WMK300 Belgian Waffle Maker, Brushed Stainless

I had never even considered buying a waffle maker before staying in a [modestly-priced] hotel in Seattle that featured one of these. I've eaten waffles from standard (non-flipping) waffle-makers before and you might as well buy frozen ones. The waffles from this Waring Pro are much better, even when using store-bought mixes. Speaking of which, do not limit yourself to the recipes in the manual, which I haven't even tried yet. I bought an all-purpose mix that came with instructions to "upgrade" from pancakes to waffles by adding vanilla, an egg, some butter, etc. While each of these ingredients adds to the flavour of the finished product, even the mix by itself works fine and tastes good. Amazon actually does sell one other flipping waffle iron (made by Krups: the aptly named FDD912-76). It is a little less bulky and features removable cooking surfaces for easy cleaning. Although the Waring is quite large, taking about the same amount of surface space as a breadmaker, it is very easy to take care of as long as you don't overfill it. If that last sentence made you a little worried, don't be. The whole thing seems pretty forgiving and they include a measuring cup. Which brings me to the big advantage of the Waring: the timing mechanism, which means you'll never waste a single waffle getting it right. I opened the package, followed the instructions in the pamphlet, assembled the mix and 2 minutes later I had a perfect waffle. No "seasoning". No experimentation to find the right cooking selection. As far as I can tell, the Krups model lacks this feature and is more for those who prefer to get adventurous with their timing. You know, people who don't throw away a burnt waffle but instead try and pass it off as "authentic homemade". You know who you are. To summarise: perfect waffles, quickly. When you're done wipe it with a paper towel, as long as you have enough counter space to let it sit for a while (it's heavy!).

Great little waffle maker but I can't get them to last more than a few weeks. I'm now on number three. The last two failed in the same manner that everyone is reporting - unit powers on but hot plate stays cools. When they do work, they work very well and make great waffles. I contacted the company and they said that they will warranty the item by replacing it (they don't repair them) but they would not admit to what the problem was or if it had been resolved. In either case, even it fails after a few months, it's always easier to order a new one, then just send the old one back to Amazon in the new box. Hopefully I'll eventually get one that will stand the test of time.

Ok, first, I have only used it a few times, so I may update this review as time goes on. However, initially, the waffle maker impresses me. It is a fairly heavy weight appliance for it's size (not a lot of plastic on the thing, mostly metal, and seemingly fairly high quality metal. The nonstick parts work well; I haven't had any problems with the batter sticking (but all my recipes call for either butter or oil in the batter; that helps). It's also kind of long; it takes up quite a bit of space on a counter top. But, the real story is the functioning of the unit. The lights tell you when it is ready to work, and when you put the batter in and close it (and flip it over) it will beep three times when the waffle is done. You can adjust the darkness of the waffle by moving the dial up or down (1-6); it recommends 4 for a perfect waffle, and so far, the waffles have come out a beautiful golden brown. Now, the next part is somewhat subjective, but I don't think they come out as well the restaurant quality waffle makers (the ones with a lot more juice that run on 240 volts). On the other hand, this is the best waffle maker that I have found so far; the waffles are crisp on the outside and tender (but still done) on the inside; the Carbon malted waffles, though, don't quite have that special taste you get in the hotel breakfast places. I also make a sourdough waffle using regular flour with a few extra ingredients (like baking powder) and separated eggs where you make airy whites (like a meringue) which when you mix it with the batter, makes the waffles extra light; this one seems to come out extra delicious (and it's a lot cheaper than Garveys or Carbons). If any of you out there want the recipe, I would be happy to share it with you; you need to have a starter sourdough mix that you keep in your frig in order to make these waffles (calls for 2 cups of it per time, but you can halve the recipe). The waffle maker has a one year, limited warranty, but I have a feeling it is well made, and you probably won't have any problems with it Oh, one more thing; if you put too much batter in (they recommend 3/4 cup), it will overflow all over the outside of the unit. It is a mild pain to clean parts of it as you have to use a small brush to get in the cracks. You can't disassemble any of the parts (like the nonstick elements), so you just have to clean it by hand with a sponge, dampened cloth, or small brush (don't you dare submerse the thing). Just letting you know that is pays to not overfill the waffle maker with batter (my sourdough batter is harder as it expands a lot and tends to escape the waffle maker in places). Enough!

