Morning of Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Something I make every single week, sometimes twice a week, is sourdough waffles. I’ve learned to make them either the night before or morning of and they’ve become a staple in our home. I stopped buying cereal and convenience breakfast items, so this is it.
I get a lot of questions when I tell people we don’t buy cereal. People wonder what my kids eat! Waffles, fresh bread and eggs, or granola and yogurt. These have been our staples for at least the last year.
After making a big batch in our waffle iron my family enjoys them with melted butter and warm maple syrup. With the perfect crisp mornings and a lot of pumpkin puree in my pantry, I knew I needed to make this sourdough pumpkin waffle recipe. So much easier in my opinion than attempting a pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe!
Have you made sourdough breakfast recipes before? We love sourdough discard recipes to make things like pancakes and waffles. I love my waffle iron and how easy the clean up is here so I opt for making these easy sourdough pumpkin waffles over pancakes on a regular basis. For our family it means breakfast is done more quickly as well and I’m not standing in front of the stove all morning!
Discard or Active Starter?
Since we’re using discard here I just make sure I feed the starter the evening before. If you used active starter it wouldn’t hurt it at all, I just like recipes where I know they’ll turn out well even if my starter isn’t as bubbly as I may want it for other sourdough recipes, like sourdough bread.
If your starter wasn’t fed the night before and is looking really flat and has a layer or liquid on top, I’d probably pour that off, feed it, then give it about an hour before starting the recipe. Yes, I know you may classify this as active sourdough starter now, but I think the liquid layer means you haven’t fed it in a little bit of time. There is baking soda in this recipe but I like knowing my sourdough has some leavening agents in it that’ll help with the fluffiness of these waffles.
I also probably wouldn’t take my sourdough out of the fridge that morning, then make these. If I know I’m going to want to make a sourdough recipe I take it out the day before and feed it. Sourdough can seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it it’s really not. And, with recipes like this one you’ll be glad to make more than just bread!
I really love sourdough starter discard recipes because I’m not a big fan of food waste. With four growing boys I’ll take the opportunity to use up food however I can and sourdough starter is no different!
Let’s talk about this Recipe
To make these pumpkin spice waffles I looked to our favorite sourdough waffle recipe. I wanted to really taste the fall flavors so pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice were a must. I love putting some pumpkin pie spice into my coffee on fall mornings and also love how this spice gives me everything I need.
I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in these pumpkin sourdough waffles but if you didn’t have that on hand you could improvise. The mix includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. That order tells you things in order of spice as well. It’s most common that people don’t stock their pantry with allspice and cloves, although this time of year I’d definitely recommend you do! If you’re in a pinch definitely use cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Those warm spices along with the healthy dose of vanilla extract and you’ll still get really delicious waffles.
After you’ve mixed everything in a large bowl you’re ready to cook them! While I’m mixing everything I make sure my waffle iron is plugged in and heating up. Once the ready light beeps I open the waffle iron and use about 1/2 cup of batter in each square. I’m able to get about 20 waffles from this recipe and like to store whatever isn’t eaten in an airtight container once they’ve reached room temperature to be enjoyed throughout the week. If you make this batch and want to freeze some, that’s always an option too!
Once they’re done I lay them in a single layer on a cooling rack. I don’t want them getting too moist by being on top of one another. To reheat my kids either place in the toaster oven for crispy waffles the next day or microwave them with warm syrup. My favorite toppings are simply real maple syrup and butter, but I see a lot of cocoa hazelnut spread and peanut butter also being added to waffles in our house.
Let’s pretend we added whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar on these. How delicious would that be while family is in town over the holidays? As you make them you could place them on an oven safe dish in a warm oven until your family is ready to enjoy them all together.
As always, if you make these pumpkin spice sourdough waffles, will you let me know? I’d love to see you cooking over on instagram and see how you enjoy this pumpkin waffles recipe. Enjoy!
Morning of Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Equipment
- 1 waffle iron
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- To start take out your waffle iron and turn it on so that it can be preheating while you make the batter.
- In a large bowl mix all of your ingredients together, ensuring there are no lumps and that the flour is all incorporated.
- When the waffle iron is ready, cook about 1/2 cup of batter per square. If your waffle iron is smaller you may use less batter per waffle.
- Allow the waffle iron to do it's job, remove the waffles and enjoy with your favorite toppings!
