*crispy waffle*

After meeting AB, my obsession with the perfect waffle continues, mostly because AB has not done a waffle show. (Amazing, I know). A few weeks after returning from Holland, I was in fact able to recreate those Brussels waffles that I looooved so much. Here's a reminder of what they look like:

Yummm...

Anyway, I'm trying to get a stove-top waffle iron on eBay so I can recreate something along these lines. I currently have a Villaware from Williams-Sonoma-- it does okay, but doesn't quite get to the heat level that I need for the ultimate super-crispy waffle.Unfortunately, I have turned into a complete waffle snob. The thing is, you can't get a decent waffle in America, once you've had a proper one. The secret ingredient: yeast. Sounds annoying, I know, but if you simply think about it the night before, yeasted waffles are just as easy to prepare as regular ol' buttermilk ones. I emailed my recipe for yeasted waffles to AB-- hopefully a waffle episode is in our future!

The Crispiest Waffle
1 tsp. instant yeast (Not to be confused with active dry yeast. Make sure it says "Instant")
2-1/4 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, melted, then cooled
2 cups warm whole milk (about 110 degrees)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated

The night before you want yummy waffles:Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the warm milk and vanilla until combined. Cover with plastic wrap (or my favorite, Press 'n Seal, yeah!). Leave overnight out on the counter.The morning you'll eat the yummy waffles:The batter should look frothy. Heat waffle iron as you usually do. Add the egg yolks to the batter. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold carefully into the batter. This batter will rise a little more than usual, so test out a waffle or two before you really get started. Eet smakelijke!

Labels: recipes, the sweet, waffles

posted by sheryl | 12:08 AM | | share: facebook | tweet this!

I will definitely be trying this waffle recipe. I am also going to try to make some sourdough waffles. The sourdough recipe sounds very similar to this except you use the sourdough starter rather than commercial yeast. Maybe I'll try both kinds and then write a post about them someday :-) Love your site!
By

Nicole 10/1/06 6:34 AM

Hi, craving CRISPY waffles and found your blog. I too, and a picky waffle lover, and I have been unhappy with the recipes I have tried. I have batter for your Even Easier Crisp Waffles going, and can't wait. As for waffle irons, check out the Waring Pro Professional Waffle Iron, model WMK300. I was so happy that I bought TWO. Hints have been suggested to bake on number 4 for perfect doneness. Happy waffle baking!
By

Anonymous 12/12/06 8:44 PM

Hi again! Made your lovely waffles this morning, and OH MY GAWD! Yummy, so scrumtious. I made a couple of changes: added half wheat and white flours, and added flaxseed meal and oat bran. Perfect waffles! Thank you soooooo much. Also, can this recipe be doubled?
By

Anonymous 12/13/06 7:12 PM

Glad you liked the recipe! Yes, this recipe can be easily doubled without any adjustments; simply double the amount of everything. I've done this several times for brunch parties and it has worked out great. I'll have to try your flaxseed and oatbran variation next time - now, did you add those after the rise?
By

sheryl 12/14/06 9:37 AM

Nicole pointed me your way. :) I, too, love waffles. I want to try this recipe, but I'm not sure I can get instant yeast here in Norway. I don't think I've seen it at the store. What about using active dry yeast? Less successful? What would it do? Need more time to rise?
By

Anonymous 12/18/06 8:28 AM

I found your Crispy Waffle's via Google! I tried them this morning after too numerous to mention failures. My husband, the Waffle KING says WOW these are GREAT, Tasty and Crispy!
Thank you so much!!! You made our Christmas Breakfast Perfect! 12-25-2006 Frankie and Tim Davis, Bakersfield, CA
By

