Belgian Waffles (Gaufre de Liege)

5 from 1 vote

Belgian Waffles (Gaufre de Liege)

Transform breakfast with these caramelized pearl sugar studded Liege waffles, a sweet marriage of Belgian decadence and crispy, yeasty goodness.

Prep Time15

Rest Time15

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Belgian

Keyword: liege waffles

Servings: waffles

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.

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