Liege Waffles - Yeasty Smell
Hi All,
I found a recipe for Liege Waffles, but decided to double the amount - 2 days of work to only wind up with 5 waffles seems a bit unfair. The original recipe calls for 1½ teaspoons of active dry yeast for 2 cups of bread flour. I added 1 tablespoon of SAF Gold yeast and 4 cups of flour.
From the start - after the first rise of 90 minutes - it smelled very yeasty. I was not sure if that's normal for SAF Gold - first time using it - but I went ahead anyway. The 90 minute rise does not fully incorporate all the flour - almost like a poolish or whatever you guys call it.
After this, the rest of the flour is mixed in with the dough and it's left to rise for 4 hours at room temperature. Then the dough is chilled for 30 minutes, a quick fold is done, and then it's left in the refrigerator overnight.I just took the dough out, formed small balls and waiting for the third rise. Still, it has a yeasty smell. It's not overpowering to the point of being offensive, but it's there.
I normally make no-knead bread/pizza dough and use ¼ teaspoon for 3 cups of bread flour. Of course, the rise time is slow and this happens at room temperature unlike this recipe where both rises are done in a relatively short amount of time.
I'm not sure if I used too much yeast or what should be changed the next time, but I just wanted to get your opinion on this.
Thanks!
Just made the waffles and they were AMAZING! Of all the things I've made, this ranks up there.Would still like to know more about the yeast, but, in the interest of my waistline, I might just stick to single batches.
I call this...the reason sweatpants were invented.
I know you posted this about a year ago, but... I wrote that recipe you used. The ratios were based, in part, on a brioche recipe from Paula Wolfert. And in the 6+ years since I initially worked the recipe out, I've learned how excessive that yeast quantity was. The other poster who said 1/2tsp was right on; even 1/4tsp could work out, if the fermentation time was sufficiently long. I need to revisit and rewrite that old recipe soon.
Thanks for the update and correction. This recipe still stands high up there of all the things I've made. Maybe some day, I'll have a Fairy Waffle Mother get me a Krampouz, but I'll stick with my Waring Pro for now.
By the way, it's your fault I have a constant supply of about 20 lbs of Waffle Pantry pearl sugar at home. :)
Gorgeous waffles! What brand/type of sugar did you use? I've had trouble getting the sugar to melt in the past. I don't know if it's my waffle iron (cheap aluminum plug-in type) or if it's that I'm using the wrong type of pearl sugar. It stays in lumps and doesn't melt at all to get that crunchy, shiny sugar crust that I see in your pictures.
1.5 tsp for 2 cups bread flour is probably a lot more yeast than you need, especially since it's SAF gold. Some recipes call for a larger amount of non-osmotolerant yeast to compensate for the effect of sugar. I'd guess that you can decrease the yeast down to just half a teaspoon for 2 cups of bread flour. If you're able to wait longer, you can use even less.
Thank you. When I decided to make these, I did not realize the search for good pearl sugar would be that hard. To begin with, there are 2 types of pearl sugar - Swedish(small harder bits) and Belgian. You need Belgian pearl sugar. Lars Own is a very popular brand and the cheapest I've seen is about $6 for the 8oz pack. After looking at many sites that seem to be experts in Liege waffles, I've read that Lars is not really that great a brand. Larger that Swedish, but does not melt well.
The pearl sugar I used was from Waffle Pantry. There's another site, Waffle Cabin, that's probably as good, and then there's another company belgianpearlsugar.com that seems to spam/advertise every waffle blog with their product. Theirs was twice the price, but I decided with Waffle Pantry because their blogs have done intensive recipe tests and research. If it's good enough for those waffle addicts, certainly good enough for me. :)
Thanks for the tip about the yeast. So you think 1 teaspoon of yeast for 4 cups of flour is enough or should I got for 2 teaspoons.
As far as your waffle iron, I just got mine from Costco. It's the Waring Pro Double Belgian waffle maker - plug-in with a dial setting. Normal price is around $70, but they're having a sale until the Feb 22nd - only $54. The iron did a great job and it was fast. Notice the pool of melted sugar? Well, that's when I flipped it to cook on the other side. Don't worry, it only takes a second to clean because the sugar hardens quickly and it comes of with a quick wipe. Each waffle cooks in about 2-3 minutes and it beeps to let you know when your waffle is done.
To parelsuijker is to take sugar lumps, put them in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin.