One of the best ways to use up excess starter is to make Amish Friendship Bread waffles and add a little love into breakfast or brunch. You can even mix them up the night before to make breakfast prep super easy!
Because of the sugar content in the starter, these waffles crisp up beautifully while staying nice and fluffy inside. Okay, the butter helps, but still. They’re a cross between breakfast and dessert and are easy to make.
Don’t have a waffle maker? Borrow one from a friend — everyone knows at least one person with a waffle maker that’s getting dusty in a kitchen cupboard! (But if you don’t have access to a waffle iron, you can try these Amish Friendship Bread sourdough pancakes.)
Another solution that’s become popular in the Friendship Bread Kitchen has been the single mini waffle makers. They don’t take up much space, cost less than $10, and they’re low maintenance in a way that most kitchen appliances are not. Bite the bullet and get one, so you can keep a batch of waffle batter in the fridge and make them throughout the weekend without much fuss.
Toppings for your waffles
The traditional butter and maple syrup is always a hit, but waffles work well with both sweet and savory options! You could try a dessert version that includes whipped cream and fresh fruit or compote, complete with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar or top your waffles like you would a baked potato with cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, sour cream, and scallions.
More fun topping ideas
- peanut butter spread and honey
- cream cheese with sliced fruit
- greek yogurt with granola and fruit
- sliced bananas with chocolate drizzle
- easy blueberry sauce
- fried egg and avocado
- scrambled eggs and bacon
- Or try this homemade grape jelly for something a little different.
There are so many options for topping your waffles that you’ll never get bored with them!
5 homemade waffle tips
- This is best used with discard, or excess starter that is healthy but flat (meaning not active or bubbly).
- Do not overmix the batter — a few lumps are okay.
- If you like your waffles crispy, reduce flour to ¾ cup and add ¼ cup cornstarch.
- Spray your waffle iron with cooking oil to avoid sticking.
- If you plan to serve the waffles all at one time, heat the oven to 200 °F (or 93 °C) and place the finished waffles directly on the oven rack until ready to serve.
What to do with leftover waffles
I’m a fan of pancake and waffle breakfast sandwiches. Save the leftover waffles and toast them up the next day with scrambled eggs and a few slices of bacon in between.
I’ve also frozen leftover waffles and waited for a lazy Sunday morning where I didn’t want to do anything other than relax, grab a cup of coffee, and load up on a stack of waffles drizzled with maple syrup and fresh fruit.
Amish Friendship Bread Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup oil
- 2 cups Amish Friendship Bread starter
- ½ cup milk plus ¼ cup if needed
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat waffle iron.
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, combine oil, Amish Friendship Bread starter, milk, and egg.
- Add ingredients of smaller bowl to the ingredients of larger bowl and mix on medium speed.
- Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.
Notes
>> Have you tried this? Give the recipe some stars and leave a comment below to let me know how it worked for you!
your recipe converter is wrong. one cup of starter is not 28 grams. it should be 240/250 grams
Really good flavor but not as crispy as we like. Next time I’ll add the cornstarch.
I made these waffles this morning and they were delicious. After reading all the notes I made the following alterations: used 1 cup of starter and used 3/4 cup ap flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch. I also added vanilla and cinnamon. I mixed the batter up the night before (which was also the night before feeding). I cooked the waffles on high plus a minute or so. They were really limp when I took them out but crisped up after setting a few minutes.
So glad the recipe worked out for you, Mary! Thank you for the tips, too. If you took any pictures, we’d love to see them! Feel free to share them on our group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread
I made a half recipe of this today, which yielded three waffles. They had a nice taste and were slightly crispy. One of us had it with strawberries and whipped cream, but the flavor really shone with maple syrup over it. It’s was a good use of some extra starter and I would definitely make them again! Since it was a half recipe, I wondered if I could just use a whole egg; that works beautifully. They were not too sweet..just right.
