Who doesn’t love a freshly made waffle?
…a little crispy on the outside, tender with a little chew on the inside…butter melting into the pockets and mingling with warm maple syrup… heaven!
For more years than I care to admit, I have had a yellow box of frozen waffles in my freezer…you know the one! “L’eggo!” My youngest daughter is a big fan of pancakes and waffles. To make schooldays mornings easier, I’d pop a couple of those “Nutrigrain” boxed waffles in my countertop “toaster” oven. “Ding” breakfast is ready! lol!
A few years ago, after a visit to an authentic Belgian style waffle restaurant in Cincinnati…I had my first taste that homemade waffles could be different, not spongy waffles made from the same drippy batter we make our pancakes from. Once home, I tried my hand at making those traditional yeasted Belgian Liège Waffles. What a treat they were! No butter or syrup needed for these waffles that were studded with chunks of caramelized pearl sugar. As amazing as they were, they were a tad complicated for me to make on a regular basis.
Recently, I saw a recipe for overnight yeasted recipes that looked simpler – I set about looking at various versions of these yeasted waffles and came up with my own test versions. Both would include at least half whole wheat flour (as I always try to work in some whole grains), but I played with the amounts of butter, added some vanilla and eventually worked in some golden flaxseed meal to up the nutrition even further.
I decided after further testing to use half butter and half oil (I used a neutral avocado oil, canola would work well too.) Butter has a good amount of water in it, oil does not, when trying to get a nice “crisp” on the outside of the waffle, especially a whole grain waffle, I figured I’d try to reduce the amount of water in the batter, by using half oil in my recipe. This combo worked well, crispy outside, but still retaining a nice buttery taste.
Just wait until you bite into these waffles, the yeast gives these waffles such a great taste and texture – crispy on the outside with a nice tender chew on the inside. This batter is prepared overnight and it’s super simple to prepare, all you do is mix it up and let it sit overnight – there’s no kneading needed. ( :
Some of the recipes I read called for the batter to sit out on the counter to ferment all night long. I prefer to let it sit out to rise and ferment until I go to bed, then I pop it in the refrigerator. The yeast gives these waffles such a great taste and texture. In the morning, stir in the eggs and baking soda and you’re ready to get waffling! I always make a big batch so I have enough to freeze for toasting during the week.
A few notes…If you’d prefer to try these waffles without the whole wheat flour, go ahead and swap it out with all-purpose flour. I use a traditional thickness style waffle iron, not the thicker Belgian style waffle iron for these, but I think either would work. I keep my whole wheat flour in an air-tight container in the freezer. Whole wheat flour can spoil more quickly than all-purpose flour. I used my stand mixer to mix these, but the batter could easily be mixed by hand or with a hand mixer.
Step-by-Step Photos:
Perfect Picture for Pinning on Pinterest ⬇️ (say that 5x fast!)
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
approx. 20 waffles depending on waffle iron
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- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup oil neutral flavor, such as canola
- 1/2 cup cold water cold to help cool the milk mixture
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal or wheat germ
- 3/4 teaspoon salt I use Morton kosher salt, use less table salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 .25 ounce package active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Non-stick spray or additional oil or butter
Ingredients
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- The evening before: (I usually start this after dinner)
- Warm milk and butter in saucepan until butter melts. Add cold water and oil, stir and set aside until temperature of mixture cools to about 110 degrees F.
- While milk mixture is cooling, add flours, flaxseed or wheat germ, salt and sugar to a bowl. Mixing by hand or using a hand or stand mixer, stir to combine dry ingredients.
- Stir yeast into cooled milk mixture until yeast dissolves. Add the milk mixture and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, don’t overmix. Pour the mixture into a large bowl (will rise by at least double), cover and set on counter for 1-3 hours, then refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to make waffles, remove mixture from refrigerator 30 minutes before making waffles to take the chill off the mixture. Preheat waffle iron.
- Whisk together 2 eggs and baking soda. Stir into waffle batter.
- Spray waffle iron liberally with non-stick spray or (brush with oil) and make waffles following your waffle iron directions.
- I have a regular depth (not thick Belgian style) waffle maker that makes 4, four-inch waffles at once. I use about 1/4 cup batter per waffle. I was able to make about 20 individual waffles. The yield and cooking time will vary depending upon your style of waffle iron.
You can make these with all, all-purpose flour if desired - Use 3 cups all-purpose flour and skip flaxseed meal if desired.
Keep Warm: You can keep waffles warm in a 200 degree F. oven. Place the waffles on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet, so warm air can circulate to keep them crispy.
Freezing Directions: These waffles freeze well. I cook waffles I want to freze a little lighter. When they are completely cool, layer between waxed/parchment paper in freezer container.
Reheating Directions: Reheat by toasting in toaster or countertop oven.
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