This morning I had brunch at the Waffle Window. The original location is literally just a window you walk up to and order waffles, and then you can take them to nearby outdoor tables to eat. It’s like a slightly-upgraded food cart. But we were in the neighborhood of the non-window location, which is more of a traditional restaurant.
I had a farm fusion waffle, which is topped with mushroom, spinach, roasted pepper, tomato and chevre cheese.
For dessert we shared a hot apple pie waffle. Yes, it was as good as it looks.
All of the waffles at the waffle window, even the savory ones, are made with a leige waffle base. They’re like regular waffles, but made with pearl sugar. The pearl sugar doesn’t melt as easily as regular sugar, so it makes the waffles crunchier. I’ve been wanting to try making leige waffles at home (here’s a recipe), but I thought I’d share my current favorite (regular) waffle recipe today.
My dad used to make waffles at least once every weekend, sometimes Saturday morning, sometimes Sunday, depending on what was going on that week. I have no idea what recipe he used, but I’m pretty sure it was the same one every time. But until I tried this recipe, I’d never had waffles with yeast in them. I didn’t even know that was a possibility. The only problem is that it requires planning ahead. You can’t just roll out of bed, think, “I feel like waffles,”and make these; you have to put them together the night before. That said, they’re totally worth the extra planning.
Marion Cunningham’s Raised Waffles
From The Breakfast Book
(This recipe uses dry yeast, which is often sold as “active dry” yeast. It’s different from instant yeast.)
½ cup warm water
1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) dry yeast
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ tsp. baking soda
Pour the water into a large mixing bowl (the batter will rise to double its original volume). Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.
Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour, and beat until well blended and smooth. (You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature.
Before cooking the waffles, preheat a waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Just before cooking the waffles, add the eggs and baking soda, and stir to mix well. The batter will be very thin. Pour an appropriate amount of batter into your hot waffle maker: this amount will vary from machine to machine. Cook until golden and crisp.
This batter will keep well for several days in the refrigerator, but I like to cook up the whole batch of waffles, let them cool, and freeze them. Then when I feel like having a waffle for breakfast (or just a snack), I just pop one in the toaster.
