Breakfast: Blue Bottle Liege Waffles

By SharonE

Ingredients

• 1¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, or 1½ teaspoons fresh yeast
• ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) lukewarm water, between 90°F and 100°F (32°C and 38°C)
• ½ cup (4 oz / 113 g) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (3.7 oz / 105 g) pastry flour
• ⅔ cup (3.2 oz / 91 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• ½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt
• 5 eggs (8.75 oz / 250 g), at room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 tablespoons pearl sugar

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, combine the yeast and water and let sit for 5 minutes.

Melt the butter and let cool to about 115°F (46°C). Sift the flours and granulated sugar into a separate large bowl. Stir in the salt.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl. Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape the pulp into the eggs, and whisk vigorously until well blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, along with the yeast and melted butter. Whisk until smooth. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and let rest until doubled in size, 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.

Gently mix the pearl sugar into the dough and let rest for 15 minutes. Preheat a Belgian-style waffle maker to medium-high heat. Scoop ½ cup to ¾ cup (120 ml to 150 ml) of the batter into the waffle maker and sprinkle a bit of granulated sugar on top. (Amounts of batter can vary between waffle makers; err on the smaller side until you know how much makes the perfect waffle.) Cook until the indicator light goes off or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.