[food] Overnight yeast waffles

[kaberett]

Adapted by A from the smitten kitchen essential raised waffles recipe; when we got a waffle maker and he was unimpressed by the recipes in its accompanying books, I just pointed him at the SK waffles tag.

After some experimentation, etc, I present his written instructions for himself verbatim under the cut; you will note he gives rather more detail and explanation than I typically do. ;) The key point is that the amount of liquid has been dropped by a third; this gives a better, more consistent rise, and a better-to-our-minds texture. We use the Allinson Easy Bake Yeast, which we get in tins for the breadmaker, which does a very good job of making everything taste of yeast friend; the Dried Active Yeast tastes less good. We do also have some fresh yeast in the freezer (Ocado imports it from Sweden for hipsters) but have not yet tried waffling with it.

This makes a big brunch for two, or a reasonable breakfast for four.

Ingredients
80 ml water
315 ml milk
115 g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
2.25 teaspoon fast acting yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
250g plain flour
2 eggs
0.25 teaspoon bicarb of soda

The night before

1. Heat the water and milk to about 40-43 celsius in a pan
   
2. Transfer the liquid to a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over; let it sit for 15 minutes
   
3. Using the heat of the same pan to melt the butter; the aim is to have it just about liquid, but having some lumps of soft but solid butter is fine and probably a good indication it won't be so hot as to kill the yeast
   
4. After the yeast has sat for 15 minutes, whisk in the butter, flour, salt and sugar bit-by-bit until the batter is (at least reasonably) smooth. (Apparently one should put the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl, then add the liquids bit by bit to avoid lumps, but I've never had a problem with lumps when just chucking the solids on top of the yeast + liquid and taking a whisk to it.)
   
5. Cover with cling film and leave to sit overnight

In the morning

1. Add the two eggs and the bicarb of soda, and whisk in while the waffle iron heats. NB: don't use an electric whisk for this stage; it beats too much of the air out of the mix.
   
2. Make waffles!

Notes
A full scoop of a regular sized ladle is about the right size for one waffle in my irons.

Can substitute 1:1 dairy milk for soy milk or hazelnut milk, apparently. First time I did this was with 100% soy milk, and that definitely worked well.

Can adjust the liquid quantities according to how thick you want the batter. Thinner batter will probably work in waffle irons that have less space between the plates; thicker batter is good for spooning into the centre of the iron and not having it spread out, meaning the waffles have a slightly more Instagram-worthy rough edge, rather than the square edges of the iron.

Comments

[umadoshi]

Thanks to both of you for sharing. ^_^