4 Levels of Waffles: Amateur to Food Scientist

[crinkling] [bubbling]

[upbeat music]

I'm Bianca, and I'm a level one chef.

I'm Lorenzo, and I'm a level two chef.

I'm Tracy, and I'm a level three chef.

I would watch my grandmother cook

and that's how this recipe came to be.

I'm no Julia Child, but it is edible.

It's a recipe that I kind of messed up for years.

I stuck with it.

I've been making this yeast raised dough recipe

for a very long time.

It's gonna be super fluffy and light on the inside,

and caramelized and crunchy on the outside.

[chiming]

So first we'll make our batter.

And we'll start with the dry ingredients.

My family, they generally cook with feeling.

Which means they tend to stay away from recipes.

This is my Belgian waffle batter mix.

I'm actually gonna start with all-purpose flour.

Flour, sugar, baking powder. Baking powder.

And just a dash of salt.

To give it a bit of a kick.

We are making a Belgian style liege waffle

that's gonna be risen with active dry yeast

instead of baking powder.

And then we're gonna add our dark brown sugar.

I love to make donuts

and this is basically a donut but in waffle form.

I'm gonna get the wet ingredients.

Egg helps the batter get--

Oh shit.

[laughing]

Salt breaks down the proteins in your eggs.

And it's gonna make for a fluffier waffle.

All right, you're whisked.

We're gonna add

our two eggs. Eggs.

Vanilla. Vanilla extract.

Whole milk.

And I'm gonna use a fresh vanilla bean.

I like using these whenever I have the chance.

You're gonna get way more vanilla flavor.

And I also like that the vanilla bean

is kind of speckled throughout the waffle,

just to kind of brighten up your dough.

I'm gonna use yogurt.

And this is vanilla, but it could be strawberry,

raspberry, blueberry, put it in.

One of the biggest things that I was just messing up,

it was always sticking to the waffle maker.

It's because I wasn't putting in enough--

Butter.

The butter has solidified.

Half a cup of melted butter.

[Tracy] We're gonna add our room-temperature butter

that's been chopped into small pieces.

This is muy importante.

[beeping]

Back in action.

Blend all the ingredients.

So it can be creamy and thick.

And I kinda do a little bop,

it makes me feel more like an adult.

I don't think you can do too much whisking

to make it just right, you know.

I don't wanna really overwork the batter.

If you over mix your dough it's actually

gonna become too difficult to work with.

And it's gonna have too firm of our gluten strands.

Nice and creamy.

So now that our dough has come together,

we're gonna take it and put it in a new bowl,

and then we're gonna let it rest in the fridge overnight.

Now we're ready to cook our waffles

with a classic waffle maker.

[Lorenzo] Get two-thirds cup,

put it directly in the center.

Ooh, it's already sizzling.

I love a good sexy waffle.

So this our dough that has sat overnight.

We want to start by kneading our pearl sugar in.

I'm gonna portion this into three ounce waffles.

So that way every waffle is about the same size.

And maybe just give it a little press down.

You actually should not have to add any Pam or spray to it

because there's so much butter in the dough.

Voila.

I usually cook the waffles maybe three to five minutes.

Oh.

[gasping]

It's spilling.

It's definitely supposed to spill out

of the sides like that.

I can actually smell the vanilla in it right now.

It's fantastic.

We wanna make sure the waffle maker is hot enough

that our pearl sugar actually caramelizes.

Okay, I'm actually sweating.

This is like.

Because these are a dough not a batter,

you can actually check these before

they get too dark. Oh, okay.

Wasn't ready yet.

So don't be afraid of opening it before it's ready.

My grandmother would be so embarrassed.

I'm sorry.

You wanna make sure that it has deep enough pockets.

So this one's about one and quarter inch,

which is what you're looking for.

There goes the bat signal.

Thank you for doing your job.

[dramatic music]

Ah, oh.

[laughing]

I need a little bit more batter.

I just like complete full crevices.

But hey, wait, wait, wait a minute now.

That's not bad.

This is looking great.

We have nice crispy edges.

A soft pillowy inside.

And we have our pearl sugar all the way around our waffle.

