Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein

These flavourful Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and wholewheat are super-fast to throw together. They get better if you prepare them the evening before baking them. This gives the sourdough time to get active overnight and will add a lovely tang. Don’t worry, they won’t taste sour and will still go amazing with all your favourite sweet toppings. They are crisp on the outside and pillowy-soft on the inside, more so thanks to the added protein powder.

Why You Want to Make This

Can Be Prepared Ahead

Due to the sourdough improving the dough if left overnight, these waffles literally get better if you prepare the dough the evening before and leave it in the fridge. Just bake in the morning for a super quick breakfast.
Not that the mixing of the dough takes long. 5 minutes and you are done.

They freeze well too. I often make a big batch and freeze them in packs of 2-3, simply toasting them the morning I want waffles. I find they are even better toasted, as the outside crisps up beautifully while the inside stays soft and fluffy.

Flavour

The buttermilk of course adds lots of flavour to the waffles, and so does the sourdough. If you never had sourdough waffles, I urge you to try these, as there is a whole new dimension to the flavour, you would’t normally get. It’s not sour (if you’d leave the dough for 2 days or more, the flavour gets stronger). Just a gentle tang adding interest and layers to the Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein. The protein powder, depending on which one you choose, adds yet another dimension, meaning you can flavour your waffles any way you’d like.

Sourdough

Using sourdough for bread baking, or my beloved Wholewheat Sourdough Pretzel Buns, means I always have starter on hand and am looking for ways to use it. So I don’t have to throw out any discard. Thankfully there are many recipes like this, which use it to make your baked goods that much more flavourful and easier to digest. The sourdough also lowers the glycemic index, which means your insulin rises slower. Important for those of us who would like to use lose weight, as insulin is found to be part of what stimulates fat storage in the body.

Protein

While Waffles being made with eggs naturally contain protein, I like to up the content further by adding protein powder. Usually you can replace up to 1/4 of the flour with protein powder in any given recipe. I’m adding one scoop here.

Versatile

Top these waffles with anything your heart desires. My alltime favourite is blueberries and icing sugar. Or is it banana and nutella? Hmmmm…though I might have just discovered a new favourite: Raspberries and white chocolate and coconut chips!

The Ingredients

Added Protein

For this recipe any major change in the very simple ingredients would impact the flavour and texture. These waffles are amazingly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, with a slight tang from sourdough and buttermilk. This makes them even better with either icing sugar (less calories) or maple sirup. I wanted to keep the perfection of them, but add protein. By adding 1 scoop of my favourite protein powder, the content for 2 waffles (one portion, depending on hunger) goes from 10 to about 16g. Adding 2 scoops would make this an impressive 32g.

If you don’t use protein powder, replace it with the same amount of flour.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk activates the baking soda, which gets added just before baking and gives these Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat their fluffy interior. It also adds a lovely tang and depth of flavour, which makes them more interesting to eat than plain waffles.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you could you milk with an added tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it stand for a bit, then stir. Here are other possible replacements.

Which is better, with or without Protein Powder?

Having made both versions (with and without protein powder), I found the Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat version to be softer and more pillowy in the middle, which I love. It also had the pleasant vanilla-butter popcorn flavour added, from the “MyProtein” powder version I used (Not sponsored or affiliated). And has my whole kitchen smell amazing. There is no weird texture, because I mixed the powder thoroughly with the buttermilk and eggs before adding the dry ingredients. This is the secret to get smooth outcomes with pretty much any recipe you want to add protein powder to.

Whole Wheat

During my weight loss period, I tried to replace as much white flour as possible with whole wheat, since it has more nutrients and keeps you fuller for longer. Usually I opt for about half of the white flour content of a recipe, since it’s heavier and would change the light and fluffy consistency of the waffles if we’d use it 1:1.

