Fanny Farmer's Raised Waffles with Strawberries

Fanny Farmers's Raised Waffles with Strawberries

Thank you for joining me once again as I travel along with Mary of One Perfect Bite on a culinary journey.  Gourmet Live brought out a list of the 50 most influential women in food...Fifty women game changers. Some are chefs, some are food writers, and some are women who are passionate about the creative process. You could certainly add or detract women from this list, but no matter what these women have all influenced us in one way or another. Being a woman and passionate about food myself I wanted to explore and not only learn from the masters but recreate some of their dishes to better understand what has shaped and molded them into who they are today.Follow us on this journey while we take an in depth exploration of these women's lives and what makes them who they are.

One of my favourite well-travelled bloggers Mary of One Perfect Bite invited bloggers to travel along on a culinary journey throughout the year. For 50 weeks we will experiment with dishes from each of the 50 influential women on "the list". Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty it will be an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters. My cohorts for this adventure are Joanne of Eats Well with Others , Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed,  Susan of the Spice Garden. ands Heather of Girlichef. If you would like to join in  please contact Mary. This is an informal event and you have the flexibility to follow along when you can. She will be posting every Friday.

We have all heard of the Fanny Farmer cookbooks, but what do we know about Fanny Farmer the woman.  Fannie Merritt Farmer, was stricken with what they believed was polio at the age of 17. She was bedridden and paralyzed and remained an invalid well into her 20's. Her parents urged her to study cookery under Mary J. Lincoln at the Boston Cooking-School where she would become a teacher. At 31 she not only graduated but took the school by storm eventually becoming the school head and transforming American cooking techniques still in place today.

 If any of you have been lucky enough to get your hands on a cookbook from the 1800's you will know that cookbooks relied heavily upon story-like paragraph instructions asking you to use a handful of this or a pinch of that. Her emphasis on level precise measurements led her to gradually revise the schools cookbook in 1896 and thereby creating more dependable recipe results. She revolutionized modern cooking and left an indelible print on modern cuisine. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is a perennial favorite of chefs and home cooks alike. It’s very likely that your own mother has one tucked away in her pantry and I’m betting that some of her favorite recipes originated from within its pages.

So from her extensive collections what would I choose to make?  After browsing many comforting recipes from the pages of Fanny's books I decided that making waffles with seasonal strawberries was the way to go. One thing you may not know about me is that I do not own a waffle maker. I think this is another hint if anyone is listening!!! I called one of my good friends who does have a waffle maker and invited myself for brunch!!! Thanks to my adventurous friends Sheryl and Doug for being my taste testers!!! This classic recipe for waffles became the standard American version since the Fannie Farmer cookbook was first published. Simple and wonderful, and always a family treat. The recipe suggests you use a standard, not Belgian Waffle maker for the best results. If you like sourdough bread you will love these!

What have we been up to.....
Mary of One Perfect Bite - Rhubarb Custard Pie
Joanne of Eats Well with Others - Vegetable Paella
Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey- Pure Cream of Tomato Soup
Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed - Whole Wheat Bread
Susan of the Spice Garden - Fanny Farmers Boston Brown Bread
Heather of Girlichef - English Muffins

**Fannie Farmer's Raised Waffles**

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 package dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
• 1/2 cup butter; cut in 8 pieces
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• butter; for serving
• warmed maple syrup; for serving
• strawberries

1. Put warm water in large mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast over top. Stir once or twice and leave to dissolve, about 5 minutes.

2. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat, watching carefully and tilting pan so butter melts evenly but doesn't burn. Add milk and stir until just warm, but not hot.

3. Add warm butter and milk to yeast mixture, along with salt, sugar and flour. Beat with spoon, wire whisk or rotary beater until batter is smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set batter aside overnight at room temperature. Batter will bubble up and then subside.

4. Just before cooking waffles, add eggs and baking soda and beat until smooth. Batter will be very thin.

5. Spray cool waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray, or turn on iron and when warm, grease both sides with oil (new waffle irons have nonstick coatings and don't require greasing). Close lid and when waffle iron is very hot, pour about 1/2 to 3/4 Cup batter into it. Don't cover whole surface of waffle iron, as batter will expand and spread during cooking. You will learn how much batter to use by doing first waffle.

6. Close lid and cook. After 3 to 4 minutes, check to see whether waffle is done. When waffle iron has stopped emitting steam, lift top of waffle iron carefully -- you don't want to tear waffle. Waffle should appear golden brown. If still pale, close top and bake 1 to 2 minutes.

7. When first waffle is done, lift lid of waffle iron and gently pry out waffle with fork. Serve hot with butter and pitcher of warm syrup. While first round of waffles are being eaten, make second batch. If you don't use all of batter, store in refrigerator, tightly covered, up to several days.

Serves 6

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