The modern waffle has its origins in the wafers—very light thin crisp cakes baked between wafer irons—of the Middle Ages. Wafer irons consisted of two metal plates connected by a hinge, with each plate connected to an arm with a wooden handle. The iron was placed over a fire and flipped to cook both sides of the wafer. The irons were used to produce a variety of different flat, unleavened cakes, usually from a mixture of barley and oats, not the white flour used today. In 14th-century England, wafers were sold by street vendors called waferers. The modern waffle is a leavened form of wafer. Medieval waffle law: In medieval Europe, vendors were permitted to sell their waffles outside of churches on saints’ days…