Overnight Waffles

 

Its pretty rare for me to make waffles. I'm just not home in the mornings, but I had a day off from work and I just enjoyed being home and really wanted waffles.  I have tried lots of waffle mixes, which promise delicious waffles with zero effort, and I haven't ever been in love (they taste like pancakes in waffle shape).  I know I love the Leige waffles you can get at Belgian places (or our local food truck)--but the sugar in the Leige waffles is hard to clean and you need a nicer waffle iron than I have to get the right heat going (plus it requires a trip to IKEA for the sugar or an order from Amazon).  So more research.  King Arthur flour always has interesting recipes, and they had one for overnight yeast waffles.  This sounds like my kind of time-saver; let the waffles get ready while I sleep.  

Mixing up the waffles took about 5 minutes in my KitchenAid--then I let the batter sit on the counter while I puttered around my bedtime routine.  Then put it in the fridge until morning. 

After 1 hour on the counter

After resting overnight in the fridge

I made only one change to the recipe, I used white sugar instead of maple sugar in the batter.  I found that my waffle iron on level 7.5 (out of 10) was the right temp.  I preheated the iron for about 10 minutes.  Added 1 cup of batter and let it cook for about 6 minutes.  I made 3 waffles in the batch.  The batter is pretty thick.  Maybe I'd mix it up in a gallon zipper bag next time and then cut off the tip to just squeeze out the batter. 

Serve it with fresh picked peaches and whipped cream.  I froze the leftover and they toast up nicely the next day.  The yeast gives the waffle a really nice light texture and more interesting flavor.  I think this is my go-to recipe.  I think I could even make a mix with powdered milk and then I'd just have to add eggs, butter and water.  Hmmmm.

3/4 C. lukewarm milk

3 T. melted butter

1 1/2  T sugar

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 C. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. instant yeast

Mix everything up and sit on counter for about an hour. You can cook them after the 1st hour if you want...or refrigerate the batter overnight and make waffles in the morning.