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I have a silicone waffle mold for use in the oven. I'm not expecting to get anything like what I'd get from a real waffle iron, but even with low expectations I've been quite disappointed: my oven waffles end up either limp and soggy or dried out and half-burned.

Any tips to make them crispier? The one useful tip I've found so far is to tip them out of the mold halfway through, which at least gets some color on the sides and top.

lambshaanxy
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    honestly you are better off throwing some frozen waffles in a toaster or air fryer – eps May 20 '23 at 23:53
  • @eps: You could use this silicone mould to make waffles to freeze. When I make waffles and have more batter than people are hungry for, I under-cook the last one so it can be frozen and finish browning in the toaster later. – Peter Cordes May 22 '23 at 10:12
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    Do as I do. Make the waffle, then drop them in the toaster to crisp up. – Steve May 22 '23 at 22:12

2 Answers2

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You will never ever get crispy anything out of a silicone baking dish. Silicone conducts heat too poorly; it won’t be able to bring the surface of the food far above boiling temperature, which is necessary for a crispy crust (without completely desiccating the food).

Instead, cook at a relatively low heat. Once the waffle is done, remove it from the dish, increase the oven temperature to high, and convection cook it for a few minutes directly on the rack. That will crisp it up.

Sneftel
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  • Yes, as noted in the question I'm already doing that, although I need to try adjusting the temperature as well. But the texture is still very different from a real waffle. – lambshaanxy May 20 '23 at 21:30
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    It’s a good thing you’re not expecting to get anything like a real waffle, then. – Sneftel May 20 '23 at 21:44
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    Tried switching from 220C/oven to 250C grill after removing the waffles from the mold, and the end result was measurable better. Thanks! – lambshaanxy May 21 '23 at 00:39
  • "Silicone conducts heat too poorly". I've always wondered why silicone cookware is soooo popular; it just doesn't make sense for anything except utensils and oven mitts. – RonJohn May 23 '23 at 18:22
  • @ronjohn Is there some reason desiccation wouldn't be considered viable? It works for pie crusts, and the critical parameter for "crispiness" in sensory profiles is in fact controlled by water activity, is it not? – Arctiic May 26 '23 at 07:19
  • @Arctiic silicone, the heat is only coming from one direction: the top. That's inherently less efficient than getting heat from all sides. – RonJohn May 26 '23 at 13:01
  • @Arctiic Again, "completely dessicated". A fully dehydrated waffle would be plenty crispy and you could do it in a silicone baking dish. But it would not be tasty. – Sneftel May 26 '23 at 13:19
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Duplicated a comment reply by the question author to Sneftel's answer so it isn't at risk of deletion:

Tried switching from 220C/oven to 250C grill after removing the waffles from the mold, and the end result was measurable better.

Nzall
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  • Please don't. I've flagged this for deletion. -OP – lambshaanxy May 21 '23 at 11:45
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    This is clearly the correct answer, since it's the one that actually solved OP's problem. – fectin May 21 '23 at 15:57
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    @lambshaanxy This is a completely legitimate answer. Comments can be deleted at any time, so PLEASE do NOT put what solved your issue in a comment. Put it in an answer instead. – Nzall May 21 '23 at 20:33
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    @lambshaanxy: If you want to post your own answer about that technique, *then* it would be a appropriate to ask someone else to delete their answer which just exists to quote your comment. Unless / until you do that, though, this answer should stay. It's ok that you didn't initially think your comment was worthy of an answer, but it's not up to you to decide that nobody else can post it an answer that quotes it with attribution. If you later decide that you do want the credit for it as an answer, that's fine, but like I said you should post it as an answer first before requesting deletion. – Peter Cordes May 22 '23 at 10:15