Overnight Yeasted Waffles

I grew up loving waffles - I remember how my mum used to buy the frozen type waffles and it was such a treat eating it on weekends. I would fill every single hole with syrup and savoured it square by square... Now that I have my own kids who keep asking for waffles, I am always looking out for good waffle recipes. I have tried many, wholemeal, oat, healthier and non-healthier types with my waffle maker. Some turned out pretty good, some less than desirable.

There's this one particular waffle recipe that everyone out there seems to be raving about - Marion Cunningham's overnight yeasted waffles. Some bloggers claim that it's the best they've ever had. That's a big claim plus the idea of yeasted waffles sound intriguing as I have never thought of adding yeast to waffles. I'd have to try it for myself.

One Friday night, I made the batter and left it to sit on the counter overnight. The next morning, the yeast had done its job and the waffle batter had risen into a fluffy mixture. I beat in the two eggs and baking soda  and set about making them. When my kids and hubby tried it, they all gave it the thumbs up - hubby said its the best waffles I've made.

This is a clear winner because it is crispy on the outside yet moist, tender and almost like custard on the inside. It's not sweet -  in fact the yeast gives the waffle a slightly salt-ish flavour. A sweet maple syrup brought out the best of these waffles - the sweet and salty flavours combined was tremendously satisfying.

Cutting down the amount of butter a little did not affect the texture of the waffles at all. And I loved the fact that most of the work is done the night before.

In September, I will be hosting Cook Like A Star alongside Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out. We will be cooking The Pioneer Woman's recipes - do come and join us!

Marion Cunningham’s Raised Waffles 
Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• ½ cup warm water
• 1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) dry yeast (I used instant yeast)
• 2 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (Reduced to 70 g)
• 1 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ tsp baking soda

Method

• Pour the water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes. (The batter will rise to double its volume, so choose a bigger bowl)
• Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour, and beat until well blended and smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature.
• Before cooking the waffles, preheat a waffle maker.
• 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, and you should plan to use your first waffle as a test specimen.
• Cook until golden and crisp (I found the first batch not crispy enough so I cooked the second batch longer, it was perfect!)

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I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized by Bake for Happy Kids,my little favourite DIY and hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out.