I Promised Rosa a Waffle Recipe

I promised Rosa a waffle recipe, but I started thinking that if I was going to write it down, I might as well share it with everybody at once. I actually have several different waffle recipes. I’ll start with the simplest one.
Classic Buttermilk Waffles: Beat 2 eggs in a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of buttermilk, 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening (vegetable oil or melted butter).
Variations: For a richer batter, use 3 eggs, 1 ¾ cups flour, and ½ cup of shortening instead of the amounts above. If you use regular milk instead of buttermilk, omit the baking soda. I am told you can use yoghurt or sour cream in place of buttermilk, but I haven’t tried it; if you use sour cream, you need less shortening.
Raised Waffles: For more interesting waffles, try this raised waffle recipe. The night before you want to serve the waffles, sprinkle one package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast on to ½ cup of warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of warm whole milk, 1 stick or less of melted butter (or ½ cup vegetable oil), 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix these ingredients until smooth in a very large mixing bowl (it expands!). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it overnight on the counter top (if it is very warm and you don’t have air conditioning, you can put it in the refrigerator). The next morning, add 2 beaten eggs and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Stir well and make the waffles (this batter is very thin.) You can store this batter for several days in the refrigerator in a (large) covered container.
World’s Best Waffles (Jim’s Not-So-Secret Recipe): Combine one recipe of the Buttermilk Waffles with one recipe of the Raised Waffles. This is a very good waffle.
Additions and Toppings: Top waffles with any combination of fresh strawberries, raspberries, peaches or bananas, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, real maple syrup, chocolate syrup and/or whipped cream that appeals to you (I’m a strawberry, maple syrup and whipped cream guy, but you’ve got to be true to yourself). Sara likes to put some of the toppings in the waffle batter, but I think it interferes with the waffleization process and makes it harder to clean up, especially if you have a good non-teflon waffle maker (see next paragraph.)
Other Useful Facts: Modern day waffle makers are good, but because the Teflon coating on the waffle grids can’t stand really high temperatures, they never get as hot as old fashioned cast-iron waffle makers did. This means that they take longer to cook and never get quite as crisp as in the old days. If you can find an old fashioned no-teflon waffle maker at a second-hand store or garage sale, buy it (but watch out for frayed cords). You may need to season it every now and then with a little vegetable oil, but once it’s clean and seasoned, the shortening in the waffles should keep it non-stick, at least if you keep the fruit and chocolate out of the waffle batter. Once it’s been seasoned, don’t clean it with anything abrasive or with soap and water. (Treat it like a good omelet pan.) When you use an older wafflemaker, remember that they can cook very fast and can get very hot.