One of the holiday traditions in our home is eating soaked waffles on Christmas morning after all the presents have been opened. In past years, I have always used the waffle recipe from Nourishing Traditions cookbook. I dutifully soaked the freshly ground, whole wheat, einkorn or spelt flour in buttermilk, yogurt, or kefir the night before and whipped up the batter in the morning.
While the NT recipe is delicious, my husband always felt like the waffles were a bit heavy on his stomach and didn’t find them all that easy to digest even when soaked overnight in some sort of cultured dairy. I even tried soaking for a full 24 hours one year, but this did not seem to improve the digestibility at all as compared with an 8 hour, overnight soak.
This time I tried something different. I followed Rami Nagel’s suggestions on how to prepare wheat for optimized digestibility. Rami is the author of Cure Tooth Decay fame. The method I used was based on a conversation Rami and I had at the Wise Traditions 2010 Conference.
That chat really set me back on my heels as Rami told me that whole grains contribute to cavity issues and that soaking flour in cultured dairy really does not break down the phytic acid, lectins and other anti-nutrients or improve digestibility that well according to his research.
Soaking in water plus an acidic liquid such as lemon juice, vinegar, or liquid whey apparently breaks down these little nasties much much better.
According to Rami:
Calcium when souring reduces how much phytic acid is removed. So if a grain is soured with too much calcium, such as milk or yogurt, not as much phytic acid will be removed.
Homemade Soaked Waffles
Below is the recipe I came up with using Rami’s suggestions for super digestible, nutrient dense, healthy waffles.
The verdict? The kids said the waffles tasted the best ever and my husband said they were very light and easy on his stomach! In fact, he said that waffles prepared this new way were as easy to digest as his typical, non grain based breakfast.
Looks like I will be preparing my waffles using this new and improved method from now on! One other tip from Rami to keep in mind is that when soaking grains, the temperature needs to be kept at 70-85F otherwise phytic acid breakdown will be hindered.
Want to try this even more digestible, traditional waffle recipe on your family? Here’s how I incorporated Rami’s suggestions using the Nourishing Traditions’ basic waffle recipe as a guide.
Traditional Soaked Waffles Recipe
Recipe for the traditional method of making soaked waffles so that get full faster, eat less and stay satisfied all the way to lunch.
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour freshly ground is best
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 Tbl lemon juice fresh squeezed is best
- 2 egg yolks lightly beaten, preferably from pastured eggs
- 2-4 Tbl maple syrup dark or Grade B
- 2 Tbl butter melted, preferably grassfed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 egg whites
- expeller pressed coconut oil to grease waffle iron
Instructions
-
Sift 4 cups of fresh flour to remove most of the bran. This should result in about 2 1/2 cups of sifted flour. Add the discarded bran to your compost pile or feed to your chickens or other birds.
-
Mix 2 1/2 cups of sifted flour with 2 cups filtered water plus lemon juice. Cover with a cloth secured with a rubber band and let sit on the kitchen counter for 8 hours or overnight.
-
After soaking is complete, drain off any excess water that has come to the top. Blend in maple syrup, egg yolks, vanilla, salt, and melted butter.
-
In a separate bowl, add pinch of sea salt to egg whites and whip them until stiff peaks form. Pour whipped egg whites into batter and blend until smooth.
-
Cook in a hot waffle iron oiled with coconut oil.
-
Serve with plenty of raw, grassfed butter and Grade B maple syrup.
Prefer Sprouting to Soaking?
Do you prefer sprouting vs soaking as a traditional method for preparing grains? If so, check out this recipe for sprouted Belgian waffles using the sprouted flour of your choice.
Eat Paleo? Here’s a gluten free waffle recipe that is also grain free!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I was wondering, could we use apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon juice in this recipe?
Thanks!
Yes, cider vinegar is fine as a sub for lemon juice.
Hi Sarah,
I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
I would like to get away from grains/flour a little bit and see what happens. I
have a weakness for bread though. Would you know of any good recipes that would be
good substitutes for bread? Maybe even something that I can make sandwiches
with? Really anything without grains would be great even if I cannot make sandwiches
with it but I would prefer it to be savoury.
I have seen a lot of recipes using flax seed meal and nut flour. I worry that
once baked the nut flour and flax meal might not be very healthy because of the
heated up, delicate oils. Especially flax seed, which I know that you are not
supposed to cook with. It just seems like a waste to me to damage these flax and nut oils
like that but maybe there are not that many substitutes? Do you think that it is OK to use flax seed flour and nut flour when baking? Would you know to what extent the oils get damaged?
Thank you very much for your response.
Alina
Hi Alina, flax, brazil nuts and walnuts should not be heated as the oils are too delicate but almonds, macademias, peanuts and most other nuts can be.
I have a recipe for coconut flour bread on this blog (click on categories and select “recipes”) that you might like as a substitute for bread. Not good for sandwiches though. Most folks I know who are grain free use lettuce as the “bread” for the sandwich wrap.
Found these two websites for cast iron waffle irons
http://www.rvingoutpost.com/specs.php?prodnum=1335&title=Cast%20Iron%20Waffle%20Iron
I always make my waffle/pancake batter using a sour dough starter, letting it sour 12 to 24 hours. According to your research would this remove as much phytic acid and as many anti-nutrients as the lemon soaking?
Thanks,
Amy
Souring is as good as soaking .. a most excellent method for reducing antinutrients! Thanks for adding this idea!
How do you do this with whole grains? I have only seen it made with white flour.
