The Sage Smart Waffle Maker, Brushed Stainless Steel, BWM620UK

Product Information

Once you tell the Smart Wafflewhat kind of waffle you're making,the cooking time is automatically calculated to suit your waffle style and colour There are recipes for all four types in the booklet that comes with the machine, plus an explanation of how different settings affect the end product If you want to make a large batch and eat together with friends or family, then you can keep cooked waffles warm in the oven. A few minutes in the oven can actually improve their crispiness. Don't wrap them in foil as they may go a bit limp and soft.

Don’t lift the lid too early. Wait for the indicator light to come on for the machine to stop steaming before taking a peek. If you lift the lid before they are done you may cause your waffle to rip. Much like pancakes, the basic ingredients for waffle mix couldn’t be more humble – flour, eggs and milk. But despite this, don’t expect to make perfect waffles on your first go. You will need to get to know your machine and perfect your batter mix before hosting a waffle party. However, once you have whipped up a few, you will feel like a pro. Jamie Oliver’s Brilliant Breakfast Waffles is a good throw-it-all-together starter recipe. You can easily modify this with sweet or savoury ingredients and pimp with delicious toppings. We’ve often returned home from Brussels, shop-bought waffle mix in tow, but we’ve struggled to recreate that iconic flavour in our own kitchen, leaving a void needing filling and a craving unsatisfied! We had contemplated investing in a waffle iron, but often put off for several reasons, but then the Smart Waffle™ Pro from Sage Appliances came into our lives. Those clever clogs at Sage put a challenge to us to see if we could recreate the magic of our beloved Belgian-style gaufres right in our own kitchen.The machine is about the same size as a mini health grill – about 28 x 23cm standing about 15cm high, it is nicely solid weighing about 3kg. To make the waffles simply switch it on choosing your heat setting, wait for the blue “ready” light to come on, pour in the batter, close the lid and wait for the waffle to cook then remove and eat. Sage by Heston Blumenthal No Mess Waffle Maker – Key Features The total baking time is a bit longer than the other models tested – approx. 5 -10 minutes and it was hard to ascertain when to flip. The instruction manual suggests part-way through so it will take a few practice runs to get the timing just right. You will need to peek at your waffle from time to time to see what is going on (but make sure you leave them alone for the first few minutes). For evenly filled waffles, pour the batter onto the centre of each grid and gently spread out to the edges.

Basically, you switch on the Smart Waffle, select a programme (I chose chocolate) and turn the dial to determine how light, golden, or dark the waffle comes out. You can then choose from one of the starter recipes that Sage give you in the handbook – which I recommend for your first few goes – and get cooking! This is a serious bit of kit for the dedicated waffle maker. In appearance, it actually looks like a mini Aga with its 2 flat-domed lids side by side. These two hot plates operate individually with separate switches. Each switch has a power light but there is no temperature gauge or indicator light to let you know when the waffle maker is heated, instead the instructions say to wait 8 minutes before cooking – you can use that time to prep your toppings.

There are 7 cooking settings which produce progressively darker and crisper waffles – we found level 4 was perfect The short answer? Pretty much everything. But to go into a little more depth, the Sage No Mess Waffle Maker looks and feels like a premium product straight away. Its sleek circular shape and sturdy stainless body make for a very aesthetically pleasing piece of kit, with the waffle plate inside looking similarly sturdy and well-designed. Now that you have feasted on the waffles, let’s get down to business drooling over the rather sleek Smart Waffle Maker. It is part of the Heston Blumenthal range and with his scientific mind and attention to detail you already know it works and works really really well. Thermal engineered heating elements ensure even heat distribution. Timer and progress indicator will automatically begin to count down once the lid is closed. A Bit More adds additional time to get your waffle just right without having to reset the timer.