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Donut-Glazed Yeasted Belgian Waffle Recipe

Donut-Glazed Yeasted Waffles

These yeast-raised waffles are crispy on the outside and soft and almost donut-like on the inside, with a thin vanilla glaze (you don’t even need syrup!)
Yield: 5 Belgian waffles
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours

Ingredients

For Waffles:

  • 1 ½ cup / 366 g whole milk, lukewarm (approximately 95-105ºF)
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g (1 package) active dry yeast
  • 2 ½ cups / 310 g all purpose flour, preferably bleached*
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ½ cup / 113 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

For Glaze:

  • ¼ cup / 56 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 g whole milk
  • 1 cup / 120 g powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract, or the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean

Instructions

  • Place warm milk in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast evenly over top; let sit for 5 minutes. (If using instant yeast, you can skip this step and just whisk the yeast in with the flour).
  • In another bowl, whisk flour with salt and sugar until evenly incorporated. Add to bowl with milk along with melted butter; mix to combine and no or very few lumps remain. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  • About an hour before cooking, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Prepare and preheat your Belgian waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Separate eggs; place yolks in a small bowl; whisk with baking soda. Add to dough mixture and stir until mostly incorporated.
  • Place egg whites in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until it forms medium-soft peaks. Add half of beaten whites to dough; fold to lighten the mixture. Add remaining egg whites and fold until evenly incorporated and no lumps of egg white remain.
  • If necessary, lightly spray hot waffle iron with cooking spray. Add about 1 cup of batter to iron (or whatever amount your particular brand recommends to fill, but not overflow). Close iron and cook until golden brown (mine took 3 minutes 45 seconds using the KitchenAid® Waffle Baker). Carefully remove from iron and place on a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter (you should have enough for about 5 waffles).
  • While waffles are cooling, prepare glaze. Combine butter and milk in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat (use a pan that is just big enough to fit one of your waffle pieces, then you can dip them right in the same pan and not dirty anymore dishes). Gently cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Add sifted powdered sugar (DO NOT skip the sifting! Trust me… lumpy glaze is no fun) and bring to a simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla beans.
  • Break waffles into quarters (if your waffle iron allows it) as the smaller pieces are easier to dip. Dip one side of waffle into glaze, then lift straight up, allowing any excess glaze to drip back into the pan. Invert and place on cooling rack. Repeat with remaining pieces. Serve freshly dipped waffles at room temperature. While the waffles are best when they are fresh, if you want to make them ahead of time, you can refrigerate or freeze them unglazed, then bring to room temperature (or toast lightly in the oven to re-crisp the outsides) and then glaze them just before serving.

Notes

  • * I used White Lily Bleached AP flour for this recipe. Like in pie crusts, the bleached flour is just slightly less protein and produces a more tender, cake-like waffle. You could also do a blend of regular unbleached AP and cake flour if you wanted to produce a similar result, though I wouldn’t recommend all cake flour (your waffles still need some gluten in there to provide proper support).