Hi,

We have the Waring Pro WMK300 and LOVE it! We've had it for almost 2 years and it works great. It makes the best Belgian waffles. We don't use it that often - maybe every other month but more around the holidays - Christmas and Easter or when we have overnight guests. The recipe takes awhile to prepare but you can always use the quicker versions which are also delicious. I don't know the differences of the WMK300A model though. Maybe others will know.

Good luck with your search and enjoy the waffles.

Waffles are one of my passions. If you are like minded, I recommend getting a used commercial waffle iron. Manufacturers include Star, Wells, Cobatco, Toastwell, Gold Medal, Nemco, and Munsey. These commercial models cost around $900-$1200 new (Sam's Club sells the Gold Medal model for $582), but you can find used ones on Ebay for $75-300 depending on age and condition. I have seen unused ones sold for $300.

The KA Pro and Waring Pro are not in the same category. They are consumer models that will not perform like a true professional machine, especially over the long run. Disclosure: I have never used either the KA Pro or Waring Pro. I own both a Toastwell (acquired by Star) and a Wells.

If you plan to make a lot of waffles, avoid a waffle maker with nonstick grates, because the nonstick coating will peel off over time. Commercial waffle grates (often cast iron) will season with use, and sticking is not usually an issue.

On the other hand, if you just want a machine for occasional use (e.g, a few times a year), the Waring Pro is probably fine, although it probably does not generate the same amount of heat that a commercial machine would, and thus the resulting waffles might not have quite the same consistency. Costco sells the Waring Pro for $60, and they have a liberal return policy should you ever have problems with the product.

So if you're relatively new to waffle making, it might be a good idea to start with the Waring Pro, and if you discover that you want to make waffles all the time, you can then consider getting a commercial quality machine. If you find that the Waring Pro just sits in your kitchen and collects dust, you're out only $60.

Happy waffle making!

We bought the Waring about a year ago, and have used it half a dozen times. We stayed at a Hotel that had DIY Belgian waffles, and decided we had to have one. Making the perfect waffle has been DW's project. So far my pancakes are way better tasting. ....so garden18c, care to post a recipe?

I have the KA Pro and couldn't be happier. I use Carbon's Mix available from Amazon and get perfect results every time. abt.com has them shipped for $173.

We love our Waring Pro and have used it every week for seven years. It is still in perfect condition (no damage to the non-stick finish whatsoever). It makes fabulous true Belgian waffles with appropriate depth and texture (a crisp crust and moist airy interior).

We used to make the waffle batter overnight with yeast and fold in whipped egg whites in the morning. For the last few years, we have used a much easier "instant waffle" recipe adapted from research which delivers comparable results:

Instant Waffles

Prep Time: ~5 Minutes

6-8 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

3 large eggs
1 2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat waffle iron. Mix all dry ingredients in small bowl.
Beat eggs in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in milk, oil, and vanilla.
Add dry mixture and mix just until smooth.
Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Serve immediately.

I love waffles so please post again when you get the waffle maker of your dreams and let us know how it turns out! Meanwhile, I just use a little Villaware that I received as a gift (Williams Sonoma I think). Like Improv, I always used to do the yeast waffle recipe but that required too much planning ahead so I switched to the one below and now will also try Improv's as well.

This is as much lighter weight waffle than the traditional yeast waffle:

1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
2 c. buttermilk
6 Tablespoons safflower oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla or other flavoring (instead of vanilla, use liqueurs that match the seasonal fruits being served with the waffles, for instance)

optional: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + zest of lime or zest of 1/2 lemon

Whisk dry ingredients in bowl #1.
Wisk egg yolks, buttermilk, oil in bowl #2.
Whip egg whites until soft peaks in bowl #3.

Pour wet bowl #2 into dry bowl #1; gently incorporate. When about 75% incorporated, start folding in egg whites. (Don't overdue the mixing; just barely incorporate all. Ok for small blobs of egg white to be visible.)

Pour into hot waffle iron. Note: This batter runs a little so don't overfill.

Purchased the KA Pro Line waffle maker, and it arrived Friday. No surprise, but we had waffles Saturday and Sunday morning for breakfast :)

Works really well...

We tried the recipe that improv posted for Saturday's breakfast. Something was missing... maybe sweetness and salt? For Sunday, we tried the Quick and Easy Waffles recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything book. We like that one better than improv's.

I'll post the recipe here:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

- Bowl #1: Combine dry ingredients
- Bowl #2: mix together milk and eggs. Stir in the melted butter, and vanilla extract (if using)
- Stir the wet into the dry ingredients

I used 1 3/4 cups of milk instead of the what was listed. Makes 3 full sized Belgian waffle, and the 4th being about 90% full size. Batter is thick, and each of the first 3 waffles contained slightly more than 1 cup.

Timer set to 4 minutes gave a crisp exterior, and fluffy interior. Topped them off with whipped butter and real maple syrup. Really tasty.

-Gorilla

Hi all,

I realize that I am sort of "bumping" a relatively old subject up to the top again, but for the last few days I have been shopping for a home Belgium waffle maker as an "upgrade" for our old conventional Cuisinart waffle maker. I like our regular waffles, but I think I will like homemade Belgium waffles better.

I can't claim that waffles are my passion, as housefamous can, but I may eventually "evolve" to that point, and I read the post of housefamous with great interest, as well as this entire message thread.

I have been shopping in Amazon. The user reviews at Amazon have been a good resource of hands-on information about the various models of waffle makers available. The reviews here in this message thread seem to be consistent with many of the Amazon reviews. The Waring Pro models there have received a preponderance of good reviews and, based on them and the messages here, I have decided to purchase one of the Waring Pro models.

However, the question remained as to which model of the Waring Pro I should choose. The fixed handle Waring Pro WMK300 seems like a junior version of the "commercial" Waring Waffle Maker WW150.

I finally settled on the Waring Pro Professional Quality Belgian Waffle Maker (Wwm400pc) as the "latest" model. I'm going to take a chance on that one, even though the Waring website doesn't list anything beyond the WMK300A model. I'm curious as to how this is going to turn out. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the last waffle maker that I purchase.

ZM

I love waffles. Ever make chocolate waffles a la mode for dessert? Yum.

I have a Kitchenaide Pro. Have used it for 3 years now. Use it about once a month. Last time was for an After-Midnight Breakfast on New Year's Eve for 16 people. I was making them faster than people could eat them. Every batch comes out perfectly, even the first one. Easy, easy, easy.

oldalgebra,

Your KitchenAid Pro Waffle Baker is currently unavailable, but most sites that carry it hold out the possibility that it will become available again. Like you, most users have given it 5-star reviews, but apparently there have been occasional warranty resolution problems with some examples of the unit.

ZM

We have the KitchenAid Pro Line Waffle Maker (in the Nickel Pearl color) and love it. Hubs used to want to go out to breakfast for waffles every weekend, but since we've had this (almost a year), we've only gone out to breakfast on a weekend twice (except for, of course, when we're away from home on vacations). And he never orders waffles any more when we do eat breakfast out, but we have waffles at home every weekend.

We also use the Carbon's Pancake and Waffle Mix -- yum!

The Wwm400pc model is the Costco version, identical to the 300A model.

Does anyone know why the Kitchenaid Pro Line waffle baker seems to be unavailable anywhere?