francesmarion 12/25/06 6:40 PM

You know, thanks for this website. I know I'm not the only one crazy about waffles. You and I would surely be friends in life. I love traveling and food too. And I'm completely obsessed with finding the best recipe. And waffles have been on my list FOREVER - well since I went to Belgium. So this last month it's gone to new heights. I've search and search. I'm still testing. I have 5 waffle irons now. The Waring Pro and 4 other Villaware ones. Heart shaped, classic, Belgium shaped etc. I'm picky about the shape and thickness too. So I must try them all to see what I like. I think the waffle shape depends on my mood. We'll see. I'll probably be keeping them all.
Reading this recipe of yours, I know it will work. Pretty close to CI's recipe in their new cookbook, but I like the less salt and more vanilla you put in. I'm trying your recipe this week. Wish me luck. Thanks again.
-Lucy
By

dgrlmp 3/6/07 2:36 AM

Thank you so much for posting the waffle recipe! We made them this morning, and enjoyed them so much! We tried two different waffle irons, the Villaware didn't seem to get hot enough, but the Salton Belgian Waffle Maker made them just perfect. I didn't realize there were people who were so fond of waffles as I am! We look foward to some day visiting Belgium. Next I'm going to try your Linzertorte!
By

Anonymous 3/31/07 7:22 PM

Hi Sheryl;

This is the first time I have ever made waffles and want to thank you for taking the guess work out of the process. Your "Perfect Waffle" recipe definitely lives up to its name. These waffles are indeed absolutely perfect.

I am from Dutch descent and poffertjes have been a family favourite and tradition for many years. Based on my experience with poffertje dough, I took the liberty of making a couple of changes to your recipe.

1) Instead of instant yeast I dissolved 1/2 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl then sprinkled 1 tbsp of regular granular yeast over top. Let sit for 10 minutes or until rounded and poofy.

2) I used one stick of unsalted butter instead of salted and 1 tsp of salt instead 1/2. Here's a trick passed on to me by my mother. Pour the 2 cups of milk in a four cup glass measuring cup. Place the stick of butter and salt in the milk, then microwave on medium low heat till butter is melted and milk is warm. Stir the two together then pour into dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

3) Fold in the yeast mixture after milk/butter/salt and dry ingredients are well whisked together (no lumps).

4) I made the dough the afternoon before in a large deep bowl. I draped a damp tea towel over the top then placed the lid of the bowl loosely on top. Bowl and all went into the cold cellar until the next morning. Frig also works if your "cold" cellar is not cold :)

Again, thank you so much for this fabulous recipe. If you are interested in my poffertje recipe let me know. I would be pleased to share it with you.
By

Extreme Gardener 4/7/07 2:24 PM

Hi again, I just NOW saw your question on my additions of flax and oat bran. I just mixed them in with the flours and proceeded with recipe. Try 1/8 to 1/4 cup of each. They are great!
By

Anonymous 5/29/07 8:09 PM

Hi, I have tried a few waffles recipe with yeast added. For some reason each time I made I found the smell/taste of yeast too strong. Have I made something wrong (I accidentally mixed instead yeast with warm milk instead of adding it to the dry ingredients, and used veg. oil instead of melted butter)? or was it supposed to be like that?

Thanks for helping!
By

Joyce 6/28/07 7:13 PM

Hi Joyce--
If you find the taste/smell of exhausted yeast too strong, try my other recipe for waffles-- it is even easier, and I should really link to it from this page. Because the rise happens in the refrigerator, you get a less 'yeasty' taste to the waffles. Let me know what you think! Here's the link: Even Easier Crispy Waffles
By

sheryl 6/29/07 12:05 PM

Thanks Sheryl. I've tried your recipe over the weekend, and it worked perfectly! I couldn't taste/smell the strong yeast any more. Thanks very much for your help. You're awesome! :)
By

