Recipe · Vegetarian · Eggless
Eggless Waffles (Crisp and Fluffy)
Eggless waffle recipe with maida, cornflour and milk soured with vinegar. Crisp outside and fluffy inside, with tips to keep waffles crisp without egg.
These eggless waffles come out crisp and golden on the outside and soft and fluffy inside, with no egg in the batter. The base is maida, a little cornflour, and milk soured with a spoon of vinegar, which reacts with baking soda to make the batter light. You will need a waffle maker; any round or square one works.
Egg normally does two jobs in a waffle: it holds the structure together and helps the crust turn crisp. Without it, three habits make up the difference. Cornflour keeps the crust crisp rather than bready, enough oil or butter lets the outside fry against the hot plates, and keeping the lid shut until the steam stops gives the waffle time to dry out and set. Follow those and your eggless waffles will keep their crunch right to the last bite.
Eggless Waffles (Crisp and Fluffy)
You'll need
Waffle maker · 2 mixing bowls · Whisk · Pastry brush · Wire rack
Ingredients
For the batter
For the waffle maker and serving
Method
- Sour the milk and preheat. Stir the vinegar or lemon juice into the milk and leave it for 5 minutes; it will thicken slightly and look a little curdled. Meanwhile, plug in the waffle maker so it heats fully. If it has a temperature dial, set it to medium-high.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the maida, cornflour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until evenly combined, with no lumps of soda.
- Add the wet ingredients. Whisk the oil (or melted butter) and vanilla into the soured milk. Pour it into the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk just until no dry flour remains. A few small lumps are fine.
- Check the batter and rest it. The batter should be thick but pourable, about like idli batter, falling from the whisk in a slow ribbon. If it is stiffer than that, add milk 1 tbsp at a time. Let it rest for 5 minutes while the waffle maker finishes heating; you will see small bubbles forming.
- Grease the plates. Brush the hot plates with a little oil, even if they are non-stick. Eggless batter sticks more easily than batter with egg, especially for the first waffle.
- Pour the batter. Pour about 3/4 cup (180 ml) of batter into the centre of an 18 cm round waffle maker and spread it to about 2 cm from the edges. For a smaller or square machine, fill each grid about three-quarters full.
- Cook with the lid closed. Close the lid and cook for 5 to 6 minutes without opening it. Eggless waffles need about a minute longer than waffles made with egg. They are ready when steam has almost stopped coming from the sides and the waffle is deep golden brown.
- Cool on a rack and repeat. Lift the waffle out with a wooden or silicone spatula and set it on a wire rack for a minute so the steam escapes; this is when the crust firms up. Let the machine reheat for a minute, brush the plates with oil if the last waffle stuck, and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve. Serve warm with honey, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, sliced fruit or a scoop of ice cream. Add the toppings just before eating so the crust stays crisp.
Tips for getting it right
- Do not skip the cornflour. It has no gluten, so it makes the crust crisp and light instead of soft and bready.
- Use the full amount of fat. Cutting the oil or butter is the most common reason eggless waffles turn out pale and soft, and oil gives a slightly crisper crust than butter.
- Never open the waffle maker early. Eggless batter is fragile until it sets, and lifting the lid before the steam stops will tear the waffle in two.
- Let the plates reheat between waffles so every waffle goes onto fully hot plates. A waffle poured onto cooler plates steams instead of crisping.
- Cool waffles on a wire rack, never on a plate or in a stack, or the trapped steam will soften the crust.
Variations
- With curd: replace the milk and vinegar with 1/2 cup (120 g) curd whisked into 1 cup (240 ml) milk, and thin with a little more milk if the batter is too thick.
- Chocolate eggless waffles: replace 1/4 cup of the maida with 1/4 cup (21 g) cocoa powder, add 2 tbsp (25 g) extra sugar, and loosen the batter with 1 to 2 tbsp more milk, as cocoa soaks up liquid.
- Half atta: replace 1/2 cup of the maida with 1/2 cup (60 g) atta and add 2 tbsp extra milk. The waffles will be a little nuttier and slightly less crisp.
Storing and reheating
Cool leftover waffles completely on a rack, then store them in an airtight box in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Re-crisp them in the hot waffle maker for 1 to 2 minutes, in a toaster, or on a dry tawa over medium-low heat. Avoid the microwave, which makes them chewy.
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