Liege Waffles
“Research” regarding Liege Waffles.
I am looking for a recipe to reproduce the waffles from the street-food vans and busses in Brussel. So far I have found American recipes which are close, but recommend to add INSANE amounts of pearl sugar. My first attempt with this type of waffle ruined my cheap waffle iron. After which, I purchased a high quality Belgian style iron which cleans up after the sugar OK, but still requires quite a bit of effort. In any case, this “pearl sugar” recommended in the American recipes seems to be the wrong stuff. It’s close, but it doesn’t get soft and gooey inside like the Brussel street vendor style.
Initial Attempts: Bountiful Kitchen Liege Waffles
This recipe came on the recommendation of some new friends we made in Bali. It was quite good the first two times, when I didn’t have the right “pearl sugar” and so once I subbed German “Südzucker Brauner Kandis”. Since I was unsure I barely added any, and I trashed my waffle iron anyway. Then I got a new professional iron and tried again with no extra special sugar and they were GREAT. Tried one more time to follow the recipe, say the amount of sugar called for, halved it, and they were still disgustingly sweet. Anyway, so far the best recipe, just leave out the pearls. Still searching…
NYT Yeasted Waffles
These were super light and eggy, and also not anything like Liege waffles. The “dough” is definitely more in the order of traditional American style waffle batter. The yeasty flavor is still quite good. Maybe there is a bit too much salt, but they are still enjoyable. The baking soda is unnecessary is probably why it’s too salty. I’m not trying any more baking soda recipes because that is clearly not part of the real Liege recipe.
Up Next: Baker Betty
These look totally correct, the way the sugar is melted and oozing and has the look of honey. Maybe my pearl sugar issue is just a matter of finding the right temp? In the big shops in Brussel they load the dough into cupcake pans and put them in a warming oven to rise. One cupcake of raw risen dough equals one waffle. I have ordered some large cupcake pans and will try this when they arrive.