Sugar Waffles From Liege Luikse Wafels Gaufres Liegeoises Recipes

AUTHENTIC BELGIAN LIèGE WAFFLES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the milk, water, and yeast *.If using Active Dry Yeast, gently mix with a spatula and set aside to bloom the yeast for ~5-10 minutes. Once bloomed, add in the granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix just until combined and continue to step 2.If using Instant Yeast, add the milk, water, yeast, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix just until combined and continue to step 2.
• Stop the mixer and add in the eggs, honey, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add in 2 cups of flour and mix until the flour is hydrated and mostly mixed in. Stop the mixer, scrape down the paddle attachment, and switch to the dough hook.
• Add in the salt and 1/2 cup of flour at a time with the mixer on low until all of the flour is combined. You may not need all of the flour depending on how humid your space is. The flour dough should start to pull away slightly. Next, add in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Be patient here as the butter will take a few minutes to incorporate itself into the dough. The dough will come back together. Remove the dough ball from the bowl and transfer it to a larger clean bowl lightly greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter in a warm, dry place until doubled in size (1-3 hours).
• When doubled, deflate the dough by punching it down in the center and bringing the edges of the dough over the top (like you're folding it into itself). Replace the cover and put the bowl of dough in the fridge to allow it to ferment overnight.*Note you can skip the overnight fridge resting if you are short on time. Move to step 6 to continue. The cold ferment just helps develop more flavors in the waffle.
• If you cold fermented the dough, the next day, remove the dough from the fridge and allow the dough to come to room temp (about 2 hours).
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured board. Flatten the dough out into a rectangle and spread out 1 1/2 cups of pearl sugar. Fold the bottom third up and then the top third on top of that. Press down and add the rest of the pearl sugar. Fold the sides up to form a rectangle. Slowly cup the dough and roll it out into a log about 12-14" long Divide the dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls, flatten slightly into round discs, and place on a parchment-lined pan. Cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap.
• Heat up your Belgian waffle maker. Since all makers are different, you'll have to fiddle around with yours. I would advise starting off on low and increase the temperature a little at a time until you find the correct setting that will caramelize your sugars and cook your waffles to the perfect golden caramel brown. Spray the iron with non-stick spray and place a round of dough in the center of your waffle maker. Close and cook until the waffle puffs up, cooked through and the sugar pearls are caramelized. Carefully remove from the maker, and serve immediately or place it on a cooling rack.

LIEGE BELGIAN WAFFLES WITH PEARL SUGAR

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast and white sugar over warm milk in a small bowl. The milk should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 15 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Whisk the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract into the yeast mixture until evenly blended; set aside. Stir together the flour and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Gently mix in the pearl sugar.
• Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Place a baseball-size ball of dough on the preheated waffle iron. Cook waffles until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Allow waffles to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

LIèGE WAFFLES

Steps:

• Combine the milk and 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) water in a small saucepan and heat until lukewarm, 110 to 116 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add brown sugar and yeast and stir to combine; set aside 5 minutes. (The yeast should look foamy. If it doesn't foam, discard and try again with different yeast.)
• Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, stir in all but 1 cup of the flour. Mix in salt. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition and scraping down the bowl before adding the next. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix on low speed, stopping once or twice to pull the dough off the hook, about 5 minutes, or until the dough is glossy, pulls away from the side of the bowl and has gathered in a ball on the hook.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. The dough will double in size. Stir the puffed dough with a spoon to deflate, then re-cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in the pearl sugar (or your homemade version) a little at a time. The dough will be stiff but will become more pliable as it warms. Cut dough into 16 equal pieces with a bench scraper or chef's knife and return to the refrigerator.
• Heat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. Working with 1 or 2 balls of dough at a time (leave the rest in the refrigerator), arrange on the waffle iron and cook until golden brown all over, 2 to 5 minutes depending on your iron. Use tongs to transfer waffles to a baking sheet or cooling rack. Some of the sugar will melt out of the waffles and collect in your iron, adding an extra layer of glossy molten sugar to each waffle as you continue. Serve waffles warm.

THE BEST BELGIAN WAFFLES WITH YEAST

Steps:

• In a saucepan add 360g of the milk. Add in the butter cubes and warm it over low-medium heat until the butter has melted. Leave it to cool down to lukewarm, then pour it into a large bowl.
• Add to this the yeast, sugar, salt, flour, and eggs and whisk them together until combined. It will be a bit lumpy and that is fine. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plate and place it in the refrigerator overnight. For faster waffles, the waffle batter can also ferment on the bench for 2 hours or until doubled, though they won't be as flavorful.
• Once it has fermented, stir the batter with a fork to deflate it. Add in 2-3 Tbsp of milk to create a pourable cake batter consistency.
• Heat the waffle iron. Once it is hot, pour in approximately ¼- ½ cup of batter per waffle, this will depend on the size of your waffle maker. Bake them for 3-4 minutes until deep golden brown and crispy.
• Serve the waffles immediately to retain their crispiness.
• The baked waffles can also be frozen for future use and reheated in the toaster.

SUGAR WAFFLES FROM LIEGE (LUIKSE WAFELS) (GAUFRES LIEGEOISES)

Steps:

• Prepare Batter 1: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with 1 tbsp. flour and the sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Sift the remaining flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, egg and milk. Mix well with a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until the batter has doubled or tripled in volume. Meanwhile, prepare Batter 2: In a medium-sized bowl, mix the butter, flour, salt, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon (if using), granulated sugar, and pearl sugar into a paste. With your hands, work Batter 2 into Batter 1 until well mixed. Shape the dough into 10 balls, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 ounces each. Flatten each ball into a disk and dust lightly with flour. Bake in a medium-hot waffle iron. Don't let the iron become too hot or the sugar will burn. Bake until the waffles are golden brown but still slightly soft, 3-4 minutes. Serve the sugar waffles lukewarm or cooled to room temperature on a rack. Sugar waffles will keep well for several days in an airtight container, if you manage to have any left over. These may sound like they're a lot of work, but anyone who's had them knows they're well-worth it!! I also recall, when visiting Belgium, having Liege Waffles that had been coated with a thin coating of that wonderful Belgian bittersweet chocolate. Worth a try!