And there you go.

Nice and golden, hurray.

I'm so proud of myself.

Okay.

It reminds me of funnel cakes at the fair.

And now we're ready to move on to our toppings.

My favorite part.

I'm actually gonna make a sauce

to compliment our delicious waffle.

It's easy-peasy, actually, 'cause it's

a one, two, three, four kinda combo.

One cup of fruit.

Two tablespoons of water.

Three teaspoons of sugar.

Then four hefty squeezes of lemon juice.

So for toppings I like to have my syrup and strawberries.

It's one of my favorite fruits.

A couple of 'em have burst open already.

We're just gonna let this go for a little bit.

So I've decided to pair my Belgian waffles

with a homemade toffee sauce,

which is basically like a darker richer caramel.

So we're gonna start with some dark brown sugar.

Then we're gonna add some heavy cream.

Some butter, and some salt.

Hello blueberry compote.

[laughing]

That was so stupid, I'm sorry.

So after about 10 minutes

your sauce should have thickened.

Turn the heat off and you wanna

actually add your vanilla extract.

Here's our fresh toffee sauce.

[peppy music]

So we have our waffles.

And then, well I guess we can just

pick these strawberries up, huh?

So I just happen to have a block of milk chocolate.

That's like chocolate snow.

It's beautiful.

So we have our toffee sauce

and then our homemade speculoos spread.

Or as we know in the United States, cookie butter.

So we're taking our homemade speculoos cookies

and we made some cookie crumbs.

A little corn syrup, water,

and then we're gonna add some cinnamon.

Make sure this is nice and dissolved.

Let this cool down to room temperature.

And then we're gonna add some refined coconut oil.

And then I'm gonna use an immersion blender

to make sure it becomes a nice smooth spread.

We're gonna just put it in the fridge

and let it sit overnight.

This is as pretty as it's gonna get, I guess.

We're gonna have some freshly whipped cream.

Add some nice confectioners sugar.

I wanna be able to put my whipped cream

directly on top of the waffle

and for it to actually hold a shape.

This is what we call firm peaks.

You don't wanna keep going from here

because you'll end up with butter.

And then we add our maple syrup.

Product shot, yeah.

[laughing] It looks really good.

Nice and even.

Piping throughout all those little holes.

This is the toffee sauce we made earlier.

Drizzle it all around our waffle.

This is good old Cool Whip.

Plop that right there.

Plop, plop, plop.

And a plop.

You've got a handful of this delicious shaved chocolate.

[Tracy] All the way around.

Finish our waffle.

Bloop, sound effects and all.

So excited to taste this.

This is my Belgian waffle.

Deliciouso.

And here we have our Belgian liege waffle.

[upbeat music]

Time to dig in.

Okay.

[Lorenzo] Mm.

It's not half bad.

Mm, mm, oh. Delicious.

That's really good.

I didn't do anything special,

I just followed the recipe, didn't I.

I'm super happy with how this waffle came out.

The toffee sauce gives it a little bit of a mapley flavor.

You get crunch from the pearl sugar.

And the whipped cream just balances it all together.

Wouldn't serve it to my grandmother.

But not half bad.

I'll give myself a little pat on the back.

We saw three different chefs make three different waffles.

[clicking and drumming]

Bianca and Lorenzo made quick bread style waffles.

And Tracy made a yeast leavened waffle.

Bianca and Lorenzo's quick bread style waffles

used baking powder, which is a chemical leavener

that leavened the batter instantly.

Baking powder produces carbon dioxide gas

as soon as it's combined with liquid.

The carbon dioxide will aerate the batter

and make the waffles fluffy.

This is gonna make you have a beautiful fluffy waffle.

Tracy made a yeasted waffle dough

by leavening the waffle mixture with yeast

instead of baking powder.

As the yeast metabolizes the sugar in the dough

carbon dioxide gas is produced and the dough rises slowly.

Tracy allowed her dough to rise overnight

developing a rich and malty flavor.

When making their waffle batters,

Bianca and Lorenzo both used the muffin method.

The wet and dry ingredients are mixed separately.

