Friday 9 May 2014

Liege Waffles

I love waffles except those coconuty type.  Once in Bangkok, I tried some from MBK mall and it tasted nice.  I noticed that they baked from dough form rather than batter.  That got me interested to find out more about the different variety of waffles available.

Once a Belgium waffle stall started near my old place, tried it and it was good too.  Unfortunately they didn't last long over there.  I guess there isn't enough demand in that area.

All these while, I never gave up looking for such recipe that I had eaten before.  I was looking out for dough recipe rather than batter recipe until I chanced upon Oh, Sweet Basil.

Though this recipe looks much more complicated than alot of waffles recipes out there, nevertheless, I decided to try hers.

Verdict:  After punching down the dough, I was thinking I might have over done it as the dough looks like a huge batch.  After dividing the dough into smaller portion, I yield about only 25 pcs which was not so bad.

It was so good that my daughter sang praises and wanted to have more than 3 servings.  So my concern was uncalled for.

The texture is crispy on the outside, a little chewy on the inside with grains of pearl sugar still apparent.  The honey flavor stood out really well.  The waffle has a rich flavour and you won't even know that there is yeast inside.  I didn't add the amount of pearl sugar as indicated in the recipe but I have reduced it by half.  I read that it is the pearl sugar that makes these waffles special.  

I am definitely going to make more from now on since I can easily get pearl sugar as I no longer need to go down town to buy them.  


Now should I buy a good waffle iron that is deeper?  A balancing between must have and nice to have.  Tough.



Note: Please be careful when you remove the waffle from the iron as the sugar caramelized, the waffle is very hot and you can easily burnt your fingers which I did.



What you need:

177g whole milk, scalded and cooled to warm milk
2 tbsp water, warmed
6g sugar
7g instant yeast
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
225g unsalted butter, softened
55g honey
14g brown sugar
28g white sugar
3 tsp vanilla
580g bread flour 
200g belgian pearl sugar

Method:

Stir 1½ tsp sugar to the milk, water and yeast together. Set aside until the yeast gets foamy.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light.

Add in egg, honey and vanilla and stir to combine

Add the yeast mixture.  Transfer to mixer.

Using a dough hook and add 2 cups of bread flour.   Mix until the flour is thoroughly incorporated, and add the remaining and knead until combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 4 hours, up to 24 hours. 

Punch down and knead in the pearl sugar.

Divide into balls and place on a hot waffle iron.  

Cook until golden brown and serve with your favourite toppings.


Cheers!


10 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing. I love Belgium waffle. Keep this recipe for my next waffle making. Cheers! Happy mother's day!

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  2. My son loves this type of waffle, thanks for sharing!

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  3. oh wow! Edith! i love liege waffles... we hardly see these recipes around actually... bookmarked!

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    Replies
    1. Vic, try it and let me know whether you like it.

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  4. This is tasty to serve with chocolate syrup!

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  5. We love Liege waffles too, we actually manufacture the dough. Just wanted to let you know that in your pictures you're using Swedish pearl sugar and not real Belgian pearl sugar. Swedish pearl sugar looks like pretzel salt and resists high heat. It's mostly used for sprinkling on baked goods and is designed specifically not to melt. However, Belgian pearl sugar are larger round chunks that melt and caramelize easily because they are made from beet sugar, not cane. The texture is much closer to sugar cubes where there are small granules. When the waffle cooks, some of the pearls melt/caramelize leaving a creme brulee like crust while other pearls stay together leaving a grainy sugar texture. Authentic Liege waffles will have a mix of both textures.

    There are more sellers nowadays online and at places like Whole Foods so it's a bit easier to find than it used to be.

    THE BELGIAN KITCHEN
    www.thebelgiankitchen.com
    Liege Waffle Dough Supplier

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    Replies
    1. Many thanks for the education. Now I learnt something new. In Singapore, pearl sugar is not readily available.

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Thanks for dropping by. Thanks.