If you are one of the many people who love waffles, whether they are homemade or store-bought, you probably know that they are most enjoyable when they are golden-brown and crispy.
Whether you are trying to get your waffles to turn out with a crunch or you are attempting to keep your waffles crispy after having made them, this article will provide you with all the information you need. So, keep reading to find out how to get the crispiest waffles possible.
How to Make Crispy Homemade Waffles
There are various tips that you can take advantage of which will help you make some of the crispiest waffles you will ever eat. This section will lay out some of these tips for you to get crunchy homemade waffles, and the section that follows this one will detail getting frozen store-bought waffles to come out crispy.
When you are whipping up your own waffles from scratch, you have a few options when it comes to preparing the batter in such a way that your waffles come out much crispier. Take a look at these below.
Milk Instead of Buttermilk
One way that you can get your waffles to turn out light and crispy is by substituting about half of the buttermilk in the batter for regular milk or a milk substitute, such as almond or oat milk. Since milk is not as thick as buttermilk, its use in your batter results in waffles that are less dense with a crunchy exterior.
You can also substitute all of the buttermilk for milk in your waffle batter, but you probably will not end up with as much of that delightful fluff, so this is something you should consider.
Bring the Heat
If you are using a waffle iron to make your homemade waffles, which you likely are, one very important factor in getting a nice crunch to them is how hot the iron is when you pour the batter into it.
You should let your waffle iron heat up for at least five minutes or so prior to filling it up. You can test the heat by dropping a bit of water onto the iron to see if it starts sizzling immediately on contact, which indicates that it is ready for your milk-heavy waffle batter.
When your waffle iron is sufficiently hot, it will evaporate the moisture inside the batter once you pour it in, which prevents you from ending up with soggy waffles.
Butter Is Key
One common trick used for making waffles, as well as many other foods, crispy is incorporating some butter or another type of fat into the mix. In other words, if you slather some butter onto your waffle iron prior to pouring the batter into it, you are much more likely to get crispy, golden-brown waffles.
Twice-Baked
An action that you can take to get crispier waffles that is often overlooked is throwing them into your oven after they are finished cooking to (almost) perfection in your waffle iron.
It turns out that your waffle iron is not able to remove every bit of moisture from the waffles in the short span of time they are heated in it. Thus, popping them into your oven that is set to 250 degrees Fahrenheit will help remove some of that remaining moisture.
Make sure that you place your waffles onto a wired rack in the baking sheet you use so that the air can properly reach them, or if you do not have a wired rack, a low-sided or rimless baking sheet can also help with air circulation. It should take about five or ten minutes to get them crispy before they start getting too dry and brittle.
How to Make Crispy Frozen Waffles
If you bought your waffles frozen from the store, there are a few different ways to get them to turn out much crispier. First, you can bake them in the oven for a nice crunchy result, though make sure that you drop a bit of water onto them first so they do not dry out.
Another trick is frying your waffles in a skillet with butter after the pan has heated up sufficiently. As long as you coat them well with the butter, this trick will really help your waffles turn out golden-brown and crispy.
Finally, a third tip for getting frozen waffles to end up crispy and delicious is cooking them in an air fryer set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for between five and seven minutes. Be sure to slather them in butter beforehand.
How to Keep Waffles Crispy
If you have yourself some crispy waffles that you have baked to perfection, but you need to set them aside for a little while, there are several ways you can make sure they stay warm and crispy. Take a look at some methods for doing below.
Put Them in the Oven
One method for keeping your waffles crispy is putting them into your oven set to a low temperature, such as around 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is best to set them on a wire rack to prevent them from getting soggy, and you should also let your oven preheat completely prior to popping the waffles into it. Make sure that you do not let the waffles sit in the oven for more than 20 minutes, though, or they might start drying out.
Keep in mind that you can also preheat your oven to the highest temperature possible, then shut off your oven after it reaches that temperature, let it cool for a couple minutes, and then place your waffles inside of it on a wire rack. This is another way that you can utilize your oven to keep them crispy and warm.
Use a Frying Pan
Another technique for keeping golden-brown, crispy waffles is placing them into a skillet with a bit of butter.
You should use a low heat setting for this method, and be certain to get the pan piping hot before putting the waffles in so they do not get soggy. Also, keep moving the waffles around to prevent them from burning.
Toast Frozen Waffles
If you are planning to serve dozens of waffles to several people, your best bet might be preparing them ahead of time, in the case that you are making them from scratch, and then freezing them. When your guests are ready for their waffles, then you can simply take them out of your freezer and pop them into the toaster.
This is an additional way to preserve crispy waffles before reheating them for your meal, and it might make the most sense for you to do depending on the circumstances.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are several ways to make crispy waffles and keep them that way, whether you are making them from scratch or not. Depending on what your unique situation is, you may find that one method works better for you than others.
For example, if you do not want to add extra fat to your waffles, you might immediately take the skillet-crisping option off the table and opt for keeping your waffles crispy by putting them into your oven. However you decide to put some crispy waffles into your hands, you are sure to get a crunchy result if you follow the tips outlined in this article.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.