15 Tips You Need To Make The Best Homemade Waffles

What's your go-to Sunday morning breakfast food? In our house, it's almost always waffles. These slightly sweet, crunchy squares are the perfect decadent breakfast to customize with playful toppings, pair with savory staples like fried chicken, or enjoy as the cookie component of a homemade ice cream sandwich. While you can always make homemade waffles with pre-made batter or opt for a frozen Eggo (that's what they're made for, after all), there's something very homey and satisfying about mastering the ingredients, technique, and process needed to make a crisp homemade waffle.

If you're going to make homemade waffles, the one unique tool you're going to need is a waffle iron. This tabletop electric kitchen appliance will cost you less than $50, and you can make more than just a waffle in your iron — which makes it an excellent investment for any home cook. So after you have your iron set up and you've read our tips, you'll be well on your way to having waffles as the star of your next brunch.

Homemade waffles tend to come out dry and lack flavor when made with baking soda or baking powder alone. Making yeasted waffles, instead, is worth the effort because this tiny microorganism will create a more complex, tangy flavor in the waffle. These waffles, known as Belgian or Liege waffles, may also include a chemical leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder — but most of the rising is done with the help of yeast. The yeast can also improve the texture of the waffle, resulting in a fluffy interior and crispy exterior.

The major downside to using yeast as a leavening agent for your waffles is that you must prepare adequately beforehand. The yeasted waffle batter must sit overnight to ferment and develop funky flavors, while chemically-leavened waffles can be prepared on the same day. Once your yeasty batter has sat overnight, add a bit of salt and leavening to it before transforming it into a crisp, light breakfast treat with the help of your waffle iron.

Waffles give you a lot of creative license, which is one of the reasons why we love making them so much. In chef and author Kristina Cho's recipe for irresistible pumpkin spice waffles, she substitutes mochiko flour for plain white flour. Although you may have never heard of this type of flour, you likely have heard of (or tried) one of its primary uses: mochi. Mochiko flour, or glutenous rice flour, is made by grinding sticky white rice into a fine powder. In an interview with People Magazine, Cho notes the waffles are "crispy on the outside with a bouncy, custardy interior."

You cannot make substitutions for the mochiko flour because of its unique texture — which produces a waffle with a light crunchiness that complements the inclusion of autumnal pumpkin ingredients in the waffle. Like traditional flour, the dry ingredients for this recipe are mixed before adding the wet ingredients before being poured onto an awaiting waffle iron.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with batter — whether for pancakes or waffles — is over-beating it. Not only does mixing your batter too much cause you to beat out all of those vital air bubbles that create a soft, fluffy waffle, but beating can also cause the gluten in the flour to set, which in turn makes the batter chewy and dense.

Recipes rarely clarify how much to mix the batter, which can lead to you second-guessing how much is too much. Therefore, there are many hacks out there to keep you from over-mixing batter. The first is to use a folding technique to scrape the bottom of your mixture from the bowl and gently place it on top, repeating until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. This method is much more gentle than the standard circular whipping motion that most people use for batters. You should also try to mix your batter by hand rather than using a machine; this makes you more aware of if your batter is starting to get tough. Finally, if you need to use a machine, always use the lowest setting and only mix until the dry flour disappears; a couple of lumps here and there are permissible.

Your pancakes can benefit from the addition of a little extra fat. And we're not talking about the pad of butter that goes on top after you've pulled them from the iron. One way to avoid dense waffles is to lighten the waffle batter with a bit of unsweetened cream. The fat in the cream holds air, similar to adding whipped egg whites, which can help keep your waffles light and fluffy. Like whipped egg whites, you'll want to use a gentle hand to fold them into the batter to avoid deflating.

If you are low on milk, you can make Dutch cream waffles using heavy whipping cream or just stick to substituting some of the milk in the recipe for it. Heavy cream and whipping cream tend to work best for waffles because they have a higher fat content (thus, greater stability) than half-and-half.

Buttermilk has long been a not-so-secret ingredient for great waffles. There are flavor and textural reasons why you should add buttermilk to your waffle recipe. Buttermilk has a slightly acidic chemical profile that can contrast the decadence of an otherwise sweet batter. The acid in the buttermilk is also essential because it interacts with the baking soda in the batter and causes a loftier rise.

If you are making vegan flax waffles, you can always make your own vegan buttermilk by combining dairy-free milk and a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The acid will promote curdling and a similar tangy flavor to dairy-based buttermilk. If you have milk and lemon juice, you can also make your own buttermilk by combining 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, stirring, and allowing the mixture to curdle for five to 10 minutes.

Don't fall for the "non-stick" claim — always grease your waffle iron before use. This will ensure that your waffles won't stick to the iron, resulting in a crunchier texture outside your waffle. Vegetable and canola oil are the two preferred types of greasing oil for your appliance because of their neutral flavor and high smoke point. Although you can use butter for greasing your iron, it is not always recommended for greasing waffle irons because it has a lower smoke point, thus, will produce burnt or bitter flavors when it reaches a high enough temperature.

One popular go-to method for applying oil to a waffle maker is to spray it with cooking spray. This method, albeit easy, does not get into all of the nooks and crannies of your iron where the batter is most likely to get stuck. Instead, use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the iron before your first waffle and in between batches.

Nobody likes soggy waffles — and, luckily, our favorite business and entertainment mogul has a way to prevent them. Martha Stewart's clever way to avoid soggy waffles is to toss the waffle between your hands to remove the steam — similar to a game of hot potato. In one of her TikTok videos, Stewart pulls the waffle from the iron and transfers it daintily from hand to hand before plating it. She notes that this method helps keep the edges of the waffle crunchy.

Although this tip might seem a little silly (and a little precarious for your hands), it does help ensure that your waffles can be reheated with the same crispness as when you first pulled them from the iron. The best way to reheat waffles and keep them crispy is to use your toaster. Thin waffles will most likely fit seamlessly in the slots, while a toaster oven can help accommodate larger waffles.