When I was a kid, my dad would make breakfast with us every Saturday morning. It was usually Bisquick pancakes but every so often we would deviate from the pancakes to enjoy some Bisquick waffles. I always loved the waffles because we had the perfect waffle irons. Crispy hearts or a Mickey Mouse waffle iron…the kind where the syrup would puddle and soak in the Mickey ears and they tasted oh so delicious. At that time, I didn’t so much care about the flavor of my waffles…just the fact that I could drown them in syrup and enjoy them on Saturday morning. Crispy sourdough discard waffles bring me back to those childhood Saturday mornings. Yum.

Our Favorite “Scratch-Made” Sourdough Discard Waffles

Since I’ve had my own family, I care a little bit more about the recipes and I love the challenge of making recipes as “homemade” and “from scratch” as possible. We’ve had our fair share of waffles over the years and this recipe is one that I keep coming back to. It uses up a whole cup of sourdough discard, can be whipped up the night before and kept in the fridge until ready to make and they taste divine. Crispy, crunchy but so soft and flavorful. These crispy sourdough discard waffles are begging to be made ASAP.

Substitute Whole Wheat Flour in Crispy Sourdough Discard Waffles

Another thing I love about them is how easily you can substitute whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour in the recipe. If I’m being completely honest, I kind of love the flavor of the soft red wheat from our local mill in these waffles better than the plain all purpose flour. The subtle nuttiness of the whole wheat flour combines so well with the sourdough starter and pushes these already perfect waffles over the top. Check out my post all about different types of flours and why soft wheat would be a good option here.

Overnight Option

If you want a stronger sourdough flavor and an easy start to your morning, the waffle batter can be made the night before, combining all the ingredients except for the baking soda, powder, salt and vanilla (stir those in right before you make the waffles). You can also thin the batter with a little extra milk or buttermilk if you think it needs it. If you haven’t planned ahead, don’t worry! You can make them the morning of by mixing all the ingredients together without the overnight fermentation in the fridge. Depending on how long the sourdough discard has been sitting in your fridge they may have a strong flavor or they may not if you mix them up right away.

Make the batter the night before (except for a few ingredients), set out your waffle irons and viola: easy breakfast!

I love whipping up some heavy whipping cream, slicing some berries and warming up some syrup to make these waffles a decadent breakfast treat. We also often double the recipe and make the extras to freeze for quick breakfasts throughout the school year. You can toast the waffles to reheat them if you want them crispy or just warm them up a bit in the microwave, if you prefer them less crispy. However you eat them, I think these waffles are the best I’ve ever made…and I’ve made a lot of waffles. I enjoy them best crisp and hot off the waffle press. I hope you love them as much as we do.

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