Even far from an electrical socket, when I wake up in the woods I still have a few morning rituals. I need my hot cup of coffee brewed in one of a variety of ways: steeped, perked, or filtered. I usually try to eat a piece of fruit to start my day off right. And then I set out to cook a hearty breakfast for myself and the family.
Recently, and thanks to an amazing find at one of our local camping shops, that hearty breakfast has included fresh campfire waffles.
Yes, waffles. Over the campfire.
The easiest way to do set yourself up for campfire waffle success is by prepping some of your ingredients at home first.
In a plastic zip bag at home mix:
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
In a bowl at your campsite mix:
1 bag of dry ingredients (as above)
2 eggs
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups of milk
Also, pack some extra oil for cooking and for caring for your waffle iron.
My waffle iron needs about five minutes to heat up over a cooking fire after you’ve oiled it. Having a grate or other surface to rest your iron on is useful.
When the iron is smoking hot (yes… literally smoking) open the iron wide (using heat-proof mitts) and add 1/3 cup of your waffle batter to one center of the grill plate. Close. Flip (and I do a gentle whirl to spread the batter out inside.) And return to the heat.
Add a bit more oil to the iron between waffles.
Figuring out when the waffle is done cooking without that handy beep of an electric iron is as much an art as a skill. Added to the complexity is that you’re cooking over a fire with irregular temperatures. Look for less steam. Look for visible doneness at the edges. Get a feel for the time it takes and be prepared to over/undercook your first couple waffles.
Then… serve. Hot. Add fruit. Syrup. Whatever you like.