The Yeast Waffle Saga, Continued

Waffle from Day 1, left;  the other after 48 hours, right

The story continues. I made a yeast waffle batter last Friday, in the hopes it would be easy to have wonderfully yeasty waffles right then and there. Not.

I made a good amount of batter (recipe in my last blog post), so I put it into the fridge, covered loosely with plastic wrap. It grew to fill the bowl, smelled more like yeast after 24 hours and I had hopes that now I would have that wonderfully yeasty waffles. Not. 

Definitely better than the day before. (Again, see my last post). The texture had changed a bit and they were better. Just not what I had hoped. I put the remaining batter back in the fridge. 

Sunday morning I brought it back out and made another couple of waffles. The batter smelled good, but there was still no yeast aroma while baking, and none perceptible when eating. I shared with my husband, including a piece of one of the waffles I had in a baggie from Day 1. In the photo at top you can see the immense difference in the texture of the waffles. The one made that first day was heavy and dense with no real great flavor. After 48 hours, the batter was so much better, I had hopes for that batter after all.

Beautiful texture and flavor after 72 hours

Today, after 72 hours, I made the last of the batter. It smelled yeasty when it was being cooked, for the first time. Again I shared with my husband, so he could see the differences. We agreed that today, finally, there was a yeasty flavor in the finished waffle. The texture had become light, crisp and airy and just about everything I had hoped for. The texture is visible in the photo at left.

I still would like something to be quicker to have ready. I do not mind making a batter the night before, to be ready to bake in the morning. This recipe, after 3 days in the fridge, gave me the flavor, aroma and texture I wanted. I would conclude that this recipe would be perfect if one knew that guests would be coming and wanted something really wonderful that could be prepped 3 days in advance and crossed off the to-do list. For something a bit more immediate, I am already planning another idea.

And then, while I stressed repeatedly to my wonderful husband that I DID NOT WANT another waffle iron, he got me another waffle iron. I was telling him about Liege Waffles. They are made with a very rich yeast dough (as opposed to a batter), formed into balls and set onto a "Belgian Waffle Maker" with a latch. The real Liege Waffles are also studded with Pearl Sugar. This sugar is particularly large and will caramelize inside the waffle while it cooks, so you end up with these little crunchy pockets of caramelized sugar. I talked to him about the fact that I would like to try something like that dough, even without the Pearl Sugar, but I wasn't sure my regular waffle iron would stay closed enough to make that kind of waffle. But then, I said to him, I really do not make waffles that often. The only reason I made them 4 days in a row was that I was conducting an experiment. And, I have never been overly fond of those huge, deep wells in the Belgian waffles. So he got me a Belgian Waffle Maker with a latch. Oh well.

So, tonight I created a very rich yeast dough. It is softer and more buttery than a bread dough. It is resting in the fridge, and I will experiment with that style of waffle tomorrow, in my new deep-welled Belgian Waffle Maker. I would also like to experiment with a brioche type dough and see how that fares as a waffle. For now, I will be dreaming - again - of yeast waffles in the morning, aaaahhhhh.....


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.