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Crunchy, sweet, and buttery, these liege waffles are not your traditional waffles. They’re made with yeast dough and pearl sugar, giving them a fluffy, crunchy bite.
Table of Contents
Traditional liege waffles
Belgian waffles in Belgium are nothing like Belgian waffles in America other than the deep pockets imprinted by the iron. Waffles of Liege (Gaufre de Liege) don’t need butter or syrup because they are filled with tiny pearls of caramelized sugar from the heat of the Belgian waffle iron.
After trying Belgian waffles for myself, I decided to perfect my liege waffle recipe. I went back and forth with my ratios of flour, liquid and yeast and finally decided on the right amount of eggs and milk to create a richness. And then, I threw in a twist. It’s my secret ingredient for light and fluffy pancakes—diet Sprite (or diet Squirt).
As I was making the liege waffle dough, I realized I was going to be overwhelmed with more waffles than I could eat, so I split the dough at a certain point and reserved the rest for yeast rolls. When I finished the waffles, I was so pleased with how they turned out. They were light and fluffy and subtly sweet with every crunch of sugar.
It is really important that you use pearl sugar with this recipe. I brought a case back with me from Belgium, but you can buy it online from King Arthur Flour. Or you could probably break up sugar cubes to the size of peas.
After one bite, these delicious waffles will become your new favorite recipe. Perfect for a special occasion or a weekend brunch.
Belgian Waffles (Gaufre de Liege)
Ingredients
- 500 grams flour
- 40 grams fresh cake yeast, or 2 packets dry yeast
- 50 grams sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup diet Sprite, or diet Squirt
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 packet vanilla sugar, or 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 sticks butter
- 150-300 grams pearl sugar, or sugar cubes broken into pea-size pieces
Instructions
- Beat: All of the ingredients should be at room temperature, except for the milk, which should be cold. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, Sprite, 3 eggs and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Mix: Slice two sticks of butter into 8 pieces each. Turn the mixer onto speed 4, and add two slices of butter at a time. Continue to mix for 30 seconds. Repeat this process, until all of the butter has been added (two slices, every 30 seconds). Keep the mixer on speed 4 and mix for 10 more minutes. After about 8 minutes, you will notice the dough start to expand and become smooth. Turn the speed up to 6 and mix for 5 more minutes. Keep an eye on your mixer. Mine has a tendency to bounce around the counter.
- Rise: Remove the bowl from the mixer. The dough will be silky and elastic. Cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Divide: At this point, you can either make an entire batch of Belgian waffles, or you can divide the dough in half to make waffles for breakfast and yeast rolls for dinner. The dough should weigh about 1,100 grams in its entirety, so divide it into two portions of 550 grams.
- Mix: For the waffles, mix in 300 grams of pearl sugar for a full batch (or 150 grams for a half batch) Use the stand mixer on speed 2, and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be slightly stickier than it was before.
- Divide: Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Do not be tempted to incorporate flour into the dough to make it less sticky or the dough will become tough. Divide the dough into portions, weighing about 100 grams each. For a full batch, you will get 14 waffles. A half batch yields 7 waffles.
- Refrigerate: If you are making rolls, place the remaining dough back in the mixing bowl, and recover it with plastic wrap. This time, press the plastic wrap on top of the dough. Place it in the refrigerator.
- Cook: Heat the waffle iron. Because of the amount of butter in the dough, there is no need to coat the iron with non-stick spray. Place a dough ball onto the heated iron and cook until well browned.
- Serve: The best way to eat a Belgian waffle is to hold it with a piece of waxed paper and eat it like a hamburger, but many Belgians add powdered sugar, Nutella, whipped cream and/or fruit…never maple syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for liege waffles
- All-purpose flour
- Fresh cake yeast or active dry yeast: This is our leavening agent that helps the waffles rise. You could also use instant yeast.
- White sugar: Adds sweetness to the waffles.
- Salt
- Milk: Use whole milk or 2 percent milk.
- Diet Sprite or Diet Squirt: My secret ingredient. Makes the waffles super light and fluffy.
- Eggs: Act as the binders to hold the yeasted dough together.
- Vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
- Butter: Use unsalted butter.
- Belgian pearl sugar or sugar cubes broken into smaller pieces: May be found at specialty grocery stores or online.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make liege waffles
- Beat: All of the ingredients should be at room temperature except for the milk, which should be cold. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, Sprite, 3 eggs and vanilla. Beat on low speed with the dough hook attachment for 2 minutes.
