Liège waffles — yeasted waffles with caramelized pearl sugar

The milk should be gently warm, pleasant to the touch. Dissolve the yeast and fine sugar in all 100 g milk. In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and cinnamon. Add the yeast milk and the weighed 50 g whole egg. Mix, then knead for about 5 minutes, until no dry flour remains. The dough will be fairly firm. Do not add butter or pearl sugar yet and do not add water. Exclude any egg beyond the weighed 50 g from the recipe.

Add the softened butter a few cubes at a time, working in each addition before the next. Knead by hand or with a dough hook on low speed for about another 10–12 minutes. The dough will be slippery at first, then become smooth, soft, elastic and slightly sticky. Scrape residue from the sides into the dough. Do not add flour, do not melt the butter and do not grease the bowl with extra fat. All 120 g butter must go into the dough.

Gather the dough into a ball, leave in the same bowl and cover. Leave at room temperature for about 75–90 minutes, until nearly doubled in volume and clearly puffy. In a cool kitchen, it may need a little longer. Do not put the bowl on a hot radiator. Keep the pearl sugar separate for now; it goes into the dough only after this rise, not dissolved in the milk.

Gently deflate the dough with your hand. Add all 150 g coarse pearl sugar and briefly fold the dough over itself until the pieces are evenly distributed. Gather sugar from the bottom of the bowl and press into the dough. Do not mix at high speed, do not roll out and do not crush the pieces: they should remain noticeable as large white bits. Fine sugar for decorating baked goods does not replace the coarse sugar intended for Liège waffles here.

Divide all the dough with sugar into eight equal portions of about 94 g. Gently gather each into a rounded ball without vigorous kneading; lightly press exposed sugar pieces inward. Space them out on parchment on a tray and cover loosely. Do not dust with flour or sugar. Do not discard any dough scraps or loose sugar from the bowl: distribute them among the same eight portions. Do not refrigerate the dough overnight after adding sugar.

Leave the covered portions at room temperature for about 20–25 minutes, until slightly puffy; do not wait for them to double. Plan to cook two at a time. As the first pair goes into the waffle iron, cover and refrigerate the other six portions. Take out the next two just before their batch. This brief chilling slows further rising and sugar dissolving while they wait. Colder portions may need a little longer to cook.

Use an electric waffle iron with nonstick plates for two thicker waffles, each about 10 × 12 cm. Preheat closed for the time recommended in the manual, usually about 5–8 minutes. Start at a medium heat setting; if the appliance displays a temperature, choose about 180°C. Do not immediately set it to maximum. Do not add oil or butter to the plates: this rich dough cooks without separate greasing. Have a silicone or wooden spatula and a rack ready.

Put one portion in the center of each section; do not spread it across the whole plate. Close gently, without pressing hard. Cook for about 4–6 minutes, until the waffles are golden with amber caramel patches and steam has noticeably subsided. Do not open for the first 3 minutes. Remove with a spatula without touching the caramel and place separately on a rack. If sugar darkens quickly or starts smoking, reduce the heat; burning the surface does not cook the center through.

Cook the remaining three pairs, taking the portions from the refrigerator in turn and letting the appliance regain heat between batches. Give cold dough another 1–2 minutes if needed. If sugar or burnt residue builds up on the plates, switch off and unplug the iron. Wait until it has cooled enough to handle safely, then remove residue with a soft utensil according to the manual; preheat again afterward. Do not scrape the coating with metal and do not wipe hot plates with a wet cloth. Plate residue is excluded from the servings.

Cool each batch on a rack for at least 10 minutes, until the caramel is no longer very hot and has set; do not test it with your finger or try it straight after removing the waffles. Do not stack warm waffles. Serve plain, slightly warm or cooled. One serving is one of the eight waffles, without sauce or dusting sugar. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 2 days in a cool place or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat thawed waffles in the oven for about 5–7 minutes at 160°C.