Liege Waffles

I bought a waffle maker a couple of years ago and for a while I was obsessed yeasted buttermilk waffles, and with good reason because they're delicious. And then, I kind of forgot about the waffle maker and it sat on our appliance shelf for probably a year without being used.

Well, a few weekends ago, my sister and I were completely bored and we didn't want to succumb to being completely lazy bones all day so we decided we'd each make something. She ended up making chocolate cupcakes while I decided I'd dust off the waffle maker and make some liege waffles.

I based this recipe off of my brioche recipe except that I halved it (because you don't really need to make more than a few waffles in one go) but upped the butter so that the waffles could get lovely and brown and crisp. I didn't have any Belgian rock sugar so I used raw sugar instead. A lot of the sugar just dissolved into the dough on the second rise and during the cooking process, and though I missed having more of a hearty crunch, I didn't mind the more subtle crisp bites with the raw sugar.

Ingredients [yields 6 waffles]:
1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup warm water
⅓ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon honey
1¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
1 egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Start by combining the flour and salt in a bowl. Bloom the yeast in the warm water, cream, and honey and let sit until foamy. Dry active yeast is granular and there's actually a protective shell around the yeast that needs to dissolve to release the yeast. Once the yeast reacts with the warm, wet, sugary environment, it will start eating the sugar and burping and creating the little bubbles that let's you know that it's alive. If your yeast mixture doesn't foam and bubble up, it's either because the blooming liquid you used was too hot and killed the yeast or maybe the yeast you used was bad and dead to begin with. This step is crucial for making sure you don't waste a batch of dough.

You can make this dough by hand but it's much easier to use a stand mixer. Slowly drizzle in the wet ingredients into the dry and knead until a smooth dough forms.

Add the butter, a little at a time, kneading until all of the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to proof for two hours or until doubled in size. Or, if you're making this ahead of time, you can cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

Punch down the dough and gently knead in the raw sugar.

Divide the dough into six pieces and roll into balls. Cover with a damp cloth and proof again for one hour.

Cook the waffles in a waffle maker set on high to ensure a crisp, brown exterior.

If you're so inclined, serve with a salted caramel sauce.

These waffles are pretty spectacular. The buttery brioche dough yields a rich yet fluffy interior and a crisp, chewy exterior. The bits of crunchy sugar add a nice textural contrast. It's the perfect dessert for tearing and sharing as each waffle makes it out of the waffle iron.

Here's the recipe page: