Light and Fluffy Wheat-Free Waffles

 



I came up with this recipe when a friend's son, who is gluten intolerant, spent the night a few years ago.  Light and yummy, these waffles are fantastic and they do not contain wheat or gluten.  I have ground my own flour for over 15 years, and I was amazed the first time I did so, that freshly ground buckwheat has no odor or strong taste.  If you buy buckwheat flour and it has an odor or strong taste, then it is rancid. 

This recipe makes a lot of waffles and can easily be cut in half.  This recipe feeds my family of 4 with a few extras leftover.  I like to put the extras in the freezer.  Popping a couple in the toaster makes a great quick breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups buckwheat groats, finely ground (or ~ 2 1/2 cups buckwheat flour) 
1 cup short grain brown rice, finely ground (or ~ 1 1/3 cups rice flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 large free-range eggs, fork beaten
~ 4 cups fresh kefir or buttermilk
1 Tbl maple syrup
2 - 3 Tbl melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, stir together the wet ingredients.  Form a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet mixture into hole.  Stir gently, slowly incorporating dry mixture into liquid.  Do not over stir.  Add more kefir (or buttermilk) if needed.  Batter should be just slightly thicker than pancake batter.

Heat and then grease waffle iron with butter.  Pour batter onto iron and cook per waffle iron directions.  For my waffle iron on medium setting, the cook time is 5 minutes and 45 seconds.

Serve with pure 100% maple syrup.  Pure maple syrup is very sweet and very expensive, and most people use way too much syrup on pancakes and waffles.  My friend, Lynn, showed me a great trick.  Put your maple syrup in a honey bear and then you can squeeze out just a bit.  Be sure to store your maple syrup in the refrigerator after opening.