Today is International Waffle Day!

By Margaret (Yellowdogs1)

Waffle day originated in Sweden. March 25th originally was celebrated as a religious holiday, Annunciation Day on our calendar or Vårfrudagen – Lady Day in Sweden. It’s exactly 9 months before Christmas.

The Swedish word Vårfru and the Swedish word våffla (waffle) sound almost the same, and over time Vårfrudagen slowly changed into Våffeldagen. Yes, poor phonetics begat a day of eating one of my favorite foods. Today, Swedes enjoy heart shaped waffles for any or all meals to celebrate Waffle day and the beginning of Spring.

Waffles can actually be traced back to the ancient Greeks. In the 13th century, they would cook flat cakes called Obelios, between 2 hot irons over hot coals.  The word “waffle” came into play during the Middle Ages. The word is related to the communion “wafer” which was one of the only things that Catholics could eat during fasting periods. The “wafers” that the monasteries made were just flour and water, so you can imagine how bland they were. Bakeries decided to get in on that action and began making wafers that were far tastier. The batter was cooked on hinged plates that were pressed together with wooden handles. The bakers would hold them over a hearth fire to bake and flipped them manually. Bakeries soon began engraving their irons with religious symbols, coats of arms, landscapes and what we now use, the honeycomb pattern made up of interlocking crosses. The different patterns were used to brand the waffles from different bakeries.

Waffles from different areas of the world have unique characteristics and flavors. Both the US and Swedish Waffles use baking powder as leavener while Belgian waffles use yeast to create the light fluffy texture. .

I actually own 4 waffle irons. 1 Swedish waffle iron, 2 Belgian waffle makers and one regular one, I told you I loved waffles. Here are 4 of my favorite recipes.  Make a big batch and stick the extras in the freezer. Just pull one out and pop it into the toaster for your own homemade frozen waffles.

Swedish Crispy Waffles- frasvåffla

This recipe is from my husbands Swedish great grandmother, Sunny- for Sunderland. This is a very traditional Swedish waffle and they are not sweetened.  Her original notes are in ( )

• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream, whipped (Top Cream)
  

  Photo by Margaret

• 1 1/4 cup flour  (use the blue tea cup to measure)
• 1/3 cup ice-cold water (or snow)
• 3 T. butter, melted  (ball of butter the size of a small egg)

Fold whipped cream into the flour. Add the water and melted butter. Let set for one hour, then bake in a waffle iron.

Serve with powdered sugar and lingonberry or strawberry jam.

Swedish Soft waffles- “vafler”

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup melted butter

Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Add 1 ½  cups milk

In a separate bowl whisk 2 cups flour with 1 tsp baking powder

Add the wet and dry ingredients together then add ¼ cup melted butter.

Bake in waffle iron.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream and strawberry jam.

Best Waffles Ever- makes 2 ½ waffle irons full.

1 ½ cps flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Photo by Margaret

3 Tbs sugar

3 eggs separated save yolks and in clean bowl beat egg whites to soft peaks

¾ cups sour cream

¾-1 cup milk

¼ melted butter

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Add sour cream, egg yolks and ¾ cup of milk. Mix together until well combined. Add melted butter then fold in beaten egg whites.

If batter is to thick, add additional milk.

Belgian Waffles

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm milk about 110 degrees F
• 3 egg separated
• 2 1/2 cups warm milk
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

In a small bowl mix the ¼ cup of warm milk and the yeast together. Let sit about 10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the egg yolks, melted butter and ½ cup of the milk. Add the yeast mixture, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in 1/3 of the flour, ½ of the remaining milk, 1/3 of the flour the rest of the milk then the rest of the flour.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and then fold then gently into the batter.

Cover the batter and let sit on counter for about 1 hour to rise.

Preheat your Belgian waffle maker with oil and pour ½ cup of batter or the amount needed for your waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve with powdered sugar or syrup.

Photo by Margaret

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 8:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.