The wet ingredients are then added to the dry ingredients

and stirred until just combined.

As I make a mess.

Tracy made a dough rather than a batter.

She combined the wet ingredients and sugar

and then added the dry ingredients

to the wet ingredients to form a dough.

She enriched the dough by slowly adding cubes of butter.

Bianca and Lorenzo chose--

All-purpose flour. All-purpose flour.

All-purpose flour has a moderate amount of gluten,

which is the protein found in wheat flour.

Lower protein flours will yield a tender crumb.

Tracy used a combination of all purpose

and high gluten flour.

More gluten creates tunnels throughout

the matrix of the waffle mixture,

similar to the structure of bread.

I recommend doing this on a low speed

so you don't get a big flour shower

when you turn your machine on.

The gluten produces a strong dough and a chewier crumb.

The addition of fat, like the butter Tracy used,

will shorten the crumb giving it a softer texture.

Waffles contain more fat and eggs than pancakes.

Which contributes to their tenderness

and improves the integrity of their shape

when subjected to the heat of a waffle iron.

All of our chefs preheated their waffle irons.

A moderate heat will ensure an even rate of cooking

on the inside as well as the outside of the waffles,

yielding a soft interior and crisp exterior

like Lorenzo and Tracy's waffles.

Bianca used an American style square waffle maker.

And Lorenzo and Tracy used a Belgian waffle maker.

The square waffle maker has shallow pockets

and produces a thinner waffle than the Belgian waffle maker.

The Belgian waffle maker has deep pockets

and produces a thicker and fluffier waffle.

This is my least favorite step.

Bianca overfilled her waffle iron.

Lorenzo underfilled his.

And Tracy added just enough dough.

I told you I was level one.

I tried to told you.

The waffle molds should be partially filled

before they are closed to avoid spillage.

The pressure from the top waffle plate

will spread the batter throughout the mold

creating an even shape.

So I don't want it to come out a weird shape.

When it comes to cooking waffles

the more moisture in the batter the shorter the cook time.

Bianca's waffle batter has the highest amount of moisture

and will require the least amount of cook time.

Lorenzo's waffle batter is moderately thick

from the addition of yogurt, and has less moisture.

And Tracy's waffle dough has the least amount of moisture

and will take the longest to cook through completely.

At-home waffle makers take a lot of guessing

out of waffle cooking.

But the suggested cook time is just an approximation.

Depending on the viscosity of your batter

your waffles might not be crisp

when the appliance indicates it's done.

Another way to determine if your waffle is done

is to use steam as an indicator.

During the cooking, water in the batter

will heat and turn to steam.

When the steam stops escaping from the side

of the waffle iron most of the water has been evaporated,

and the waffle is cooked through.

After all of the steam escapes

leave the waffle inside for a few seconds longer

to allow the outside ridges of the waffle to crisp.

The sugar present in the waffle mix

will caramelize and help produce the brown color

on the outside of the waffles.

Bianca and Lorenzo used a moderate amount of sugar

and will have a small amount of caramelization

on the outside of their waffles.

They're gonna ask for more, I'm telling your right now.

Tracy added pearl sugar

into her waffle batter before cooking.

This will increase the amount of caramelization

and produce a golden brown final product.

Our chefs each used unique sauces to top their waffles.

Bianca used maple syrup.

Lorenzo crafted a blueberry compote,

and paired it with whipped topping,

maple syrup, and chocolate shavings.

And Tracy made speculoos spread,

whipped cream, and toffee sauce for her waffles.

Bianca and Lorenzo's lightly sweetened waffles

pair well with the sweet sauces they chose.

Ooh, one time for Bianca.

As my friend says, it's still gonna get et.

The strong dough that Tracy used produced a sturdy waffle,

which can bear the weight of sauces and toppings.

Tracy's waffle is considerably sweeter,

so pairing the waffles with a very sweet topping

can make the final dish very decadent.

The balance of textures and warm spices

in Tracy's toppings will help to balance

the sweetness of the dish.

When is it not a good time to have waffles?

Waffles are a fun dish to make at home.

You can use some of these tips

to make a quick breakfast, or an indulgent dessert.