So glad they worked out for you, Ann! It’s great finding those recipes that work for using up your extra starter, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing!
mmm- tasty but not as crispy as my family likes, so next time I will decrease the flour and add the cornstarch
Glad you enjoyed it, Fran!
Made these today and they were fabulous!!
My family is in love with these waffles. I do a “sponge” the day before, where I take the 2 cups of starter, 1 cup of flour, and ¾ cup of milk in a bowl, mix the ingredients, and let it set until the next day. The results is a beautifully fluffy waffle. It really makes a difference vs just mixing it up the same day.
Hi Lori! Those sound amazing. If you ever snap a picture of your Amish Friendship Bread creations, we’d love to see them. You can upload them here! Happy baking!
Lori, do you place the mixture in the refrigerator or leave out on the counter over night?
These waffles are a favorite in my house. I always make a double batch and freeze the extras for quick breakfast…just pop them in the toaster ?
I replace ¼ cup of flour with the cornstarch and add about ½ teaspoon vanilla.
Hi Sally! That’s such a fun idea. If you snap a photo of your Amish Friendship Bread Waffles next time you make them, we’d love to see it! You can submit your photo here.
Does mixing the batter and leaving it overnight in the refrigerator help the batter to not stick to the waffle iron as much?
Don’t try to even check them for doneness until there is no steam coming from the waffles…or they will stick, tear in half, etc.
I want to try this recipe
I love yeast waffles and these look so tasty. I almost can’t wait to try them(but I have to).
My family loved these!!
That’s great, Margaret! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, these were incredibly sweet! Two of my kids refused to eat them because they were just too sweet. Any idea how to remedy that?
You could reduce the amount of sugar in your starter, Stacey. Up to half should work fine. Good luck!
Saw Bobby Flay making coconut waffles so I’m thinking of using the waffle recipe & replacing the milk with coconut milk & adding 1/3 cup shredded coconut. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.
These were soggy waffles!, I had to make them into pancakes. Bummer!
I made these (a double batch) and refrigerated them to use during the week. I reheated them in the toaster and they are MUCH better than store-bought waffles. I definitely recommend making extra 🙂
Great recipe! I used an oat flour/whole wheat flour mixture and added a couple tsp of ground roasted flax seed and blueberries. I will definitely be making these again. 🙂
I’m making these tonight! I’m adding maple extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Hoping to freeze them and stop buying waffles at the store!
I made these recently, and although they were delish and sweet, they stuck badly to my waffle iron and were quite limp (the ones that did not stick), so finally I made the rest into pancakes instead.
Ditto for me. I tried this after a “big feed” and though they were wonderfully light and fluffy, not only was it a bit sweet for my taste, but by the 3rd or 4th waffle, they were sticking to my “non-stick” waffle iron–which has NEVER given me a problem with other things I’ve tried in it.
I’m thinking maybe this isn’t a recipe for freshly-fed starters.
Hi Wendy! You’re right — this is a recipe for excess, or discard, starter (starter that’s healthy but not super bubbly or active, and not recently fed). This was a submitted recipe that’s had great success, but I’m going to make a note to tweak the recipe in 2020 and reduce the starter to 1 cup. That will cut back on the amount of sugar which will help with the sticking. Thanks for the feedback!
Made these today! Fast, easy, yum!
We made these this morning & they were fantastic! You can taste the sugar, so I didn’t use syrup.They would make a great dessert or my daughter said to somehow make crepes with the batter?? We also did the powdered sugar, fresh strawberries, I reduced the oil & used vanilla. My only complaint was that they were limp. Would definitely make them again!
i’m loving these recipes so glad i found this site! 🙂
Had these for lunch today!
Wonderful, my family loved them.
I used 1/4 c. oil and 1 tsp vanilla.
Definitly will make these again and again.
I made these and added a t. and a half of vanilla flavoring and than blueberries. It tasted very yummy!!
I do the same thing except I will add crumbled bacon and pecans in the batter. At times I will even make the batter a bit looser and make pancakes with it. Scrumptious!
Sounds wonderful, Penny!