batter in, you should hear that sizzling sound. If your waffle maker is taking a lot of time to heat up, you should think about buying a new waffle maker.
How to Avoid Making Soggy Waffles?
Soggy waffles will ruin your breakfast no matter how many tasty toppings you dress it in. Here are some suggestions you can follow to avoid making soggy waffles.
1.) Preheat your waffle iron before pouring the batter.
2.) If your waffles are crisp and fluffy, do not put them on a plate. Place them on a wire rack so that the steam evaporates.
3.) Do not stack the waffles on top of each other. They should be away from each other.
4.) Remember to lighten your batter and mix it properly. But don’t overdo it.
You can also add or modernize your recipe using something I like to call E.S.C. Egg white, sugar, and cornstarch.
Egg Whites
It is a hassle to separate the egg yolk and the egg white, but if you do follow this process, your waffles will be super soft from the inside. You need two separate mixing bowls. Don’t put them into your dry ingredients directly.
When you put the egg yolk in a clean mixing bowl, pour in some buttermilk, followed by a teaspoon of oil.
Now turn your attention to the egg white bowl. Toss a quarter cup of sugar into the bowl and mix it well. Continue mixing till the texture changes to sort of a creamy consistency. If done well, the mixture will rise. This is what you want, this is what will make the waffles fluffy and soft from the inside.
Sugar
Did you know sugar plays an important role? It not only sweetens the waffle but enhances the texture of the batter. Turns out, that extra spoon for sugar caramelizes the exterior of the waffle and makes it crispy.
Cornstarch
I never knew this, but adding half a cup of cornstarch will make waffles light and crispy. If you look at different recipes, you will see that many have labeled cornstarch as the “secret ingredient”.
Buttermilk
If you are using buttermilk as an ingredient you may need to slow down. This rich-tasting liquid that is healthy and brings flavor to your waffles can also be the reason why you are ending up with a soggy breakfast. Replace it with regular milk or give almond milk a try.
Conclusion
Nobody wants to wake up on the weekend to eat soggy waffles. If your waffles are turning out to be soggy right from the start, you need to fix your waffle batter. Try the E.S.C it may help you make those deliciously crisp and fluffy waffles.
If you’re making waffles in batches, you need to place them in an oven to keep them warm and crispy. Don’t leave them on a plate, stacking waffles on top of each other.