Joyce 7/5/07 4:13 PM

Hi Sheryl. I'm Korean and crazy for waffles. Now it's autumn in Korea. Autumn make me really feel like waffles. Waffles are not popular to Korean. So they sell few poor waffle makers and I could find only some common recipies in Korea. But your site! and your recipies are awesome! It was like a caddle in dark cave. I tried 'Perfect waffle recipe' for dinner. It's the most delicious waffle I've ever eaten. But there is problem what I want to ask, when I made batter. East Asian use 'g' in most recipes, especially flour. So could you tell me how weigh is a cup of flour? I searched about that. But there use each different measure in Asia, America, Europe, England...
I'm happy to know this site.
By

xpeed777 9/9/07 3:41 PM

xspeed777: A cup of flour typically weighs about 120 grams. This is all-purpose flour. I hope that helps!
By

sheryl 9/11/07 10:22 AM

here i am, performing an innocent google search for a "yeasted waffle" and there's your link at the top of my search results :). so, i won't be making these this morning, like i had hoped, but maybe this evening after the kids are sleeping. waffles in the morning...oh yeah.
By

kidshaus 9/15/07 3:14 PM

I just tried your Crispiest waffle recipe. This was the first time I've ever tried a recipe from scratch. You see I'm a man. I did it and they came out just the way I like them. There was one flaw in the recipe, it doesn't say how many waffles the recipe makes. I ended up making 30 waffles in one sitting because I didn't want to wasted the batter I made but I made way to much! Might be something good to add for future beginners?
Jim in Houston
By

jimguillory 11/24/07 11:13 PM

May I know why is warm milk used? The milk is used is the pasterised fresh milk stored in frdge, so how do I warm that? Can I use evaoprated milk?

Instead of leaving the batter overnight, can I leave it over just an hour? I live in a hot tropic country and it is rare to let the milk stuff sit for hours out.
By

Cherry 2/20/08 7:04 AM

Hi Cherry,
The best way to warm the milk is on the stove or in a microwave-- just make sure it is warm, not hot.
Try my other recipe for waffles if you do not want to leave the waffles out overnight. I do have a recipe where you keep them in the fridge overnight and this is even easier: Easiest Yeasted Waffles. Enjoy!
By

sheryl 2/21/08 8:44 AM

What I could use is advice about how to find a waffle maker that makes 5 of hearts waffles, ones that are THIN and not thick like most American waffles....

Huck
By

Anonymous 3/16/08 3:03 AM

Cheryl,

I love your site, your article about Tunisia, and your waffle enthusiasm. My boyfriend is from Tunisia, but grew up in France. He has waffles every morning, and I do mean every morning for breakfast. So, in the past year I've learned a lot about making waffles. Your site has been so helpful to me that I'd like to share what I've learned with you and your readers.

First - wafflers. I used to have the same VillaWare that you do. I took it back because it doesn't cook evenly (the middle is always more done than that outer edges). I got the 4-waffle AllClad for $199 USD. I couldn't believe I was spending that much for a waffler ... but I promise it's worth every penny. Previously I thought a crispy waffle was the result of the recipe, but no ... it's the waffler, not the recipe.

Second - the recipe. I used to think that yeast raised waffles were the best too. That was until one morning when I forgot to make the batter the night before. So, I resorted to using the Buttermilk Waffle recipe in the AllClad book (that came with the waffler). They were the best waffles that both my boyfriend or I had ever had.

Third - a tip from the French boyfriend. After trying that recipe he asked me how many eggs were in the recipe. I replied "3" and he said "all waffles have at least 7 eggs." Hmmmmm, this was something that the French forgot to tell the rest of us. So, I used the same recipe except I increased the eggs from 3 to 7 and the waffles are out of this world.

Finally, here's the recipe:
1 3/4 c. self-rising flour (or all purpose flour and double the amounts for baking powder, soda, and salt)
1/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
7 eggs (separated)
1 3/4 c. buttermilk (don't even think of trying plain milk it won't work)
1 stick butter

Mix dry ingredients together.

Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff.

Melt butter, then add egg yolks and beat until thickened and pale yellow. Stir buttermilk into butter and egg mixture.

Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and blend to remove lumps.

Slowly, fold egg whites into batter.

Place about 1/3 c. batter into the greased well of the waffler. On the AllClad set on either setting 2 or 3 (of 7) for a golden or light brown crispy waffle.

