This particular recipe is safe for Mark — either one or two waffles, made in a standard waffle iron. Whatever it is about mesquite flour and sourdough, they work very well for his particular type of diabetes.

Mesquite flour gives these waffles a naturally sweet, almost chocolatey taste without adding any sugar, and since mesquite is a bean, it’s a nice slow-release carbohydrate. Recommended! Limit yourself to substituting about a quarter of the flour in any recipe with mesquite — it both packs a flavor wallop and is heavy-textured. Since it’s gluten-free, too much mesquite can cause soggy issues for bread that’s supposed to be light, so use it as a partial replacement or flavoring instead of a main ingredient. It works great here!

You can probably get mesquite flour from your local hippie crunchy grocery store — at least, I can. Otherwise, you can order it from Amazon. Mesquite powder and mesquite flour are the same thing.

This recipe is based on the King Arthur Flour sourdough waffle recipe.

Mesquite Sourdough Waffles

Start with the overnight sponge. Yes, these are two-day waffles. Make them on whatever your weekend days are. Totally worth it. Makes lots!

  • 1 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
  • 1/2 c. mesquite flour
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 c. buttermilk (I cheat and use buttermilk powder and water, because we don’t go through buttermilk that fast. Works great!)
  • 1 c. sourdough starter, unfed

Whisk all of the sponge ingredients well to combine, cover the bowl, and set aside on the counter overnight.

The next morning, make the batter. You need:

  • All of the overnight sponge
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 c. vegetable oil or melted butter (coconut oil is good!)
  • A generous pinch salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Whisk all the batter ingredients well to combine. You will get lots of bubbles! Prep your waffle iron and cook them as you like them. You can also use this batter to make pancakes. Just follow the directions to make it and cook the pancakes in a bit of oil on your favorite griddle or cast-iron skillet. Flip them when the edges look firm and the centers are full of little bubbles.

I think you’ll find that you don’t need a lot of syrup with these. We usually limit ourselves to half a tablespoon of real grade B maple syrup per waffle, and it’s plenty, since the mesquite adds so much flavor.

Enjoy!