If you are looking for ways to make waffles at home but you don’t have a waffle iron, you actually can’t miss this post. Several ways will be listed here to help you make delicious homemade waffles without the help of a waffle iron, you can find the one that suits you best.
Method One: Make Waffles in a Ridged Grill Pan
Waffles can also be prepared in a pan with ridges that resembles the ridges on a waffle maker. This will help the batter spread out and puff up, reflecting the waffle shape at least somewhat.
To prevent sticking, thoroughly grease your waffle maker. Even if you’re using a non-stick pan, you should still coat the pan thoroughly with butter, oil, or spray oil.
You again want your pan really hot before you add the batter, as this will give you a good “sear” on the outside of the waffles. Turn down the heat a little while they cook, and then turn it back up to “sear” the other side when you flip them.
Flipping waffles in a ridged pan can be difficult, but it doesn’t matter too much if the waffle breaks when you flip it. To continue cooking the broken pieces, simply turn them. Still delicious, they will be.
Making small waffles in a ridged pan might be simpler. This can make it simpler to flip them over and prevents you from using too much batter, which would cause the waffles to spread.
However, if you’d prefer to make one enormous waffle, that should also work; just be sure to have a spatula that will fit under it and support its weight as you flip it over, and avoid adding more batter than the pan can safely cook.
When you flip the waffles, press lightly on the top with the spatula to ensure good contact between the waffle and the ridges. Although it’s more for aesthetics than anything else, it’s a good idea to try and align the same portions of your waffle with the ridges on both sides.
Method Two: Use a Sandwich Maker as a Waffle Iron
What about making sandwiches with waffles? If you own a sandwich maker but not a waffle iron, you’re in luck because you can make waffles just fine in a sandwich maker because they can be made similarly to each other. Simply put, they won’t be the same shape.
You may find that you need more mixture overall to properly fill the sandwich shapes, but you will end up with bigger waffles as a result. They should taste good, have a crunchy exterior, and be puffy inside.
As with each method, make sure the sandwich maker is very hot before adding the batter. Also, don’t forget to lightly grease the sandwich maker so that the waffles don’t stick; they won’t be as easy to remove as sandwiches, and you don’t want a mess of batter stuck all over it.
Method Three: Oven Bake in a Silicone Waffle Mold
You have the option of baking your waffles in the oven, in which case you will need a silicone mold to pour the waffle batter into. Silicone molds come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, including those shaped like real waffles, both round and square.
Most silicone waffle molds will come with little spikes to shape the batter and help you achieve that crispy shell. It’s crucial to use a waffle mold; you don’t want to use a flat tin that will simply yield a square of waffle batter, as it’s unlikely to cook properly and is almost certain to have a poor texture.
The waffles can be tipped out of a silicone mold rather than a metal one, and they shouldn’t stick even if you don’t use a lot of grease. If they do adhere, they will be simple to remove.
It’s crucial to get the oven really hot before adding the batter when making waffles in the oven. Since a waffle maker would be hot, you want to mimic this as closely as you can by making sure your oven is preheated to 350°F (190°C) before adding the waffles. Bake for 12 to 15min until the top is golden. I’ve made heart- and rectangle-shaped waffles, and I discovered that 15 minutes is the best cooking time for golden brown waffles.
One of the great things about this method is that you can make an entire batch of waffles at once if you have multiple molds, so there’s no need to try to keep some warm while others cook.
Method Four: Use a Piping-Bag to Criss-cross Waffle Mix onto a Skillet
You can get around some of the difficulties you encounter when using a flat skillet if you have a piping bag. You can make those pockets and crispy edges, achieving something that is much more like a waffle in shape and possibly in texture.
In your hot skillet, crisscross the batter after filling your piping bag with the waffle batter. You will find that it spreads a little as it cooks, creating those lovely “pockets” to fill with syrupy goodness.
You may end up with the odd hole and your crisscrosses will probably be somewhat wonky compared with a proper waffle maker, but this won’t affect the flavor or waffle experience at all! Plus, if you let your kids help with the piping bag, they’ll probably adore the appearance. Enjoy your waffles and the rustic look.
Method Five: Use a Yorkshire Pudding Tin to Oven Bake Waffles
With this technique, round waffles that resemble muffin-like flat disks are created. Despite the shape, they still taste pretty good. You can make waffles in the oven with a standard waffle mix and a Yorkshire Pudding baking tin. Here are the steps:
- Your oven should be preheated to 350°F (190°C).
- Put some oil or butter in the Yorkshire Pudding pan to grease it.
- Fill the greased Yorkshire Pudding baking pan with your waffle batter.
- Place the Yorkshire Pudding pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- The finished “waffles” will be 4-inch-wide circles of fluffy goodness that have risen slightly in the center.
- Turn out the circular “waffles”, add your favorite topping, and enjoy!
Although the circular waffles resemble miniature sponge cakes rather than traditional waffles, they are still tasty. The pockets where butter and syrup would typically be placed are absent from these fake waffles.
Even so, the base of the waffle can get a little crispy because it’s up against a hot metal surface. Making crispy oven-baked Liege Waffles in the Belgian style is another possibility offered by the metal tin!
These are made with yeast dough and pearl sugar, which can caramelize where it comes in contact with the metal tin. Try using this oven-baked substitute if you like Liege-style waffles but find it difficult and time-consuming to clean the caramelized sugar deposits off your waffle iron’s grid plates. Cleaning up after cooking is a lot simpler.
Method Six: Make Pancake Looking Waffles in a Skillet
What if none of those things are available but you still really want waffles? You most likely do possess a skillet, and it’s amazing how well a simple flat skillet works for waffle cooking.
Given that cooking in a shaped mold or ridged pan has a number of advantages, you might want to slightly increase the sugar in the mixture to help the batter crisp up properly. Your waffles will come out flat and may not have such a good balance of crunchy and soft. However, if you intend to save them for later, the skillet waffles will become a little floppy, similar to pancakes, even though the top and bottom will still be initially crispy.
You may also find that syrup and other toppings slide off, because you don’t have the “pockets” for them to pool in, but you will still be able to enjoy crisp waffles, even using just a flat skillet.
Because skillet waffles lack pockets, it’s a good idea to avoid making them too thick because the batter will take longer to cook in the center. Although flipping them will help, it is still preferable to aim for waffles that are more comparable to pancakes in thickness. Before serving, make certain they are fully cooked.
Final Thoughts
Please don’t worry if you don’t have a waffle iron. There are many other tools you can use for making delicious waffles. Waffles made in these ways may have different looks from normal waffles, but they have the same delicious taste!
