Keeping a sourdough starter fed and happy requires a certain comfort level with waste.  The wee yeasties in the starter like a weekly (or at least every other week) feeding, and unless you’re baking immense, industrial quantities of bread, a portion of unused starter must be discarded at each feeding.  For the quantity of starter I keep, the weekly feeding means I throw out approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the culture….which happens to be the perfect amount needed for a small batch of sourdough waffles.

Here’s the recipe, courtesy of King Arthur Flour.  Unfed starter (the stuff ordinarily thrown away) goes into a sponge containing white and whole wheat flours, which rests overnight.  Just prior to cooking, the sponge is made into a batter with eggs, melted butter, salt, and baking soda.  The resulting waffles are tangy and yeasty, equally good with sweet (see maple syrup above) or savory (like fried chicken).

For another expansion into the savory waffle university, check out Off the Broiler’s “Chicken and Wallafel Experiment”….yes, a Belgian waffle iron is used to make both chicken and a waffle of felafel, henceforth known as a wallafel.