I bought this waffle maker in June 05, and ordered a new one today June 07. The waffles are superb, however my unit shorted out and fried the circuit board. It has never been in water, dropped or used in any manner that would cause it to fail. My local Waring authorized service center informed me that Waring does not and will not sell repair parts. I would have to send the broken one in and they would send me a rebuilt one for $70 + shipping. So I will buy a new one for $79.95 with free shipping instead. A Pro quality appliance should last much longer than 2 years in normal household use (3-4 times a month for 4 people). I am buying another one because the waffles are so good, and I am betting that my first waffle maker was just a lemon. [...]

My Waring Pro has cooked hundred of waffles without complaint until a screw which connected the iron with the hinge fell out and made it a bit loose. I check with Waring to order a new part but no, they only sell the electronic board, no other parts are available. Dozens of waffles later I suffer hinge failure in the middle of making waffles. The second screw (of 2) fell out totaling disabling the iron. I can understand why they might not sell parts - the thing is really hard to take apart and would be very difficult to re-assemble without some special screw starters as there are several that are really deep. Thankfully I didn't have to take it apart that far. When you open the iron there are two self tapping screws on each side near the hinge. They screw into a plastic boss that is part of the hinge. The screws are small and don't have much to bite into. It's not surprising that they eventually give way. The solution is to get four 6-32 flat head screws preferably stainless 1 1/4" long and a 1/8" bit. If your iron has already given way you will have to tape it together back into the original position. Try putting the old screw back in even though it won't hold, you're just checking alignment. Take drill bit and drill from the screw side al the way through the hinge and avoid your hand. The new screws should screw tight in while grabbing a good amount of plastic to hold firm. Don't over tighten and strip them out. I expect that they will work this way for a few hundred more waffles. If these screws get loose just get a 6-32 acorn nut (they look better but you can use a standard hex nut) and screw the threads into the nut. I did this not only on the original side that failed but also did the other side in anticipation of a failure there. UPDATE May 11, 2015 Screws continue to hold without complaint. Be careful when looking at Waring waffle makers. Models that look the same can be very different in execution. This model has a couple of issues (fuse and screws) but these are easy to fix and the repairs are durable. I would especially be cautious concerning the double waffle makers. This WMK300 draws 1200w while the double sided versions draw 1300-1400w (different models). I previously trashed a 1400w Kitchenaid double sided waffle iron because it couldn't truly brown the waffles. I see no reason why a similar Waring unit would do any different. As it is this model makes them pretty quick. One thing that greatly affects performance is the waffle batter you use. Carbon's Original Golden Malted Pancake & Waffle Flour is a commercial mix sold mostly to restaurants in bulk. Amazon offers it in 33oz cans for about $20. This should be good for a couple of months. In Texas waffles are often improved by the addition of pecans. I get 2lb bags of whole pecans at Costco and chop them up. Buying chopped pecans in the grocery store only monetizes something that would or should have been thrown out. Although Carbon suggests water I use milk. I then add a cup of chopped pecans to the mix.

This unit made absolutely perfect waffles. But it is not built to last. I have used this only about once every two months on average and have had it for exactly three years. When I went to make waffles the other day, I flipped the unit and the iron totally and unexpectedly disengaged from the casing. As you can see from a couple of the user photos on the product page, I am not the first person to whom this has happened. And per other reviews I've read with similar problems, the magic number seems to be three years. Waffle irons should last decades (my old, $20 iron is 15 years old!). I have contacted Waring Pro for a refund or product replacement (assuming the product has been improved) and I will wait to see what they have to say. I am livid that I spent over $100 on this product and will be even more angry if Waring Pro does not provide a solution for me. I would suggest you find another waffler if you're looking at this one.

