Belgium

The dish

Real Belgian waffles are different than American waffles. Liège waffles are more like a brioche bread cooked in a waffle maker after stuffing the dough with sugar. The pearl sugar caramelizes as they cook.

What we thought

Extremely tasty, and they reminded me of being in Belgium again. I really like the pearl sugar and the crunch it gives. Why the lower rating? A lot of people liked the lighter waffle you get in the US more than this waffle. I froze the rest and plan on bringing them out for dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top. 4.2/5.

Ingredients and directions

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm whole milk
• ½ cup warm water
• 2¼ tsp instant yeast
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 eggs
• 1½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup butter, softened but not melted
• 5½–6½ cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups Belgian pearl sugar, divided (1½ cups and ½ cup) — I ordered mine off Amazon
• Strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream, to serve

Directions

1. Combine the yeast, warm milk, warm water, and granulated sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let it sit 5 minutes. The mix should look foamy. If nothing happens, either your water/milk is too cold or the yeast is dead, in which case you need new yeast.
2. Add the eggs, brown sugar, honey, butter, and vanilla. Mix about a minute.
3. Add the flour slowly, roughly ½ cup at a time, along with the salt, mixing with the hook attachment. A soft bread dough will gradually form. You may not need all of the flour. The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky and stiffer than a sandwich bread dough.
4. Move the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot 1–3 hours, until doubled.
5. Deflate the dough, re-cover, and refrigerate overnight.
6. Pull the dough out 2–3 hours before you want to bake so it can come back to room temperature. Cold dough won’t cook through.
7. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and flatten it into a rectangle. Scatter 1½ cups pearl sugar across it. Fold the bottom third up and the top third over that, then roll it out again to press the sugar into the dough.
8. Scatter the remaining ½ cup pearl sugar over the dough and fold in thirds again.
9. Roll the dough into a log about 12 inches long and divide the log into 12 pieces.
10. Roll each dough piece into a ball against the counter, then press the ball into a flat disc. Set the discs on a floured sheet, cover loosely. I didn’t let them rise here, but I think the recipe would improve by letting the dough rise for 30–60 minutes until puffy.
11. Heat a Belgian waffle iron to medium. Grease the waffle iron then cook each disc 5-6 minutes, until deep golden brown. Lighter than that and the center will still be raw dough.
12. Lift them out carefully as the melted pearl sugar is hot enough to give you a real burn. Let the waffles cool a minute or two before eating. Serve with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.