For 17 years Paul and I have been making these Belgian Waffles. I’m not sure how “Belgian” they are but Paul lived in Belgium for a couple of years, he speaks Dutch (he lived in the Flemish region), and therefore that makes him the closest person in my life that can authenticate these waffles. It’s probably not saying much, but hey, that’s good enough for me. Because these waffles are so, so, very good. Light, fluffy, yeasty, and crispy.
I’m kind of embarrassed to tell you how I got this recipe. It’s bad and wicked. When we were newlyweds in 1995 we were still college students at BYU. We were poor kids that’s for sure. We lived in the crustiest basement apartment with an avocado green toilet and bathtub and my knuckles would scrape the ceiling when I’d shampoo my hair. The floor was uneven and there was a tootsie pop stuck in the corner of the carpet courtesy of the previous owners that never came out. The place was $300 a month. We didn’t have a TV and guess what, we didn’t care. We were blissful newlyweds who together made $800 a month at our on-campus jobs.
Explaining all this doesn’t excuse what I did. We were on the hunt for a yeasty Belgian waffle recipe and this was before the internet as we know it. So we went to a bookstore and scoured cooking books. I found one that sounded promising. So instead of buying the book, I copied down the recipe in my notebook. Gasp. What a bottom feeder. Looking back I think it was the Joy of Cooking but I’ve looked in my copy of Joy of Cooking (yes, I eventually paid for the book) and I don’t think this is exactly it—although they could’ve revised it in my copy. Either way, I adore this recipe. Make sure you have a deep-well waffle iron to make these.
After you make the batter you’ll gently fold in the egg whites that you’ve beaten to soft peaks. You still have a few white streaks from the egg whites, and that’s ok. It’ll look like this:
Cover and let the batter rise at least half an hour if not more. Your kids will love them. So will you. Please top them with fruit and real cream and avoid crappy pancake syrup.
5 comments:
You want me awake to assemble a breakfast an hour before eating?
Looks like these will go into the breakfast-for-dinner category because I am a lazy bum.
However, perhaps this recipe can convince me otherwise.
How did I cook before the internet? Oh, that is right. I made the same old dishes over and over again...
I have a similar recipe, but my belgian waffle iron broke, so right now I only have my regular waffle iron. I always top mine with fruit & whipped cream, but haven't been able to convince Trent to do the same...he's a syrup & powdered sugar lover.
I'm sure I lived in that apartment before you did, but I didn't leave the Tootsie Pop. I left the poppy-seeds in the bottom of the oven.
Is the amount of water correct? You make one cup for the yeast mix PLUS another cup later on? My batter looks REALLY wet. I can't fold egg whites into a liquid! Help.
yes it's correct. it will thicken as the yeast grows. It's supposed to be the consistency of pancake batter after it sits.
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