It could be argued that there's nothing better than freshly baked bread, the smell, the fluffy texture, still hot and steaming inside....unless of course, you take that bread dough and stuff it with pizza sauce and vegan cheddar, then cook it in a waffle iron, to create pizza waffles! All hot and crisp, oozing with melted cheeze, dipped in more of that delicious, herby pizza sauce...you just can't beat it! This is the perfect snack to share with company, especially this bank holiday Monday...These pizza waffles are a great recipe to make for kids, but adults will definitely appreciate their glory too!
The sauce is a simple one, made up of tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and some seasoning, but it's so incredibly flavourful! I used a vegan cheddar flavour cheeze for that extra bit of sharpness, but feel free to use your favourite. I also used a wholemeal seeded bread mix for the dough, to add some nutrition but also for convenience. You simply add water, wait an hour (the airing cupboard is a great place for bread to prove) and you've got fresh dough! I used a 500g bread mix which made 12 delicious pizza waffles. You can even freeze some of the dough if you don't need it and use it again for next time and if you can find ready made vegan pizza dough in your area then you can use this too.
When the dough has proved, you knock it back one more time and roll it out into about a 1/2 cm thickness, you then slice the dough in half length-ways with a pizza cutter and then into 12 rectangles. Place about 1 tsp sauce in the centre of the dough, top with a slice of cheeze and then seal. The trick is not to over-stuff the dough, so the fillings stay inside the waffles, but I found that folding one edge of dough over the other and pressing together, like you would with a calzone works well to seal them. The bites take about 6 minutes to cook, so you may need to do these in batches, you can keep them warm in the oven whilst you do this, but remember, steaming melted cheeze will be hot, so if serving to kids it may be best to let them cool a little first anyway.
Pizza Waffles | Makes: 12 | Time: 45 mins* + 1 hour proving time**
* Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 35 mins, based on using a 2-sided waffle iron
** If using a bread mix, not required if using ready made pizza dough
You'll need
- Mixing bowl
- Small bowl
- Fork
- Pizza cutter
- Flour for dusting
- Rolling pin
Ingredients
- 500g bread mix (I used wholegrain seeded) or vegan pizza dough
- 100g vegan cheese, sliced
- 6 whole plum tomatoes, from a can
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Make the bread mix up according to packet instructions, leave to prove, then knock back once and roll out on a lightly floured surface to around 1/2 cm thickness. Alternatively, use ready made vegan pizza dough. To make the sauce, mash the tomatoes with a fork and combine with the tomato puree, oregano, onion and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Then thinly slice the vegan cheese.
- Pre-heat the waffle iron and lightly grease with oil.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 rectangles. Spoon 1 tsp sauce onto each one, then top with the sliced cheese. Seal the edges of the dough by pinching together, folding one edge over the other if needed (like a calzone).
- Place the stuffed dough in the centre of each side of the waffle iron, close the lid gently and try not to press it down too much. Cook the waffles for 6 minutes each in batches until all are cooked, serve up with the remaining sauce and enjoy!
Cassidy xx
