Liège waffles

various dates

Liège (Fr.) or Luik (Fl.) is the Belgian city where these waffles originated. They are made with a thick batter with added pearl sugar. Here in the US, I've never seen pearl sugar in local stores. I had to order it online.

Pic1-3: Croquade Belgian waffle iron

To make them right, you need a real Belgian waffle iron, with a deeper grid than US waffle makers have. The US-brand of the best Belgian waffle iron is 'Croquade.'
The problem with these waffle irons is that they were designed for European 220V and their conversion to US 110V causes them to heat so slowly that it takes forever to make a batch of Liège waffles.

Liège waffles

Use only the deep 4x6 (M001 - single waffle) grid grid for this. (Pic2)
The deeper grid is necessary to accommodate the pearl sugar and to heat the waffles evenly throughout. It is necessary to allow the sugar to caramelize. Without that, the inside of the waffle will not be fully cooked.

The recipe on this page is from the Croquade recipe booklet.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 18 servings:

1 1/3 cup milk, warm
1 3/4 oz. = 50 grams fresh yeast
OR 3 1/4 oz. = 20 grams dry yeast
8 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. vanilla sugar
OR 2 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 sticks butter, softened
2 1/2 cups pearl sugar

Pic4: Liège waffles

Directions

2020-11-10

Pic5: batter
Pic6: eggs
Pic7: mixed

Mix the yeast and warm milk together.
OR activate the dry yeast as per instructions on the package.
Mix all remaining ingredients—minus butter and pearl sugar—in a large mixing bowl.
Add the milk & yeast mixture to the bowl. Mix until fully incorporated.
Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Fold in the softened butter with a stand mixer at slow speed.
If doing by hand, almost melt the butter.

Pic8-10: pearl sugar

Mix in the pearl sugar. The mixture will be sticky.

2020-10-12

Pic11-13: bake

Preheat the waffle iron to thermostat position 7.
Divide the dough into balls of about 1/4 cup each.
- This recipe is enough for about 18 waffles. Don't make them bigger!
- These dough balls can be frozen for later use.
Place a dough ball in the center of the grid.
Close the waffle iron, push down briefly on the handles, then flip over to spread the dough evenly.
The dough will not fill the grid completely.
Flip the waffle iron every minute or so.
Be careful: flip quickly and all the way at once to avoid butter from leaking out.
Waffles will start browning and the sugar to caramelize after 3-5 minutes.
The waffles need to be dark brown, for the dough to be cooked fully inside. (Pic13)

Pic14-16: cool & store

Place the waffles on a metal grill to cool.
I prefer them at room temperature.
Store in a cake container to maintain crispness.

Liège waffles with chocolate

Chocolate makes good things even better.
I also find that the chocolate covering prevents the waffles from drying out excessively.

The first time, I melted a few chocolate bars and I covered only half of the waffles.
That worked OK, but chocolate melting wafers (for chocolate fountains) make the process that much easier. The wafers come in dark, milk and white. I very much prefer the dark chocolate for this.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need:

Liège waffles, prepared as above.
dark chocolate

Pic17: Liège waffles with chocolate

Directions

2020-10-12

Pic18-20: melting chocolate

Melt chocolate bars or wafers SLOWLY to avoid separation.

Pic21-23: dipping waffles

Dip one side of the waffle in the chocolate.
Place on metal grill to dry.
If you want both sides dipped, do the other side.
Alternatively, melt enough chocolate to dip the entire waffle all at once and hold until dry.
Enjoy. They are delicious.

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org