Beginners Guide to Waffle Maker and Making Your First Waffle Dish

Perhaps you just bought a new waffle maker or you are planning to get one, or you just found yourself in possession of one and you are not sure how to get started with it? We have all been there. There is always a first time to everything and first time can be pretty nervous. But don’t worry, this article will help you get use to the waffle maker and also guide you through making your first waffle dish.

Making waffle is really easy if you know how and it is aslo a fun experience. As a matter of fact, it boils down to knowing how to use the waffle maker and how to make a delicious waffle dough.

The step-by-step guide below describes in details how to go about it. And without further ado, let’s jump right into it…

1. Making excellent dough

There are lots of waffles recipes and main ingredients in them are usually similar. These are eggs, butter, flour and sugar etc.

What is really worth attention is adding something unique and special to the recipes you find. For example, cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract will give your waffle a tantalizing aroma. Black ground pepper can make your waffles spicy and good for salty stuffing.

If you add oil, you will get crisp and appetizing golden waffles which are also easily separated from the waffle maker.

2. Heat the waffle maker correctly

After preparing your dough, it’s time to switch on the waffle maker and heat it up. Do not be afraid of this step, the device is easy to handle. Just make sure to place it on a flat surface.

If you are using an electric waffle maker, don’t forget that this is an electric device which means it should be placed far away from water. Do not touch the hot surfaces of the waffle maker.

If you are not very experienced as to how much dough you can take at one time, just experiment a little, but put a towel or a plate under the device, because too much dough can flow out.

3. Be careful with waffle maker’s Teflon coating

Each modern waffle maker has a non-stick coating on the inside which covers the surface for frying. Teflon non-stick coating is usually black. Such coating makes it easy to bake waffles without burning, as well as significantly prolongs the usage term of such devices. Never scrape Teflon coating, because the pieces of Teflon scratched off this way can stick to waffles and bring harm to your health. Besides, doing this can damage your waffle maker.

4. Oil your waffle maker correctly

If you want to bake waffles without problems and use the device for a long time, it should be oiled regularly and correctly.

Keep in mind we are talking about oil intended for cooking here. Some suitable choices include vegetable oil, corn oil and canola oil. It is also worth mentioning that much of the oil is not required. A few drop of the oil is all you need.

When you are done oiling the waffle maker, you are good to start baking.

Close the waffle maker and turn it on. Usually there is a light indicator that shows that the device is working. In some models, the light switches off after a while, but it does not mean that the waffle maker does not work or is broken, usually all it means is that the device has heated up and is now ready to be used. At this time, it is extremely important not to touch its heated surface to avoid getting burnt.

5. Put in the dough

As soon as the indicator shows that the waffle maker is ready to be used, we can put the dough into it. Open the lid of the waffle maker, take your dough and pour it in without any hurry.

Make sure that half of the bottom surface for frying is covered. Set aside the remaining dough and close the lid of the waffle maker. The device can start steaming, but don’t get scared! This is normal, even if the lid slightly goes up, it is nothing terrible. Likewise, the light indicator can also go on and off from time to time.

6. Wait until waffles are ready

Usually light indicator shows exactly when the ready waffles can be taken out. Watch for the side parts of the waffle maker. If too much dough is poured into it, it can flow out. But we have already mentioned that you can put a plate beneath.

If there is no light indicator, or it does not work, you just need to open the lid and check the waffles regularly. Make sure that they look less like dough and more like a pie. This means that the top and the bottom have golden/brownish color. In such case waffles, the waffle is done and ready to be taken out.

7. Take waffles out and enjoy!

If the waffles are not completely ready, you can close the lid back and take them out in a minute. Done waffles should look crispy and golden.

Again, be careful with Teflon coating when you remove the waffles from the waffle maker. Close the lid and put the waffles in a plate.

There are many ways one could eat waffles – with honey, various creams, berries and fruit filling. The simplest way is to spread butter or jam on them 🙂 But there are hundreds ways to make them tastier. And remember, the most delicious waffles are hot waffles, and they cool down quickly!

8. Cleaning the waffle iron.

After baking all waffles, turn off the waffle maker and allow it to cool. Usually cooling down takes about 15 minutes.

After it is has cooled down, wipe it well with a damp cloth or paper towel, especially if it has Teflon coating. Clean all parts of the waffle maker that are involved in cooking, remove all parts of waffles and other elements which should not be there. Clean the side of the waffle maker from the leaking dough and put it where you store it. Preferably not too far away because you are sure to want to make new waffles soon!

For a more in-depth cleaning guide, check out this post on how to clean waffle makers.

After making waffles for a few times you will become more used to it and can do it without having to go through these steps again. But this comes only with practice.

It is also good to experiment a little with your waffle making. Who knows, you may be the one to invent a recipe that will change the world 🙂