Liège Waffle These waffles are a fusion of brioche and waffles topped with caramelized crunchy sugar and they are so good, totally addictive… – Have you ever heard of Liège waffle? Well, I have not until I bumped into it when searching for something on the internet and started to read about it… These are originally from Belgium and do not taste like your traditional waffle or even Belgian waffle. – What’s the difference between Liège waffle and Belgian waffle? Belgian waffle uses batter and Liège waffle uses yeasted dough, yes, yeasted dough like bread and has pearl sugar in it which caramelized once in the waffle iron. – Why you need to try Liège waffle? Because they are unique as every bite of the waffle contains crunchy caramelized sugar…which makes these waffles super special. – How do you serve Liège waffle? You can serve as you would serve pancakes, American waffles, Belgian waffles…but I like it plain…just as it is… – How long it takes to make Liège waffle? Like bread, these waffles use yeast raised dough therefore will require more time than your traditional waffles (batter), but worth the time and effort. And because contains a lot of butter like brioche it is recommended to use a stand mixer. – Can I freeze the Liège waffles? Absolutely, I like to freeze the raw dough already divided and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, place the dough on the counter for 10-15 minutes and directly to the waffle iron…super easy. – How did I come up with the recipe? After looking into many recipes in details, I realized that the percentage of butter varied from 15-51%, yes, some recipes called for 51% of butter when compared to the flour content…I like butter, but do not wanted to have my arteries clogged while eating this waffle, so I adapted to about 35%. – Would you like to try it? Here we go… Ingredients: 4 oz butter (113 g) 320 g bread flour 1 jumbo egg (approximately 65 g) 1 ½ teaspoon yeast ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 20 g honey 150 ml milk 150 g Belgian pearl sugar Method: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all the ingredients except for the butter and Belgian pearl sugar. Mix until well combined, it will be very sticky, do not add more flour. On low speed, add the butter, and scrape down the bowl as needed, making sure that all the butter is incorporated in the dough. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, between 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the dough and place in a bowl and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch the dough down, flatten the dough with your fingers and spread the Belgian pearl sugar on the dough. Cut the dough in half and place one on top of the other. Again, cut the dough in half and top it on the other half. Divide the dough into approximately 16 equal pieces (50 g) and gently roll each piece into a ball. At this point you can freeze the waffle dough…first on the baking sheet. Once the waffle balls are frozen place them into a freezer quality plastic bag and store for future use. Or, let the waffle dough sit for 15-20 minutes and place the waffle dough on the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the waffle dough in the middle of the waffle iron and cook at medium low for about 4 to 5 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. The time will vary depending on the heat. Make sure to watch carefully as the sugar can burn if the temperature is too high. Carefully transfer the waffle to an iron rack and serve warm or keep in a warm oven of approximately 225oF. Make sure to clean the waffle iron, while warm as the sugar will caramelized and stick to the iron once is cooled. You can use a spatula and damp cloth. – Care for more recipes using waffle iron? Please check on these… Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week! Oladi, Russian Pancake This is a very simple recipe of a Russian version of what is our pancake. The recipe calls for yeast as an raising agent. It is fluffy and light, great for breakfast. I hope this post find you all well…as for us, we came back from a fantastic vacation. We explored Russia, from Moscow to St. Petersburg by cruising the Volga river and stopping at many cities along the way. It was a very nice experience visiting all the major touristic places…the churches, museums, parks, metro system and many others. After our vacation in Russia it is only natural to share a Russian recipe…and I choose this Russian pancakes, called oladi, which was served to us very often for breakfast as well as with caviar. What I found unique about these pancakes is mainly the texture…they are not fluffy like cake and reminds me a little of English muffins…slightly chewy with different size of air pockets. No need to mention that I love it and as soon as I came home, I had to try to make them. These little pancakes can be served with anything from sweet to savory, such as jam, fresh fruit, cream cheese, sour cream, smoked salmon, caviar…you name it. Moreover, like pancakes, you can add all kind of stuff in the dough/batter, such as chocolate chips, fresh fruits, nuts…again, color it the way you like. This recipe has been adapted from here. Ingredients: 1 cup of warm milk 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 175 g bread flour or all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar Pinch of salt 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg slightly beaten Vegetable oil or butter for cooking the pancakes Method: In a medium bowl add the yeast to the milk and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Add flour and mix it well, until all the flour is incorporated to the milk. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles from its original size, 30 minutes of more depending of the room temperature Once the dough has doubled add the sugar, salt, melted butter and egg. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated. Cover and let it rise again until the dough doubles. When ready to cook, in a skillet add a little of vegetable oil or butter (or combination of both) on medium heat. Spoon the dough onto the skillet and cook on one side until golden then flip the pancake over until the other side is golden brown. Serve warm. If you enjoy this simple recipe for Russian pancakes, you might like this recipe for French Toast with Blueberries. Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week! Yeast-Raised Waffle These light and crispy waffles are made with yeast. It is true that the recipe requires extra steps but it is so worth the effort, I hope you get to try it! Have you ever made waffle using yeast? If not, you must give this a try…the texture of these waffles are very different from the ones that use baking powder. They are somehow lighter and crispy. It is hard to describe, once you try it you will know what I am trying to say… You can server these waffles like the other ones, I choose to drizzle with condensed milk instead of syrup and garnish with fresh raspberries, but fell free to color it the way you like. This recipe was inspired by a recipe from the food section at the LA Times. Ingredients: 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 1 cup milk ¼ cup butter, melted ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 egg, slightly beaten ⅛ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Condensed milk Fresh raspberries or any other fruit of your preference Method: Place ¼ cup warm water in a medium mixing bowl and the sprinkle the yeast on it. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. When the yeast is all dissolved and foamy, stir in the all the remaining ingredients except for the baking soda. Mix until smooth and no visible flour crumps. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. Before cooking the waffles, mix in the baking soda. The batter will deflate and will be thin. Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions of your waffle maker. I used my Cusinart Classic waffle Maker. Serve waffles with fresh berries and drizzled with condensed milk. If you enjoy this recipe using a waffle maker, you might want to try the Brazilian inspired recipe, Waffle Cheese Bread. Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week! Five Minutes Flatbread with Green Onion This is a basic recipe for no-knead flatbread. It is very versatile as you can fill the dough with cheese, roll it will green onion, or just plain. This recipe is based on the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, which I got a while ago and have been using its recipes here and there. I made bread, rolls and even flatbreads…the basic recipe is very simple and easy to follow. Of course being “me” I am never content in just following recipes, I always have to come up with something new…so I decided to make flatbreads with the dough…the variation are limitless, with garlic and parsley, ground pepper and parmesan, ham and cheese and the list goes on and on… Today I am sharing with you two versions of the dough, white and whole wheat, although I personally like the white better somehow… I halved the recipe since it is only for 2 people, in spite of being able to keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.