5.15.2012

The Awesome Belgium (Yeast Type) Waffles


I finally found THE WAFFLE recipe that yields the most AMAZING waffles with the perfect crispy crunch outside and light as air fluffy inside. Excuse the capital letters but I am just SO EXCITED.

I have tried many waffle recipes; yeast type ones, buttermilk type ones, non yeast and buttermilk ones. I had success with most of the waffle recipes and some of which are actually pretty awesome. But none as awesome as this amazing Marion Cunningham's Raised Waffles from The Fannie Famer Cookbook (what a strange name for a cookbook!). The moment I took a bit into the waffle, I knew that this is it! The waffle that I have been looking for.

This recipe is fairly easy. Mix all the ingredients (except for the eggs and baking soda) in a large bowl and let the batter sits on the kitchen bench overnight for the yeast to do it's bubbly magical thing. In the morning, stir in the eggs and baking soda, and you are ready to make the most delicious waffles ever.

A couple of tips which hopefully will give you the same success that I had with this recipe.
  1. The yeast needs to be dry yeast (or active dry yeast). It is different from instant yeast (or rapid rise). Please don't be tempted to use instant yeast for this recipe. It just won't be the same.

  2. This is a yeast type waffle, so the water, milk and melted butter needs to be warm.What is the temperature for warm, you might ask. It baffled me as well at first. Eventually, I figured that it got to be something to do with the optimum temperature for the yeast to become active, which is somewhere between 35C to 43C (95F to 110F). If you don't have a thermometer, an easy way to test out the temperature is to dip your finger in the liquid. It should feel comfortably warm- like a warm bath that you are happy to relax in.

  3. The recipe asked for a stick of butter which is about 125 gram. In my opinon, that is just way too much butter. I have reduced the amount of butter down to 60 gram when I made my second batch of waffles. It taste just as great as the first time I made it with the full amount of butter.

  4. I find that it is better to set the waffle iron at a medium-high to high temperature setting. Set the temperature of the waffle iron too low, and the waffle will take too long to cook and becomes rock hard.

  5. This waffle recipe doesn't seems to be intended for the deep belgium style waffle iron (which I have). The batter is very runny and just doesn't raise high enough to fill the top part of the waffle iron. The waffle will still taste great though. Just serve it with the pretty side up.


Without further ado, here's the recipe. Try it. And you probably will not look at another waffle recipe again.

Marion Cunningham's Raised Waffle (Recipe adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

Ingredient
1/2 cup warm water
1 package (7 gram) dry yeast
2 cups whole warm milk
125 gram unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pour water in a large mixing bowl (the batter will rise to double its original volume, so keep that in mind when you choose the bowl), and sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.

Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture. Beat until smooth and without lumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

Just before cooking the waffle, pre-heat the waffle iron. Beat the eggs and baking soda in a small bowl, and stir into batter until well mixed. The batter will be very runny. Pour batter into a very hot waffle iron and cook until waffles are golden and crisp. The number of waffles you make will depend on the size and configuration of your waffle iron.





Serve the waffles immediately with your favourite topping.

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