Hey All, just got an email from Rami Nagel who read my blog post and had a clarification. He writes
“Calcium when souring reduces how much phytic acid is removed. So if a grain is soured with too much calcium, such as milk or yogurt, not as much phytic acid will be removed. I am not sure if the calcium content of real buttermilk, would be to high to make an excellent fermentation. Maybe 50% buttermilk / 50% water? The other tip is that when soaking / souring grains, they need to be kept 70-85 degrees F. So most people’s kitchen counters are not that warm overnight especially in the winter. ”
Since I live in FL, my kitchen is pretty much always 70F or above, so those of you in colder climes will need to take this into account when soaking your grains.
My stove light is underneath my microwave. I like to put the bowl of batter in the microwave over night and the light provides just the right amount of warmth.
Why dud you use lemon juice instead of whey? Do you think whey would work as well? Same amounts? Thanks for this! I recently got my first waffle iron and have been excited to try some soaked recipes and this one looks great!
Hi LeaG, I used lemon juice as I thought this would make for a better tasting waffle than water/whey which can produce a rather sour tasting result. I’m also out of whey at the moment and the lemon juice made an excellent stand in. I also wanted to post a non-dairy alternative for folks allergic to dairy.
Hi Sarah,
Do you have a recommendation for a waffle iron that is not coated with teflon?
Hi Sandrine, I don’t know of one that isn’t made of teflon. The best protection and the method I follow is to coat the waffle iron with coconut oil before cooking each waffle. The oil protects the teflon from overheating and giving off any fumes etc. I always use wooden utensils when using my waffle iron (never use metal) so that there are no nicks, chips in the teflon. And, it gets a wipe down with a damp cloth and mild soap after use.
Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate all of the tips, yet I am still not inclined to use teflon so … I’ll search for alternatives and let you know what I find!
Please do let me know what you find out!! 🙂
you could try to find the old cast iron wafle iron maybe try Lehmans web site
Hope this helps
Maria
I have a wonderful cast iron waffle maker and it makes the BEST waffles ever. It was inexpensive and is fun to use, the waffles have a crispy outer crunch and a soft fully cooked interior. I bought mine on Amazon, and the brand I bought is Rome. I think I paid 12 bucks for it. Go get your self one, you wont regret it!
You can sometimes find cast iron ones. Mine has cast iron plates but it is kind of old (heavy as heck!). When I decided I wanted a new one so I could make more at a time, I was shocked they were all non-stick, teflon coated, which stink when being used (the one I did buy, I brought back before even using because it was so stinky).
Mine never stinks, but I take great care to keep it coated with oil at all times to keep it from giving off fumes. I only have teflon on this one appliance .. I never use it for my cooking pots and pans of course. I wish I could find a titanium waffle iron. If anyone knows of one, please post!
Here is a link to some cast iron waffle makers. I don’t have one but looking into getting one. Just scroll down a bit. Hope this helps!
We use a seasoned cast iron waffle iron. They are available on Amazon.
I realize I am replying to a pretty old post, but I wanted to chime in for anyone reading this- I have a cast iron waffle iron that I love! I purchased it on Amazon and it is made by a company named “Rome”. It takes a little learning, but I really like it! And there’s no teflon 🙂 It was also cheaper than most other waffle irons too! I bought mine roughly a year ago and it was less than $30.
Looking forward to trying these waffles!
Thank you for posting on Rami Nagel’s suggestions and research on your blog. I regret that I wasn’t able to attend the Conference and hear him personally because it sounds like he did a great job presenting. I actually read his book and have to respectfully say that the information it offered is much easier to apply as introduced on your website than directly from the book. So thank you for making it available and user-friendly!
So how to do this?
Also should we make our almond flour this way also?
Hi Carol, almonds are prepared differently as they are not starchy like grains. Almonds should be soaked/dried before grinding into flour.
Oh, and soaking almonds required soaking in salt water NOT water plus lemon juice as described in this recipe. See my almond flour pancakes recipe for details.
I don’t really understand. If you remove the bran, then what is the need for soaking? Also, fully fermented yoghurt, buttermilk, kefir, etc are acidic liquids. So what’s the difference with soaking with water and lemon? Did you really find the lemon soaking tastier? Did you add extra maple syrup to disguise the taste? There is another way which we used to do for cereals and nuts. Soak in the medium of your choice the whole grain, dry it and grind into flour without needing to presoak. Would that be good according to Rami? Sorry for the many questions but I’m concerned!
Hi Mara, Rami says that the acidic nature of the cultured dairy just doesn’t break down the antinutrients as well according to his testing. Perhaps there isn’t enough liquid – not sure the reasons yet. Rami fully discusses this issue in his new version of Cure Tooth Decay which has just been released. I haven’t read it yet .. I got the executive summary during our conversation at the Conference. There are antinutrients in the starch portion as well which need to be broken down through soaking and sifting does not remove all the bran, so soaking is still definitely required.
Soaking/drying the actual wheat kernels before grinding into flour is not the same and would not break down the antinutrients sufficiently according to what I understand from Rami. Traditional cultures he studied sifted and soaked the actual flour, not the grain itself before grinding.
Soaking with the lemon juice results in a very tasty less sour waffle than when you soak in cultured dairy. You can leave out the maple syrup for sure if you like. I just do this as my kids like to eat the waffles with no maple syrup for dipping and also we sometimes turn the waffles into crispy waffles by drying out in the oven and having a little sweetness already in there works well.
Thanks!