Weekend Fuel: Waffles

It's good to get to the point when you can make breakfast pastries without measuring. Pancakes and waffles are a mix of flour, eggs, fat, and sweet with a little salt and leaven. In my case this weekend, I was showcasing my gluten free waffles. It wasn't because I was entertaining people with gluten intolerance, I just wanted to show that there were alternative ways to make common breakfast foods to fit your lifestyle.

As I have said before, my wife is gluten free or wheat free for this phase of her eating plan. We went through this a while back too when she was put a completely allergy free diet, and I wanted it to still be enjoyable. If you have to cook without gluten, dairy, nuts and soy, these waffles are a winner.

I had played with rice flour, and I like it for a lot of things. But for items that are supposed to be fluffy and light and bind together, rice flour wasn't cutting it. The bread either crumbles apart or is hard as a rock. That's fine for some things, but unacceptable for waffles. So I used Tapioca flour. I heard it bound well and gave the bread some elasticity.

In the past, I have used a little coconut flour too. It helps make the waffle a little more firm. But my wife is allergic to coconut. Or so she says.


This is

4 parts tapioca flour
1 part rice milk
1 banana
1 tbsp agave nectar*
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder*
pinch salt (Iodized)*

*for every cup of flour

In the mixing bowl, add the rice milk and crush the banana into it. Then add agave nectar. Stir it really well.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredient while pouring in the flour mixture. Stop when you get to milkshake consistency. Since tapioca flour is so fine, the weather and altitude may affect your consistency. If the batter is too runny, add more flour. Too thick, like peanut butter, add more rice milk.

When you use this in a Belgian waffle maker, you'll see it rise and separate a little. Also, it will be a little chewy. Overall, it's pretty good and not hard like a rock. Our host took this first one from me and immediately started eating it. They are very appealing in appearance.

Be careful when making this for picky eaters, but girls usually like them. Especially girls from the Bay area, Southern California, and probably any metropolitan area where gluten is considered evil. Isn't it awesome when your real dietary needs become a fad?

The runt of the batter I always get a runt, but this one is the prettiest