- Mix: Slice two sticks of butter into 8 pieces each. Turn the mixer onto speed 4, and add two slices of butter at a time. Continue to mix for 30 seconds. Repeat this process until all of the butter has been added (two slices every 30 seconds). Keep the mixer on speed 4 and mix for 10 more minutes. After about 8 minutes, you will notice the yeast dough start to expand and become smooth. Turn the speed up to 6 and mix for 5 more minutes. Keep an eye on your mixer. Mine has a tendency to bounce around the counter.
- Rise: Remove the bowl from the mixer. The dough will be silky and elastic. Cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Divide: At this point, you can either make an entire batch of Belgian waffles or you can divide the dough in half to make waffles for breakfast the next day. The dough should weigh about 1,100 grams in its entirety, so divide it into two portions of 550 grams.
- Mix: For the waffles, mix 300 grams of pearl sugar for a full batch (or 150 grams for a half batch). Use the stand mixer on speed 2, and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be slightly stickier than it was before.
- Divide: Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Do not be tempted to incorporate flour into the dough to make it less sticky or the dough will become tough. Divide the dough into portions, weighing about 100 grams each. For a full batch, you will get 14 waffles. A half batch yields 7 waffles.
- Refrigerate: If you are making rolls, place the remaining dough back in the mixing bowl and recover it with plastic wrap. This time, press the plastic wrap on top of the dough. Place it in the refrigerator.
- Cook: Heat the waffle iron. Because of the amount of butter in the dough, there is no need to coat the iron with non-stick spray. Place a ball of dough onto the waffle maker and cook until golden brown.
- Serve: The best way to eat a Belgian waffle is to hold it with a piece of waxed paper and eat it like a hamburger, but many Belgians add powdered sugar, Nutella, whipped cream and/or fruit…never maple syrup.
How to serve liege waffles
Traditional liege waffles aren’t served with maple syrup, although you could if you really wanted to. I recommend fresh fruit, a scoop of ice cream, or chocolate sauce for enjoying your waffles.
Storage
Leftover waffles can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You can make the entire recipe and put them in the fridge. Or, you can make the dough the night before and let it rise the next day before cooking.
Reheat in an oven or toaster oven. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350F and reheat for 2-4 minutes.
Liege waffles are a type of Belgian waffle that have a yeast-leavened batter and are crunchier due to the sugar crystals.
To get the lightness from the Sprite, you can also just use seltzer water. It’ll keep the recipe all natural as well. The slight tartness from the lemony flavor in the Sprite might also be adding to the flavor profile, but who knows as this is a pretty unorthodox ingredient for Liege waffles. We manufacture them wholesale and this is the first we’ve heard of adding Sprite.
http://www.thebelgiankitchen.com
“Authentic Liege Waffle Dough Wholesale Manufacturer”
Can the belgian dough balls be frozen, and for up to how long? Thx!
Definitely. I would probably try to use them within 6 months.
They came out perfect! Tasted just like the ones i’d eaten in Brussels and looked the same too. My family loves them and I even made a batch and sent to my daughter in another city. I used crushed sugar cubes. Thank you so much for sharing the recipie!
Sam, I’m so happy these hit the mark. I hope your daughter enjoys them, too.
hi–thanks for sharing this…question–if sprite is not readily available, what substitution do you recommend for the sprite–1/2 c of water and baking soda?…i would be letting it sit in the frig overnight.
thanks again!
Any carbonated beverage will do. Do you have club soda or sparkling water? I would try either of those before the baking soda combination.
Adrienne, Wrap each waffle dough ball in plastic wrap. Then, place in a plastic bag and freeze. The night before you want to make waffles, remove the bag from the freezer and place it in the fridge. In the morning, remove the dough ball from the fridge, unwrap it and let it rest/rise on a dish for at least 15 minutes before placing on the waffle iron.
do you know how you could freeze individual dough balls and properly thaw before use
I did a batch of the Liege waffles with the diet sprite and the real belgian pearl sugar and they were delicious!
thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing Faby. I’m glad you enjoyed them.
TheLiege waffle looks delicious is the diet sprite a substitue for baking soda?
I can’t wait to tried them.
for the pearl sugar I found a store selling it online belgian pearl sugar
they imported from Belgium and it’s Vegan friendly no bone char processing.
Faby, yes the diet sprite and eggs help them rise. You could use baking soda, but there is something about diet sprite that gives pancakes and waffles a light, airy texture. I’m glad you found the sugar. Happy baking! Let me know how they turn out.
I love these – esp. this particular style of waffle. I’m going to have to try this soon – thanks for figuring it out and posting it!