Whole-Grain Overnight Waffles

My newest kitchen toy is a Belgian waffle maker, courtesy of JG's mom. It makes me quite happy... and meant I needed to create a new recipe for whole-grain waffles. I had a pancake recipe I liked from Cook's Illustrated, but their solution for fluffy multi-graininess was to grind muesli into a coarse flour, which tasted good but I'm opposed to heroic efforts before 9am... especially when I doubt their necessity.
Using yeast and an overnight batter method means I dump things together the night before and have a richly flavored batter the next morning. Using equal parts oat to whole-wheat flour means there's plenty of insoluble fiber without an excess of chewy gluten from the long sit. Nuts, milk (you could use soy or rice milk), and eggs round it all out on the protein front. Voila! Nutritious and delicious!

Recipe: Whole-Grain Overnight Waffles
You could swap baking soda for the yeast and make them right away, but they won't be quite as good. If you have a sourdough starter, add 1/2 cup unrefreshed to the batter and reduce the instant yeast to 1/2 tsp.

This makes 6 large belgian-style waffles... I usually do a 1/2 recipe for JG and myself.

2 cups warm milk (or soy milk)
2 eggs (separation optional)
2 tablespoons maple, honey, or sorghum
2 tablespoons canola oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup pecan meal (or other nut meal)
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

If separating, collect egg whites into a small airtight container and refrigerate, then whisk together the wet ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Combine dry ingredients, then stir in to wet until no big clumps remain. [The low-gluten oat flour means you don't have to worry about over mixing] Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, pull batter (and whites) from the fridge and prepare waffle iron. It should have a foamy, bubbly appearance. Give it a quick stir to recombine or, if whites are separated, whisk the whites until foamy and fold into batter. Cook according to waffle iron instructions.

Whole-Wheat Pita

Before I move on to pastries, I have to share these whole-wheat pita from dinner last night. They're tasty and easy, and perfect for fresh hummus. The first batch ballooned perfectly, making great pockets...


...but there was one at the back of the oven that formed a bubble before it puffed up completely and somehow maintained the bubble even as the rest of the pita expanded, such that the bubble on top of the balloon was closer to the top of the oven [the hottest part of the oven] and got a little dark...

It was really... special. JG said it was "mam-tastic."

Recipe: Whole-Wheat Pita Bread

makes 8 6-inch rounds

1 1/4 cups warm water (not hot... less than 115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or sourdough starter, but that's another post)
1 tablespoon honey (or agave nectar, sugar... sweet food for the yeast)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting (fine ground, I've discovered prefer Whole Foods store brand)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (kosher or table is fine, just not chunky fleur de sel, it'll tear the gluten)

In a standing mixer, combine water, yeast, and sweetener. Let sit 5 minutes, then add oil and flour. Stir with a spatula until combined in a shaggy ball. Cover with plastic wrap or pot lid. Let rest at least 17 minutes, then add the salt and proceed with kneading. [Kneading can be done by hand.]

Using a dough hook, knead on medium speed (#3) for 7 minutes. After 4 minutes or so, the dough should wrap around hook and only stick to the center of the bowl. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rest 20 minutes.

Turn out onto a well-floured pastry cloth or counter. Divide in half, then each piece in half again until you have 8 equal pieces. Roll into balls, pinching any seams together, then flatten the balls and roll out into 6 inch rounds, dusting lightly with flour if they stick either to the surface or the pin. Transfer onto parchment covered cookie sheets, 4 per sheet, dust again with flour, and cover loosely with plastic wrap to rise. Meanwhile, turn on the oven to 500 degrees. If you have a rectangular baking stone, put it on an upper middle rack. Once the oven comes up to temp, give it another 10 minutes or so for the racks and stone to get thoroughly hot ~45 minutes. By this time your pita should look puffy, but not huge.

Slide the first batch onto the stone or rack, pulling out the cookie sheet but leaving the parchment behind. Bake five minutes (the pita will take 2-3 to balloon), then pull pitas and parchment out with tongs. Stack pitas (if they haven't burst in the oven, they'll deflate reluctantly) and give the oven a few minutes to warm up again before repeating with the second sheet.

Eat warm or cool completely before storing in an airtight container.