# rice flour waffles



## ChefBryan (Nov 10, 2017)

Good Afternoon Everyone:

I am hoping that someone with more baking experience can help me out. I have been experimenting the last two days with making rice flour waffles. Next week I wanted to do a chicken and waffles special with a Korean twist. Watermelon gojuchang glazed chicken thighs with kimchi over a rice waffle. I want the waffle to be as light and airy as possible, while remaining extremely crisp for texture as the thighs are not breaded or fried. I have cut the rice flour and substituted corn starch to help keep them crisp, but I would still like them to be lighter than what they currently are. I whipped the whites with the sugar and folded it into the batter. I thought about whipping the yolks with a little xanthan gum to aerate them more. I was worried the gum would make them less crisp and more dense and chewy however. My current recipe is as follows:

1 c Rice Flour
1/4 c Cornstarch
3 1/2 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
1 egg, separated
2 T Rice Vinegar
2 T Oil

I added the vinegar and oil to the recipe I originally found. Vinegar to activate the baking powder, oil to help crisp them up. Any thoughts or suggestions on anything that could be altered?


----------



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

Well, what I would try first is reducing the oil (oil actually keeps them softer), and subbing out at least half the coconut milk with water. Fat kind of weighs things down and keeps it soft. If you reduce the amount of coconut milk, that should make it lighter and crisper. Please report back with your results!

PS. I would also try omitting the yolk, and maybe adding a teaspoon of sugar.


----------



## ChefBryan (Nov 10, 2017)

chefpeon said:


> Well, what I would try first is reducing the oil (oil actually keeps them softer), and subbing out at least half the coconut milk with water. Fat kind of weighs things down and keeps it soft. If you reduce the amount of coconut milk, that should make it lighter and crisper. Please report back with your results!
> 
> PS. I would also try omitting the yolk, and maybe adding a teaspoon of sugar.


I experimented with a couple different things yesterday and none of them turned out. I am not really sure why. I did one test with omitting fat completely and basically ended up with a soft soufflé in my waffle maker. In the next test I added the egg yolk back into the recipe and did regular milk instead of water and still ended up with basically the same thing as the first test. My batter was extremely loose as well, probably could have decreased the liquid. I think I will just stick with the original recipe, precook the waffles, and reheat them in the iron prior to service to crisp them back up. Its not as light as I would like, but at least it will be crispy


----------



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

Have you considered using a little bit of all purpose flour instead of 100% rice flour? Another thing I would try is subbing out a half to a third of rice flour for all purpose. The gluten in the all purpose flour would add some structure, possibly leading to crispness and lightness. Don’t throw in the towel yet. I’m curious enough to tinker with your recipe myself.


----------



## ChefBryan (Nov 10, 2017)

chefpeon said:


> Have you considered using a little bit of all purpose flour instead of 100% rice flour? Another thing I would try is subbing out a half to a third of rice flour for all purpose. The gluten in the all purpose flour would add some structure, possibly leading to crispness and lightness. Don't throw in the towel yet. I'm curious enough to tinker with your recipe myself.


I am not throwing in the towel. The recipe was good, just not perfect. I could easily spend way too much time trying to make it perfect. I do not want to use ap flour bc as it stands my recipe is currently gluten free, I even got tamari to keep my chicken brine and sauce gluten free as well. I work at a hospital, I do bi-monthly specials, and there are enough people here that have gluten free diets that are constantly requesting a gluten free special, so this is an easy one to give them. If you do spend time tinkering with it before Wednesday morning, please let me know. If I have time on Tuesday I may give it another go as well. Thank you so much!


----------



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

OK, well now that I know the recipe must remain gluten free (thanks for the additional info there), there are other gluten free flours to try as well. I know there's some readily available gluten free flour blends that contain xanthan gum, which is something you mentioned trying previously, so maybe sub out some of the rice flour for a blend?


----------



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

Here's another idea. This is my basic go-to light and crispy waffle recipe. They're wonderful...tried and tested many times.
Why not take this recipe and simply sub out the all purpose flour for a gluten free flour blend? I also believe the buttermilk would lend a better flavor instead of the coconut milk/vinegar blend. 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


----------

