Belgian Liege Sugar Waffles Recipe 445

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.

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.

BELGIAN "LIEGE" SUGAR WAFFLES RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Equipment needed: Waffle Iron. I own a non-stick Belgian waffle, made in America which worked very well for this recipe. NOTE: Butter and eggs should be a room temperature for best results. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Gradually add all the ingredients to the flour, except for the pearl sugar. (My stand mixer works great to do this.) Let the dough double in size (about 30 minutes). NOTE: I turn my oven on to WARM for a few minutes, then turn it off. I cover the dough in a bowl, and place it into the warm and cozy oven to help proof the dough. Once the dough has doubled (I let mine rise for an hour), gently place onto a smooth surface. Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle and add the pearl sugar. Fold the dough over, in thirds (my own technique to distribute the sugar throughout). Divide the dough into small patties, about 3-4 oz each. NOTE: To be more traditional, Liege waffles are shaped into a rectangle. You can wrap each patty in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. To make the waffles, bring them to room temperature for 30-60 minutes (or, I used my pre-WARMED oven trick and that did the job! To prepare: Bake in a greased and heated waffle iron. Be very careful, as the sugar will caramelize and be extremely hot. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, before biting into them. The texture is dense and moist-- and the caramelized sugar is so good that I cannot image adding anything else to them! RECIPE SOURCE: Lars Own Belgian Pearl Sugar Box Recipe on the back.

LIEGE SUGAR WAFFLES RECIPE - (4.1/5)

Steps:

• Prep time: about 1 1/2-2 hours with rising time Mix the yeast, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and let it develop or sit for 15 minutes. Place the flour in a separate large mixing bowl (we use the bowl of our kitchen aid stand mixer) and make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix until blended on medium speed (we use the paddle in our kitchen aid mixer). Add the eggs (one at a time), melted butter a bit at a time, and the vanilla and cinnamon. Be sure to mix well after each addition to the batter. Keep in mind the batter will be thick and VERY sticky (this is normal). Remove the bowl from the mixer and let the dough rest until it doubles in volume inside the bowl. (About 1 hour) Gently fold in the pearl sugar and let the dough rest for 15 more minutes. While the dough is resting, heat the waffle iron. Spoon about a 2″ ball of dough into the center of the waffle iron (this should yield a waffle that is about 4″ in diameter). I know that sounds small, but these rich waffles pack quite a punch. Waffles will take 3 to 5 minutes to bake (in our waffle iron, they take 3 minutes and 15 seconds on level 3. Another reader preferred level 4. Play around with it to get it to your liking). Recipe makes 8 - 10 waffles.

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 WAFFLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm milk in bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast begins to foam.
• Add 2 eggs, melted butter and whisk together with fork.
• Add 3 cups flour, salt and vanilla to yeast and milk mixture. Mix on low with dough hook until mixture is smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour and mix on low for 2 minutes.Place in a warm location, covered for 30 minutes.
• After dough has risen, fold 8 oz of Belgian Pearl Sugar into dough using a large spoon or by hand. Divide dough into pieces about 3-4 oz each. You should have 9-10 balls of dough.
• Preheat waffle iron for 10 minutes before cooking dough. Generously grease waffle iron using cooking spray. Cook one piece of dough at a time, placing dough in middle of waffle iron, close and cook until outside is crispy and center is cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on heat level and waffle iron used. Watch carefully, as sugar will burn if cooked at too high temperature.
• Lay cooked waffles on a wire rack while cooking remaining dough. May be kept in warm oven (225 degrees) until ready to serve, or serve immediately with toppings.