Coconut Oil

While you could use butter as a fat source in waffles, I prefer coconut oil. It is a great source of antioxidants and has a range of possible other health benefits.  And while that alone is a good enough reason to use it, the coconut oil also added an irresistable gentle coconut flavour and scent to these waffles, which I absolutely love.
A source of fat in waffles will give you the crispy outside and soft, moist and fluffy inside we are looking for here.

Eggs

I’m using 2 eggs, but you could replace one of them with banana if you’d like to up your fruit content. It might change the texture a little bit though.

Sugar

While you could leave sweetener out of  these Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat I like adding 1 tablespoon of sugar to the dough, for a very gentle sweetness. The protein powder already contains sweetener, so we don’t need much to achieve the desires result. I always feel a mix of sweetener and real sugar is pretty ideal when it comes to a balance of flavour and calories, since you still have a lower calorie content but the sometimes strange sweetener flavour isn’t noticable anymore once mixed with a natural source of sugar.
If you’d rather not use white sugar, you could replace it with coconut or cane sogar, which works wonderful.

Optional Toppings

You can of course have Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and wholewheat plain and they will be absolutely delicious. But fun toppings are the best part, aren’t they?
For this recipe I made 4 of my favourite ones, but there is endless variations. Here are just some of the topping ingredients you could use:

Above are:

Banana, Nutella, dark and white chocolate chips, almond and peanut butter, blueberries, raspberries, greek yoghurt, coconut chips toasted into crispy perfection with some maple syrup, maple syrup, apple, pomegranate.

Other options not included in the pictures: Crispy bacon to go with maple syrup, blackberries, jam, icing sugar, honey. I’m sure you can come up with even more.
I’d love to hear about your favourite toppings in the comments!

The Process

Mix The Wet with the Protein

In a medium bowl or a blender, add the buttermilk, sourdough starter (active or discard), melted and cooled coconut oil and protein powder. Blend or mix well with a whisk, until no protein lumps remain and you have a smooth and creamy consistency.

I’m using a Nutribullet for this, as I find it easier than whisking. Both methods will work just fine.

Add the Dry

Sprinkle in the sugar and salt, mix until dissolved. Stir in the flour, but not the baking soda just yet. It only goes in right before baking the waffles. Mix until just incorporated. A few small lumps are fine, they will dissolve during the resting time.

Resting Time – Optional

While you could bake these after about 30 minutes due to the addition of baking soda, they improve in nutrition, flavour, digestability and texture if left in the fridge overnight, to allow the sourdough bacteria to ferment. For the resting period, cover your bowl with clingfilm and place in the fridge until ready to bake.

Baking

When ready to bake, add your baking soda and stir. Enjoy the buggling up of the dough while your waffle iron pre-heats.

Grease your waffle iron with a bit of melted coconut oil. You could also use melted butter, olive oil or cooking spray, whatever you have on hand. I just love the scent of coconut oil wafting through the house while making these waffles.

The cooking time depends on your waffle iron. Mine is from Sage and makes 2 rectangular fairly thick and fluffy waffles. It takes about 7 minutes per 2 waffles to bake. Refer to your waffle iron manual to find out how long yours will take and how much of the dough you should add.

Keeping Warm

To keep your waffles warm while you prepare them all, set your oven to the lowest heat and store your warm waffles on a plate in the oven while baking the rest. I usually cover the plate with some paper towels, to stop the waffles at the bottom from getting soggy.

To Serve

Prepare your toppings, depending on which ones you are using:

• Slice Banana
• Gently heat Nutella or nut butter in the microwave, to make it easy to drizzle
• Melt dark chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between
• For melting white chocolate, turn the energy of the microwave down to 600 and melt in 30 second bursts, stirring after each. It has alower melting point and can get firm and crumbly if over heated. So go slow and careful.
• Wash berries
• To get the seeds out of a pomegranate, slice in half horizontally, take one half, cut side down and put it into a small freezer or sandwhich bag. Holding the sides of it, so the cut side is facing down with room at the bottom of the bag, slap the top of the fruit with a cooking spoon all around, so the seeds fall out. This method saves you the mess of the splattering juices and gives you a place to store the seeds at the same time. Pick out any white pith parts.
• For the crispy caramelised coconut chips mix 1 cup coconut chips with 1 tbsp maple syrup. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F/175°C for 8min, stir, bake for another 5-8min until golden brown and crispy.
• Slice the apple

Serve your waffles with any or all of the above toppings as desired.