Load with toppings and ENJOY!!!
By

anita 8/25/08 4:01 AM

Thanks Anita! This is great feedback, and I am definitely going to try your recipe. Lots of eggs makes sense -- it gives the rise extra lift, especially from the beaten egg whites.

Thanks again!
Sheryl
By

sheryl 8/25/08 10:31 AM

Hi Sheryl,

Thank you so much for the recipes. I made both "crispiest" and "even easier crispiest" waffle. They both are great. But they were not as crispy as I expected, not sure I did something wrong. Or maybe the griddles are too hot that it browned outside too fast while water in the batter hadn't yet evaporated. (?)

Compare to alton's buttermilk waffle, these ones are a lot softer/fork tender. They are good in the following morning too. (I also did the other baking-powder waffle from allrecipies.com...it was stiff and tough after 1 hr.)

Oh..There was no yeasty smell at all which I considered as a success. :-)
By

Nuntiya 9/24/08 3:58 AM

Sheryl:

Just read your recipe tonight 12-26-08 and will try.

I purchased the new 4-square ALL-Clad waffle maker. I tried some of the Thomas Keller recipes (booklet came with the waffle maker and was purchased from Williams-Sonoma. All waffles came out perfectly the first time. Build quality is excellent, grooves are deep and temperature settings can be varied to suit different batters and cooking preferences.
By

Anonymous 12/27/08 3:14 AM

One more comment:

In the Thomas Keller waffle recipe book was a recipe for crispy waffles served with lemon curd. Use the yeast based recipe on medium heat. Open the waffle maker and sprinkle 1.5 tsp of granulated sugar on each square (I have the All-Clad unit $199 US) then close the lid for one more minute. The heat melts, and then caramlizes the sugar and creates a "brulee" like crust. Then use cooking cutter to cut out various shapes and serve with a side of lemmon curd. If you are on death row, this should definitely be on your last meal menu.......mmmmmmmmmm
By

Anonymous 12/27/08 3:20 AM

Wow, that lemon curd one sounds delicious -- I will definitely need to try it, thanks for the tip!
By

sheryl 12/27/08 4:44 AM

How different is the "VillaWare UNO" to the AllClad? The UNO was Williams-Sonoma best product until AllClad line fell in.

I have really read your comments about AllClad and can't just bring myself to shell out $199 + tax. DId you use the UNO previously?

Thank you for all your dedicated hard work.

From Sunny Southern California (PS its 70F today)

Michael Becker
email remove * add @ ModernHomeDesigns*Yahoo.com
By

ModernHomeDesigns 12/28/08 2:26 AM

Hi Sheryl, I tried your waffle recipe this morning, it came up great. However, the yeast taste and smell were too strong for me. Any suggestion to make the yeast taste less with this recipe? Thanks.
By

Anonymous 1/24/09 4:43 PM

Hi there --
To the previous poster, the recipe that I actually use more frequently is here: http://www.crispywaffle.com/2007/09/best-and-easiest-yeasted-waffle.html. Try this one out -- because it rises in the fridge, the yeast doesn't 'expire' as much, so you don't get such a yeasty taste. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
By

sheryl 1/24/09 5:54 PM

I just tried out the 7 egg recipe that uses no yeast....AMAZING!! I was very skeptical at first as I had never heard or seen a recipe that used an more than 3 eggs. These waffles were SUPER crispy, unbelievably light and fluffy and very flavorful. The only thing I changed was that I used cake flour instead of regular self rising flour and I added 1/2 tsp. of vanilla. When you open the iron to take the waffles out, they look and feel soft but after about 5 seconds out of the iron, they get super crisp.

Anyone who doesnt like yeast recipes or doesn't want to plan a night ahead, this is THE recipe for crispy, fluffy waffles.

One more thing, make sure you use FRESH baking powder, this makes a HUGE difference.
By

Peter 3/15/09 1:16 PM

Love your waffle posts. I've been looking for a reliable and good waffle recipe, and I'm definitely giving one of yours a shot...maybe this weekend. :-)
By

Arnold 3/19/09 9:14 AM