These are yeast-leavened waffles that go extra-heavy on the butter and should ideally be made in a deep-pocketed Belgian waffle maker. Browning the butter first adds a bit of extra depth and nuttiness to the finished waffles. The final result produces rich, buttery waffles. They have a delicately crisp exterior with less "bite" to it than the chemically-leavened waffles that I've made over the last few weeks. And, while the interior is light and soft like the other waffles, it's more creamy than fluffy.

I quite like them, but it is a decidely different result than any of the previous recipes.

The Kidlet preferred the more "hearty", almost crunchy exterior of the buttermilk waffles. Although she still quite enjoyed these ones. I think I preferred the richness of these waffles, but I preferred the overall texture of the basic waffles and the cornmeal waffles. (The buttermilk waffles were also good when they were fresh, but they went extremely stale very quickly. And they weren't as nice stale or as easy to revive as the other two varieties.)

Honestly, I've been happy with all of the waffle recipes out of this book so far. And I also appreciate how different they are! Despite the recipes looking fairly similar on paper in a lot of cases, the final result of each one has been quite distinct. This is definitely a good one to keep on hand. The extra butter would make it especially appealing as a dessert offering.

Belgian Waffles

From Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 2 c. milk
• 280g (2 c.) all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant (rapid-rise) yeast
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat and cook, stirring, until brown and nutty-smelling (~5 minutes).
2. Stir in milk, remove from heat, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
4. Beat eggs with vanilla.
5. Gradually pour milk mixture into egg mixture and beat well.
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk to combine. (Some lumps are okay.)
7. Give a final stir with a spatula to make sure everything is well-combined and there are no pockets of dry flour.
8. Cover and allow to ferment in the fridge overnight (12-24 hours).
9. When ready to cook, preheat waffle iron and give the batter a quick stir.
10. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
11. Serve with macerated strawberries and whipped cream, maple syrup, or any other toppings of your choice.