Gluten-free waffles? You becha’. Toasty, delicious, and good for you too, here’s a must-try recipe for Oatmeal Flax Waffles that will make your weekend.
Waffles are for weekends. Long lazy mornings that involve sleeping in and putzing around in your favourite bathrobe. These are the days waffles are made for! This recipe is for those living gluten-free or looking for something different on their morning menu.
To make Oatmeal Flax Waffles you’ll need oat flour, which you can easily make at home with your food processor. Simply add the required amount of oatmeal (or steel-cut oats) to the food processor, pulse it four or five times, then let it run for about three to four minutes until the oats are pulverized into a coarse flour.
Many toast their oats first. I don’t, because I want all that soft oat germ to soak up the liquid in the recipe and swell. It also gives the end product a smoother mouth-feel in my opinion. But suit yourself.
Flax, Nature’s Nutritional Powerhouse
I don’t recommend the same application for grinding flax. Flax is a small, flat, fatty seed and it’s hard to grind this way. I usually buy it ground, but if you have to grind your flax, try a (clean) coffee grinder. That’s probably your best bet.
If you’re gluten-free then I shouldn’t have to tell you to be sure to buy gluten-free oats. Yes, oats are gluten-free but grains are often milled with, or grown next to other grains, leaving trace elements in the mix. So if you’re avoiding gluten, be sure to check your oats for cross-contamination and buy the certified gluten-free variety.
Easy Does It
The one issue you may have with this recipe is removing the waffles from the waffle iron. Because they lack all those stretchy gluten protein strands, Oatmeal Flax Waffles are soft and malleable rather than crisp and firm. I recommend easing them out with a spatula or similar kitchen utensil until they’re free from the iron and ready to plate.
You’ll love the nutty, warm taste of these waffles, and without all that gluten they’re lighter and don’t weigh you down like their flour-filled cousins. A grain alternative for your breakfast menu. And for those that want to take this one step further, I’ve even added notes for vegan alternatives (‘cuz that’s how I roll).
Toasty and delicious Oatmeal Flax Waffles will make your weekend. Even better this Oatmeal Flax Waffle recipe is gluten-free and, with a quick adaptation, could be vegan.
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup oat flour (see note above)
½ cup ground flax
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk (vegan alternative: soy or almond milk)
Combine dry ingredients, oat flour, baking powder, and salt, in a large bowl and whisk to remove any lumps. In a second bowl, whisk wet ingredients: buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, honey, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together until just mixed, but lumpy. Rest better for about 10 minutes while the oat flour soaks up some of that moisture. Preheat waffle iron.
Batter will rise, stir batter quickly, just once or twice to knock it down to a more liquid state. Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray. Ladle batter onto hot waffle iron, to fill the center cavity, but not overflow, then close the lid. (Gypsy Note: Every waffle iron is different, I know my waffles are done when they stop steaming. My waffle maker has a little green light indicator that tells me when it thinks they’re done. It’s not always right. I look for even golden colour and crisp, firm waffle divots.)
When done, transfer to a cooling rack or baking sheet. Repeat the process until you’ve used up all your batter.
Notes
Gypsy Tip: If you stack waffles on top of each other to hold for later, they get soggy and even more limp and hard to handle. In my days at The Dragonfly Inn, I would transfer waffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and hold them in a 220°F (105°C) oven until I was ready to plate. You can also cool & freeze leftovers. Pop them into a toaster, on medium-low, for fresh, tasty gluten-free waffles any ol’ time!
Cooking in her home kitchen just outside Ottawa, Canada; Cori Horton is a food photographer and recipe blogger. A Cordon Bleu-trained Chef, Cori spent five years as the owner of Nova Scotia's Dragonfly Inn and has been sharing all things delicious - right here - since 2010.
Oatmeal Flax Waffles, Good for You & Gluten Free http://t.co/1e1jhTvEdU