Belgian Style Yeast Waffles (22)

 

I am a morning dessert person. This means if a breakfast item is full of sugar, fats, and carbs, I'm going to be thrilled. I have eaten many a waffle in my day. The variations of flavors, styles, and shapes leave room for plenty of imagination (to say nothing of the topping options). But this is the first time in my life I've ever made, and consumed, a yeast risen waffle. I was excited to jump in. 

Preparation for these waffles began the night before consumption. Making the batter was incredibly simple: everybody in the pool.  That's right. I used one bowl, and measured (weighed) every ingredient directly in there. I included the minimum amount suggested for (optional) maple syrup. Then I grabbed a whisk and went to work. I whipped just until the batter was well combined. There were still a few lumps in there, but the recipe said that was allowable. 

I covered the bowl in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for one hour before depositing it to rest in the fridge for the night. 

10 hours later....

OK wow. I'm glad I started with a big mixing bowl because this baby definitely grew a bunch over night. It did seem to have a bit of a skin on the top, but I went ahead and stirred that in while I preheated my waffle iron. 

Into the warm iron, I portioned the same amount of batter that I usually use, then shut the lid. Disaster! So much of the batter came running out the cracks. Lesson learned. This batter expands WAY more than my standard mix. After that we had a Goldilocks scenario ( too little batter, then too much again). Finally I got the knack of what a "just right portion" meant for my waffle iron. 

Waffles are meant to be consumed moments after exiting the iron. These were no exception. They emerged crisp, golden brown and...a little too wet inside. After a bit of fenagling with my iron, I found I needed to go all the way up to my maximum cook setting for these waffles. The outside did not burn, and the interior was perfectly cooked through. I did also note that they cooked much better when I did not grease the iron.

A quick poll of the family resulted in an interesting discovery--these taste just like my standard waffles.  I really didn't detect any yeasty flavor at all. They weren't too sweet, nor too bland. A perfect vessel to convey your chosen toppings. However, everyone also agreed that they liked the texture of these waffles much more than my regular mix. Due to the fact that I had the iron on the highest setting, the exterior was so very crisp, but as I mentioned, the interior remained soft and most. That's a difficult feat. Unfortunately, like all waffles, after a few minutes on the cooling rack they become quite limp. Nothing for it but to serve waffles in waves as they come hot off the iron. 

Overall, a very easy recipe to put together with very standard ingredients I always have on had.  I'd say they are a cut above my standard waffle, so they will now become a part of my standard baking rotation. Can't wait to try them with a little buttermilk in the recipe... or cinnamon... or dried blueberries. The possibilities!

Scores (out of 5): Breanna-4. Dustin-4. Michael-5. James-4.5. Andrew-4.5. Total 22/25

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/belgian-style-yeast-waffles-recipe