Liège waffles
Gaufres de Liège: chewy brioche waffles with caramelised pearl sugar
In Liège, in French-speaking Wallonia, the waffle is not a light batter but a rich yeasted dough studded with pearl sugar, eaten warm from a paper sleeve as you walk down the street. As it cooks in a deep-grid iron, the sugar nuggets melt and caramelise into a crackling, toffee-like crust, while the inside stays soft and chewy like brioche. Belgians eat them plain, any time of day, not loaded with cream (that is the lighter Brussels waffle). Chef's tip: knead the pearl sugar in only at the very end, after the dough has risen; if it goes in earlier, it dissolves and the waffles lose their crunch.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 oz light brown sugar into ½ cup whole milk and leave for 5 minutes until foamy.
5 minStep 2: In a mixer with a dough hook, combine 16 oz strong white bread flour, ¾ tsp salt, the yeast milk, 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Knead for 5 minutes to a firm dough.
5 minStep 3: Add 8 oz butter a spoonful at a time, kneading until each piece disappears. Knead for another 8–10 minutes, until the dough is glossy, smooth and pulls away from the bowl.
10 minStep 4: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1–1½ hours, until doubled.
75 minStep 5: Knock the dough back and work in 7 oz Belgian pearl sugar and ¼ tsp ground cinnamon with your hands. Divide into 12 balls of about 90 g and leave for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 6: Heat a deep-grid Belgian waffle iron to medium. Put a ball in the centre, close and cook for 3–4 minutes, until deep golden with dark amber patches where the sugar has caramelised. Too hot an iron is the classic mistake: the sugar burns black before the inside cooks.
4 minStep 7: Lift out carefully with a fork (the melted sugar is scorching) and cool on a rack for 2 minutes. Scrape any burnt sugar off the plates between batches with a wooden spatula.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does liège waffles take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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