Belgium Waffles

• Photo: Boost your waffle's antioxidant power by replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder. (Mitch Mandel)
• RELATED CONTENT
• PRO CYCLING: This Is Belgian Cyclocross
• NUTRITION: Six Big Rides and the Sandwiches That Fuel Them
• We asked Biju Thomas, chef for Team BMC and coauthor of Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of On-the-Go Food for Athletes, for the secret behind making a Liege waffle (the original Belgian waffle). His answer: yeast and patience. "Yeast gives the waffles a light texture and complex flavor," he says. "Resting the dough overnight only improves upon a great thing."
• Biju's Belgian Waffles
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) dry active yeast
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pearl sugar (such as Lars Own Belgian Pearl Sugar, found online or in the baking aisle)

1. Warm milk in a saucepan or microwave. Combine milk, yeast, cane sugar, and 1 cup flour in a mixing bowl and set aside in a warm place (such as inside your oven with only the light turned on) for 15 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, honey or maple syrup, butter, and vanilla. Add egg mixture to dough along with salt and remaining flour. Mix into a soft sticky dough. Cover and let rise for 1 hour (again, in a warm place).
2. Punch down the dough and scrape it from the sides of the bowl. Loosely cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
3. Separate dough into 12 chunks, roll each into a ball, then roll balls in pearl sugar. Cook according to your waffle iron's directions. (We suggest the Oster Flip Belgian Waffle Maker, which has a nonstick surface, adjustable temperature control, and a body that rotates for even cooking.)
4. As you remove waffles from the iron, place them in a 250-degree oven in a single layer on a baking sheet until the entire batch is ready to be served. Freeze leftover waffles and reheat them in the toaster for a quick weekday breakfast.
5. Serves six. Serving size: 2 waffles. Per serving: 421 calories, 19 grams fat, 11g protein, 53g carbohydrate, 245mg sodium
6. SMART SWAPS
7. 3 simple ways to up your waffle's health ante
8. Whole for Half
9. Replace half of the all-purpose white flour for whole-wheat pastry flour or brown rice flour, and mix in 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ground ginger.
10. Dark for White
11. Use 1 cup blanched almond flour and 1/4 cup cocoa powder in place of 1 cup of all-purpose white flour
12. Fit for Fat
13. Cut half the butter for 2 percent plain Greek yogurt, and toss 1 mashed banana and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts into the batter.

flour, related, is, sandwiches, coauthor, waffles, milk, packet, cane sugar, allpurpose flour, eggs, honey, unsalted butter, vanilla, salt, sugar

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/belgium-waffles-52198801 (may not work)