I was so enrapt by all the positive reviews here, that it never dawned on me that I was ordering the ultimate clueless husband gift: a Waffle Iron for my wife on Mother's Day. Oops! Well, it didn't turn out so bad, and the waffles are turning out great. First, concerning the 4 stars, the only thing wrong is that the iron doesn't always beep when it's done. I honestly don't know if this is a bug or a "feature"--but it confuses me and if the unit is indeed malfunctioning, I'll have to replace it. Miscellaneous comments: Some reviewers here said the non-stick works so well, you may not need to season it before using, so I just wiped it pretty good and used it without oil spray. That was a mistake. It took a long time to clean it. You need the spray, especially for the first waffle of each batch--after that you might get by without the spray, but I won't be trying that again for some time. And make sure it's completely hot first. You may also want to hold a plastic place-mat behind the unit when you spray because the oil (however little) will accumulate over time on whatever is near/behind the iron. Concerning PAM & other aerosol oil, you should be able to use them if you pour in the batter right after you spray, which you should do anyways. Four of the (only) five recipes in the manual use yeast--too time-consuming for me (although the overnight recipe might be OK). I want a quick killer recipe and am experimenting with Bisquik-based ones. Here's one winner I came up with: (especially good for dessert waffles) 2 Cups Bisquik 2 Tblsp. Sugar optional 1/8 Teasp. Baking Soda (not powder) 1 Cup Milk (will work whether it's Whole, Skim, or in-between; or try buttermilk (preferred by Cook's Illustrated)). 3 Eggs Separated (only 2 yolks + 3 whites whipped into merangue) 1 Teasp. Vanilla 4 Tblsp. Melted Butter (either salted or unsalted OK) Turn Waffle Iron on to setting 4. Measure Bisquik and Sugar (and Baking Soda if slight extra rise desired) and briefly mix in Milk, two Egg Yolks, and Vanilla; and after combined, mix in the melted Butter. Batter should be very thick, but pourable at this point. If too thick, add splash of milk. Finally, whip Egg Whites into a merangue--just until stiff peaks form (about 90 seconds with whisk attachment on my hand mixer) and fold in 1/2 the egg white merangue, then fold in final half. When ready to pour, spray with oil (I use a pump oil gadget). Pour batter in a circle, not from the edge, but half-way out from center, then spiral batter to the center. It only needs to be even in the middle, don't worry if the batter doesn't evenly go to the edges, it'll come out just fine. Close & spin; it will (or won't) beep in a couple minutes. After slowly opening, use a fork around the waffles' edge if needed to help loose. Makes four waffles. Bon Apetit!

I can't say enough about the quality of the Waring Pro. It makes excellent waffles. The construction is everything the engineer in me wants in a waffle iron. A drawback to this unit is that it takes up quite a bit of room. As was suggested in another review, we store our Waring on the counter top where it looks great. We have now used the waffle maker for almost a year and find we have waffles for lunch often. My review is slightly changed to reflect more of what we have learned over the last several months. My wife and I are not accomplished chefs so we struggled with recipes. Thus I want to comment on three things: seasoning the grids, recipes and cook time. Regarding seasoning: The directions indicate seasoning with cooking spray or oil; we initially preheated the Waring and then sprayed the grids with Mazola Canola/sunflower spray. We were never happy with the way that worked (we may have been too generous with the spray). My wife finally used a spatula and paper toweling and wiped between the grids. The waffles are coming out fine. It is important to re-season the Waring which we do about every three months. We found out the hard way what happens when you don't re-season; the waffle stuck to the grids and it wasn't fun getting it out. The directions in the manual tell you what to do if a waffle sticks. It is worth reading. Regarding recipes: We tried about four recipes before my wife went to the library and found the following recipe in a newer Betty Crocker cookbook. This is the only recipe we use. WAFFLES PREP: 10 MINUTES (MAKES FOUR BELGIAN WAFFLES) 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1-3/4 cups milk 1/2 cup cooking oil 1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside. 2. In another mixing bowl, beat whole eggs slightly. Beat in milk and oil. 3. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy). When mixing this batter, my wife followed the above instructions. For the oil she used Canola oil. Using a whisk proved to be a better way to mix the batter. The recipe says the batter will have some lumps. It did, but they were not there at the eating. We preheated the Waring Pro using a 4-1/2 setting and did not use any oil or spray to re-season. I use the measuring cup that comes with the machine and fill it with batter 1/16" over the fill line on the cup. I pour the batter in a circular motion about 3/4" from the outer edge of the grids. By accident, I found out that the amount of batter you put in the Waring is sensitive to where the temperature knob is set. The knob was inadvertently shifted to 6; I didn't notice. I poured batter into the unit and it rose a whole lot! In the end no big deal but now I check the setting when I turn the unit on. I can never get the whole base to fill when pouring in the batter so I gently move the handle back and forth so the batter can flow in one direction and then the other to fill all the grids. It takes me about 30 seconds to fill the grids, close the cover and turn the waffle iron over. I then bake the waffle an additional four minutes. About cooking time: I depend completely on the clock for the time to cook, 4-1/2 minutes total. The signal from the Waring Pro comes very early and even monitoring the steam from the batter is not adequate. Using the above, you will have Belgian waffles with the looks and taste that will make you proud! Extra Waffles: When you have extra batter, bake the waffles, let them cool, wrap individually in aluminum foil and freeze. They keep for several weeks and reheat well.