[Sca-cooks] wafers

[Harris Mark.S-rsve60]

Johnnae said:
>>>
I did 600 plus by myself for the Midrealm Crown feast in 2001.
That took an entire day (9 hours) with breaks. I do an assembly line.
Melted the butter in the microwave, used the kitchen aid mixer for the 
batter, and used electric irons. 
<<<<
Yes, most of the time seems to be spent waiting on the wafers to cook in the iron. So having more than one iron would allow you to overlap things a bit. As you mentioned it does take a while. This is where making it a group project helps out since you can break up the monotony by switching jobs or talking or whatever.

>>>
You turn from handling the iron to working with the last batch. I 
usually trim
mine and remove any stray bits that baked along the edge. (They over-run the
impressions, so you end up with flat cookie edges or pieces attached 
that aren't decorative.)
<<<
Yes, this is something I've struggled with. At one time I thought I could get good enough that I could spoon on the correct amount so it would be exactly enough. But even when I manage to get just the right amount it is likely offcentered a bit so I end up with a gap on one side and an overage on the other. Then I've debated whether it was better to have wafers that didn't quite come to the edge or wafers that extended over the edge. How do you cut off the excess and when? I've tried breaking it off with my fingers which sometimes pulls off pieces of the wafer. I've tried sissors. I've tried a knife. I think the sissors probably work best a little while after the wafers come out. Not too soon, but before they get too crisp, where they will break.

>>>
You just keeping doing it until they are done. Once I tried an electric 
iron, I've been all for using non-stick electric irons. 
<<<
Since the electric one was only a few dollars more than the non-electric one that was what I got. Now it has a broken leg but if I can prop it up works fairly well. I've wondered if the stove top one would be better since I could control the temperature or whether that would be yet another variable to try to figure out and likely have wrong at times. The non-electric one might also be useful at SCA camping events or Pennsic, but I don't usually get very fancy with my food at those events.

Stefan