Blog

Pancake Saturday. Waffle Saturday. One way or another, it’s a thing around here. My kids look forward to it all week and it’s become a really precious family tradition. One time we went to visit family and my son was invited to stay on for the weekend at the family farm (something I was sure he would be thrilled about); he seemed lacklustre about it and when I asked him what was up, his shoulders heaved and a big alligator tear came down his cheek, “b-b-but I’ll miss pancake Saturday!!!” (Cue sympathetic face while secretly dying with laughter inside). Have no fear, the young man got his pancakes on Saturday morning with his Grandparents, and had the time of his life.

Personally, my favourite way to eat pancakes is loaded up with whipped cream and strawberries. However, one of my littles is sensitive to dairy so I’ve slowly been perfecting this breakfast to taste just as amazing dairy free. Folks, I think we’ve done it.

I have a few pancake recipes I bounce between, I’ll get them all up here eventually, don’t you worry. I think my favourite one has to be this Sourdough recipe though. Sourdough is just so endearing to me – I feel like a bible times woman keeping my starter alive and seeing it rise without any of those little packets and jars of store-bought yeast. Ah, it just gets me. Are you new to sourdough? Does it sound fancy, overly complicated, scientific, unattainable? Guys, it’s just flour and water. That’s it! To make your own starter you add… flour and water. A little each day and wait for the wild yeast to take flight. If you want a full run down on how to start your own, this is the method I used to start mine. I keep my starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. Pretty simple stuff! If you want to learn more about the history of sourdough and it’s benefits, this is an awesome site with unlimited resources on the topic, I’d highly recommend checking it out. What attracts me to sourdough is that the longer rise time necessary to raise the bread breaks down the gluten and eats away at the sugar, making it easier to digest, lower in carb count, and more nutritious. Many people who are gluten intolerant can tolerate true sourdough bread. Beyond that, the flavour is just something that can’t be replicated with commercial yeast. Slightly tangy, spontaneous air bubbles, this perfect chewiness without being heavy. You just need to try it for yourself!

For these waffles, I modified a recipe from Maurizio at The Perfect Loaf, who is the the most inspiring Sourdough account I follow on Instagram. His sourdough creations are straight up art and every recipe I’ve tried of his turns out incredible. Check him out! To make it dairy free, I substituted coconut milk (any nut milk or non-dairy milk would work) for buttermilk. The original recipe also calls for butter. Butter is the one thing I find hardest to substitute for in recipes. I’m just going to say it, it simply is superior to coconut oil in taste and texture. My little guy isn’t lactose intolerant (it’s just a sensitivity he has) and I find he tolerates butter just fine. So honestly, unless I’m cooking for someone with an allergy, I’ll just use butter. If you cannot tolerate butter, the next best substitution is going to be Ghee. Ghee originates from Indian cuisine. It is clarified butter, which is made from butter that has been melted and the fat is separated from the milk solids making it lactose free. Ghee is the best of both worlds because you still get that delicious buttery flavour without the dairy impact on the gut. It’s becoming easier to find these days as it gets more popular. You should be able to find it in the ethnic food aisle in your local grocery store, or I’ll link an online option here. If you don’t want to bother finding another specialty ingredient, I get it. Use coconut oil and you probably won’t notice the difference, I’m just one of those annoying home cooks who takes these things a little too seriously 😉

Now for the coconut whipped cream – I’m honestly starting to prefer this to regular whipped cream. The faint coconut-y taste is just gorgeous on fresh waffles in the morning. My kids go nuts for it. Let’s face it, so do I. It could not be easier and you can use this in place of whipped cream for any other recipe you like from now on! Just please make sure to buy full fat coconut milk, in the can. Reduced fat or the coconut milk in the carton (which I used in the batter), will NOT whip up. It would be like trying to make whipped cream out of your 2% milk or 10% cream. Not gonna happen. This is the time to buy the higher end canned coconut milk – Thai Kitchen is my never fail brand. Don’t forget to put it in the fridge the night before you want to use it and it will be nice and solidified and creamy for you to whip up in the morning.

Lastly, I am going to wager that there are a fair amount of you who don’t have a jar of gorgeous sourdough starter waiting for you in the fridge (I see it there in your near future though!). No need to worry, you can still join in on the fun. I’m going to link these overnight waffles from The Barefoot Contessa, a fellow home chef – did you know? I trust her unreservedly when it comes to food. You’ll notice the recipe is very similar to the sourdough one, except it uses store-bought yeast. To make it dairy free, simply apply the same substitutions I’ve laid out for our sourdough waffles – coconut or other non-dairy milk for the buttermilk, and ghee or coconut oil for the butter. They will be fantastic!

