Ingredients
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1 cup whole milk
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2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
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1/4 cup granulated sugar
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1/3 cup unsalted butter
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2 large eggs
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1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
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4 cups all purpose flour
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2 cups pearl sugar
Directions
First, you need to know that there are two types of Belgian waffles. There is the Brussels waffle, the most popular one which everybody knows. It is rectangular, has small but deep holes, and is very light. The perfect Brussels waffle crackles when you bite into it, and you can have it topped with just about anything you can think of.
The second is the Liège waffle. The batter for this one contains big clumps of sugar. But, although the batter is already sweet, you can still have it with any topping you desire, because in Belgium, nothing is too sweet.
Preparation:
- Warm the milk to 110-115 F (43-46 C). It should take about 30-45 seconds in the microwave. Make sure the milk is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and stir together.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the cooled butter, sugar, and salt with a spoon or a rubber spatula.
- Stir in the milk/yeast mixture. Stir in the flour until it is hydrated. The dough will be shaggy at this point.
- This dough can be kneaded by hand or with the dough hook of a stand mixer for about 6-8 min.
- Transfer the dough to a clean bowl. Lightly spray the dough with oil and cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough ferment at room temperature until double in size. This will take about 30-45 minutes if you used quick rise yeast and 1-2 hours if active dry yeast was used. A warm spot will speed up the fermentation time.
- Deflate the air out of the dough by pressing down on it in the center and bringing the edges of the dough over the top.
- Flatten the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and add the pearl sugar. Knead the pearl sugar into the dough until evenly distributed. Alternatively, you can knead the sugar into the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook.
- Divide the dough into roughly 12 pieces and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while the waffle iron heats up.
- All waffle irons are different so start your iron at a low temperature. Increase the temperature a little at a time to find the setting that will caramelize your sugar. Spray the iron with non-stick spray and put a piece of dough in the center of the waffle iron and close it. The waffle will puff up as it cooks. Cook until golden brown.