Meal Prep

Prepare Dough in the Evening

If you make these Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat the evening before, add the baking soda just before baking them, as it bubbles up nicely, but the effect declines over time.

Or Freeze

I tend to make a big batch and freeze most of them, as these hold up beautifully and you can just throw them into the toaster at medium, whenever you crave fresh waffles for breakfast, which I often do. I feel they get even better when reheated, as the outside gets crispier.

You Might Also Like:

Want an even quicker and indulgent breakfast? How about Cherry Bakewell Protein Oats? Or maybe you’d like to include your coffee kick right into your oats with my Tiramisu Protein oats. They come with overnight and warm options for the recipe.
Or you are more of a savory breakfast person? Try my super quick to prepare Crustless Spinach and Feta Quiche.

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot. 🙂

Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat

These flavourful waffles are super-fast to throw together and get better if you prepare them the evening before baking them, as the sourdough has time to get active overnight and will add a lovely tang. Don’t worry, they won’t taste sour and will still go amazing with all your favourite sweet toppings. They are crisp on the outside and pillowy-soft on the inside, more so thanks to the added protein powder, which makes them even more nutritious.

5 from 17 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 28 minutes mins

Total Time 33 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 waffles

Calories 128 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup fine wholewheat flour
• 1 cup whole buttermilk or 3/4 cup whole milk plus 1/4 cup sour cream
• ½ cup sourdough starter discard
• ¼ cup coconut oil plus 1 tsp for greasing your waffle iron.
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 scoop protein powder I used “MyProtein – Buttered Popcorn”
• 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• Toppings: optional
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 cup Blueberries, raspberries, banana, apple, pomegranate
• 2 tbsp Nut butter, Nutella, Maple syrup, chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• If you have a blender, you can just add the wet ingredients first plus the sugar and protein powder, mix until creamy and the powder has dissolved. Then top with the dry and blend for a few seconds. Don’t overmix at this point, to avoid the waffles getting tough.
• By hand: In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and baking soda. Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.
• If baking right away, add the baking soda now. If you prepare them the night before, add it just before baking for full effect and rest the dough covered with clingfilm in the fridge.
• Preheat your waffle iron according to its instructions.
• Lightly grease the preheated waffle iron with coconut oil using a brush or non-stick cooking spray.
• Pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron, spreading it evenly to cover the surface. The amount of batter needed will depend on the size of your waffle iron.
• Close the waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions until the waffles are golden brown and crispy.
• Once cooked, carefully remove the waffles from the iron and transfer them to a plate.
• Repeat the process with the remaining batter until all the waffles are cooked.
• Serve the sourdough buttermilk waffles warm, dusted with icing sugar, and topped with fresh blueberries or your choice of fruit.

Notes

If you make these the evening before, add the baking soda just before baking them, as it bubbles up nicely, but the effect declines over time.

I tend to make a big batch and freeze most of them, as these hold up beautifully and you can just throw them into the toaster at medium, whenever you crave fresh waffles for breakfast, which I do often. I feel they get even better when reheated, as the outside gets crispier.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 128kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 368mgPotassium: 73mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 73IUCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition Facts

Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein and Wholewheat

Amount per Serving

Calories

128

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

6

g

9

%

Saturated Fat

 

4

g

25

%

Trans Fat

 

0.003

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.4

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Cholesterol

 

30

mg

10

%

Sodium

 

368

mg

16

%

Potassium

 

73

mg

2

%

Carbohydrates

 

15

g

5

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

2

g

2

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

Vitamin A

 

73

IU

1

%

Calcium

 

31

mg

3

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Breakfast, Easy, High Protein

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