I spent my childhood eating Cork pods we bought at the supermarket. Those thick, cake-like racks studded with sugar crystals seemed infinitely superior to the thin, vanilla-cream-filled waffles that my sister preferred and I disdainfully ignored.
I hadn’t had waffles like this since I was a teenager (I stopped buying pastries at the supermarket years ago) but they came back into my life in a big way earlier this year, when a tiny Belgian counter opened a stone’s throw from my house, in 58 rue des Martyrs.
This stand offers Belgian waffles in the style of Liègecooked fresh as you watch and send seductive and buttery scents up to the small carousel in Place Lino Ventura, a powerful marketing move. It’s the first time I I tried themyou could have knocked me over with a feather.
The artisanal, freshly baked Liège waffle is a study in contrast between the crunchy shell, the tender, leavened interior and the thick sugar crystals that melt and caramelize.
A far cry from its distant plastic-wrapped, palm-oiled grocery store cousin, the artisanal and freshly cooked The Liège waffle is a study in contrast between the thin, crunchy shell, the tender, brioche interior, and the thick sugar crystals which melt and caramelize in the waffle iron.
And since I recently received a fabulous one from Cuisinart (see note at the bottom of this post). griller with waffle ironsIt wasn’t long before I tried my hand at this monument of Belgian gastronomy.
In my research I found dozens of recipes, with proportions so different that they made my head spin, and my solution was, as always, to draw up a spreadsheet comparing the different quantities of ingredients in proportion to the weight of the flour (you can take the cook from the engineer, etc.). This led me to formulate a recipe that best suited my tastes, i.e less sweet and less heavy than butter compared to the average, while retaining 100% of its goodness.
The resulting waffles are an absolute delight, the recipe is simple and the dough freezes perfectly, allowing you to invite your sister over for a improvised snack one afternoon and, without barely lifting a finger, let her discover how a Belgian waffle should really be eaten: still warm, caramelized, chewy, irresistible.
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Note on transparency: THE griller AND waffle irons they were sent to me for review by Cuisinart France via their PR agency. I will note that this was actually the model I had my heart set on and was about to receive as a birthday present from my parents when I had the opportunity to receive it for free. All opinions expressed here are my own.
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Recipe for Belgian Liège waffles
Ingredients
- 200 ml (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) lukewarm milk (you shouldn’t feel any temperature difference when you dip your finger)
- 12 grams (1 scant tablespoon) dry active ingredient yeast (I use the SAF brand)
- 500 grams (1.1 lbs) all purpose Flour (about 3 3/4 cups, but I highly recommend using a scale to measure this amount)
- 10 grams (2 teaspoons) of fine seafood salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (I use fresh cinnamon from Cinnamon Hill)
- 2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar (I used Belgian cassonnade, the traditional unrefined beet sugar)
- 2 large staffs egg
- 150 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) buttersoftened
- 190 grams (1 1/4 cups) Belgian pearl sugar (available online from the Waffle Pantry, or homemade)
- Kitchen oilto grease the waffle iron
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the milk and yeast and leave to rest for 15 minutes, until the surface is foamy. (If this doesn’t happen, your yeast is probably too old; start again with a newly purchased package.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (see below for making the dough entirely by hand), combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar by hand. Add the milk mixture and eggs and mix again by hand (I detach the dough hook and use that) to moisten most of the flour so it doesn’t fly everywhere when you turn on the mixer.
- Turn on the mixer and knead at low speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
- Add the butter.
- Knead for another 2 minutes, until the butter is completely incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky.
- (The dough can also be made by hand. It’s more of a workout, of course, and the part where you have to work in the softened butter can be a little messy. The key is not to lose hope: the dough will eventually absorb butter — and it’s heartening that you’ll have very soft hands afterwards.)
- Cover the bowl tightly with a cloth and leave to rise at a warm room temperature, away from drafts, until it doubles in volume. The exact time it takes varies depending on your kitchen temperature, but it should take about 2 hours.
- Fold the granulated sugar into the dough (this will deflate it and that’s fine) so it’s evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough into 15 pieces, each about 75 grams (2 2/3 ounces), and shape them (roughly) into balls. Let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking. (See note below about refrigerating or freezing dough for later.)
- Preheat waffle iron to medium-high; on my straightener the ideal temperature is 190°C (375°F).
- Brush the waffle plates with oil (this is not necessary if they are non-stick) and place a ball of dough in the center of each waffle segment.
- Close the waffle iron and cook for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove the waffles from the griddle (I use wooden tongs) and let them cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack before eating.
Notes
You can set aside some or all of the dough balls to cook later: immediately after dividing the dough, arrange them on a plate, cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator for up to a day. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before cooking.
You can also place the extra pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper or on a silicone mat. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or until hard, then place the pieces in an airtight freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature for 3 hours before cooking.
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https://cnz.to/recipes/bread-brioche/belgian-waffles-liege-style-recipe/
Unless otherwise indicated, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.