I’ll leave you with our recipe below and hope that there will be many new members to the Pancake Saturday club tomorrow morning. As always, let me know how it goes for you in the comments down below, I hope you love these as much as I do!

Print Pin

Dairy Free Sourdough Waffles with Coconut Whipped Cream

Light and cripsy, perfect waffles with the added nutrition and flavour of sourdough. Plus, it's all dairy free!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine Sourdough

Keyword Breakfast, Brunch, Dairy free, pancakes, Sourdough, Waffles

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes

Resting Time 12 hours

Servings 4 people

Author Garnish at Home; recipe adapted from The Perfect Loaf

Ingredients

Sourdough Waffles

• 2 cups coconut milk, or any non-dairy milk (from a carton, not a can) if you're not concerned about dairy you can use buttermilk or milk also
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup ghee or coconut oil, melted and cooled use butter if not dairy free
• 1/2 cup mature sourdough starter I usually use starter I would've otherwise discarded before a feed
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar white or brown sugar would work as well
• 2 eggs seperated
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Coconut Whipped Cream

• 1 can full fat coconut milk I like the Thai Kitchen brand
• 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup plus more for serving
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 pint fresh strawberries (optional) for serving

Instructions

The night before:

• Add the milk, melted and cooled ghee/coconut oil, and sourdough starter to a bowl and whisk to combine. Use glass or ceramic bowls with sourdough; do not use stainless steel for storing/rising as sourdough reacts with the metal.
• Sprinkle the sugar on top of the mixture and slowly fold in the flour, folding to combine until no dry bits remain.
• Add as much of the 1/2 cup of water that you need to loosen the batter until it is the consistency of pancake batter. You may even need a bit more, just add it bit by bit until you are satisfied with the consistency.
• Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature overnight. My house tends to be cold so I like to keep mine on top of the fridge.
  
• If you're making the coconut whipped cream, put your can of coconut milk in the fridge now so it will be nice and cold and hardened in the morning when we whip it.

In the morning:

• Let your eggs come to room temperature by putting them in a bowl of warm water while you get the rest of your ingredients ready.
• Sprinkle the baking soda and salt on top of the batter.
• Seperate the egg yolks and whites into seperate bowls. Whisk the yolks quickly to combine. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. I was tempted to skip this step but it really does give the waffles such a nice airy crisp texture. Plus, you're going to need the beaters for your coconut whipped cream anyways, this step only takes an extra minute!
  
• Pour the egg yolks in to the batter and fold to combine.
• Add the egg whites and gently fold into the mixture until just combined (do not overmix).
  
• Preheat your waffle grill and cook in batches. I found that a ladleful of batter was the perfect amount for each side of my grill. It took about 6 minutes for my waffles to cook. You'll know they're done when they lift off easily from the iron and are nicely browned. I kept the waffles on a baking sheet in the oven set to 250F to keep them warm while I cooked up the rest.
  

For the Coconut Whipped Cream:

• Open the can and scoop out all the solidified coconut cream into the bowl. I add a bit of the milky liquid as well to loosen it up. Beat to combine for a minute or so.
  
• Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract to taste and beat until it is the texture of whipped cream. If it is too thick you can keep adding the liquid coconut milk from the can to loosen it up.

  Reserve whatever milk is remaining for use in smoothies, soup, etc (store in the fridge).
  
• Top each waffle with a generous dollop of the whipped cream, fresh cut strawberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. This is the start of a very good day 🙂
  

Products Used in This Post:

This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!

George Foreman Evolve 2 in 1 Waffle Grill – My sweet hubby and kids picked this out for me for Mother’s Day a few years back (I have an older model), and I have gotten so much use out of it! I think it’s safe to say the rest of the fam enjoys it as well 🙂 I love that it doubles as a grill for meat and paninis, as well as a waffle grill with interchangeable plates. Less small appliances to keep in my tiny kitchen!

Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk – This is my go to brand for making whipped coconut cream. The other brands just don’t seem to be as creamy or solidify when refrigerated – such a disappointment when you open the can in the morning ready to whip up some cream. This brand has never failed me!

Ghee – This is the best lactose free substitute for butter because it is made with butter! It’s also a valuable Source of fat soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K. How cool is that?!

Please follow and like us: