Liege+Waffles

Liege Waffles In America, the question arises of which would you prefer to accompany your eggs and bacon, waffles or pancakes? Meanwhile, the natives in or surrounding Belgium and any travelers face the question of whether they prefer a Brussels waffle (Belgian waffle) or a Liege waffle. The difference between the two waffles is heavily dependent on the ingredients that go into making them, which affects the taste and texture produced. Your typical Liege waffle has batter that is similar to that of bread dough which is described as thick and very sticky. While a Brussels waffle is defined with smooth edges, a Liege waffle usually has an uneven or rigid shape. This tasty luxury is said to be more dense, sweeter, and chewier than your average waffle. The history of the Liege waffle goes back to the 1800’s when the Prince-Bishop of Liege asked his chef to make something new. As soon as the sweet vanilla aroma of the waffle hit the Prince-Bishop, he became very fond of this delicious treat. Soon the recipe was shared stemming from the city of Liege, located in Eastern Belgium, which gave the waffle its name. The one ingredient that made the waffle so unique is called pearl sugar. It was very hard to come by in the Belgium area at that time and when it was found, the cost was very high. Nowadays, there are multiple recipes for this waffle that tend to stray from the original recipe for good reasons. As mentioned before, the pearl sugar was hard to come by then and still is difficult to obtain now. Therefore, a variety of recipes call for Swedish pearl sugar which is easier to find and is less expensive; however, this changes the appearance of the waffle to something similar to a salted pretzel but yields a similar taste. Some ingredients that will not result in anything similar to this type of waffle are bread flour, milk, and more than half a teaspoon of yeast. It is highly recommended to use ingredients somewhat similar to those used back in the 1800’s such as pastry flour, real vanilla, and ale yeast. If you would like to recreate this special waffle, I would recommend starting early because some recipes need a maximum time of two days! Now the question is: where can I find this “Liege waffle”, and the answer is just about anywhere in Belgium. They can be sold from a sit-down restaurant or from a food truck. Unlike Americans, Belgians do not eat their waffles on a plate next to eggs and bacon. In fact, they don’t even consider it to be a breakfast food, putting it in a dessert or snack category. Also, people do not use any syrup on the Liege waffle because the sugar is left in chunks inside the dough which when baked caramelizes producing a super sweet flavor. It is often topped with fruit and is served on a waxy paper holding everything in.