Now that I have that out of my system I can tell you about these waffles. Orangette is a blog written by a gal in Seattle that has a restaurant and a bar and two published books long before PW or Our Best Bites got cookbooks, so she seems legitimate. Back in 2010 she decided to put two very popular waffle recipes to the test and decide once and for all which one was the ultimate waffle experience. She chose Waffles of Insane Greatness (which Nicole has kindly posted on this blog) and a recipe which was originally in the Fanny Farmer Cookbook in 1896 but more famously known as Marion Cunningham's Raised Waffles from her cookbook The Breakfast Book. Why am I telling you all of this? Because just yesterday we had a conversation regarding Oatmeal Waffles and Waffles of Insane Greatness as to which was the best waffle. Josh and Jesse prefer WoIG and Nicole and Meghan were commenting that it is pretty hard to beat an oatmeal waffle. So then of course I had to insert that I recently made the overnight waffles and when Dad and I tasted those we were pretty sure they were the best waffle of all time! I have made them twice now and Dad commented the second time we had them that they could be the best waffle he has ever tasted. So what are we supposed to do? How can we ever decide which waffle to make? Here is how Orangette broke it down. She had 5 "professional" taste testers come and help with the judging and they decided that both of the recipes were better than any waffle they had ever tasted excluding a Liege Waffle (which is what Waffle Luv serves up) which are in a class of waffles all of their own. Those of us that love Waffle Luv would absolutely agree with that statement so once again she seems legit. They decided that the Overnight Waffle edged out the WoIG by a fraction in flavor complexity and also ease of preparation because you spend five minutes the night before and then get up in the morning stir in eggs and baking soda and start cooking.
So here is her recommendation. If you decide in advance to make waffles you go ahead and make the yeast version, but if you get up in the morning and decide it is a day for waffles you make WoIG; either way you enjoy the best waffle you have ever tasted so it is a win with a capital W! (You could also mix this up first thing in the morning and serve them up for dinner, just sayin')
This does not solve the debate as to where Oatmeal waffles fit in to this equation, but according to Orangette whole grain waffles would have a category all to themselves because the flavor and texture would be so different from either of these waffles that it would not be a fair comparison. So there you have it. The only thing else we could do would be to have our own waffle testing party and make all three waffles at the same time and decide for ourselves! I am up for the challenge because we would then be justified in eating THREE waffles all in the name of science, and wouldn't that be a shame? (Orangette does not know about the Carrot Cake waffle recipe so I don't know what she would do about that but we will just leave that alone for now.)
So if you have made it through this long winded post you deserve to have the recipe...so here it is!
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) dry yeast
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ tsp. baking soda
Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. (The batter will rise to double its volume, so keep that in mind when you choose the bowl.) Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.
Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour, and beat until well blended and smooth. (Electric beaters do a nice job of this.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature.(The batter will be similar to sourdough pancakes, thinner than other batters, and yes you just leave it covered on the counter overnight.)
Before cooking the waffles, preheat a waffle maker. Follow your waffle maker’s instruction manual for this. My waffle maker is nonstick,but I still spray it with Pam, don't know if that is good or bad but I never want to chance the mess of having waffles stuck in all of those little grooves so I spray away!
Just before cooking the waffles, add the eggs and baking soda, and stir to mix well. The batter will be very thin. Pour an appropriate amount of batter into your hot waffle maker: this amount will vary from machine to machine, and you should plan to use your first waffle as a test specimen. Because this batter is much thinner than some other waffle batters and my waffle maker is for Belgian waffles which are deeper grooves, I fill the waffle iron very full. The first time I made them I filled it as I normally would and they did not rise up enough to touch the top cooking element so I flipped them over and cooked the other side until it was browned too. The next time I filled that baby up, hoping that it would not spill down all over the sides of the waffle iron and onto the counter etc. and they cooked up beautifully. So just go for it, you will not regret it. Cook until golden and crisp.
Do not let any of the above scare you off from trying this version of a waffle. It is super simple, with no fancy ingredients and these are the crispiest waffles ever and the best waffle ever eaten the next day after being popped into the toaster, so make enough to enjoy all week long! You may never have to eat cold cereal again!
1 comment:
I am SO going to try these next week! Wait...we'll be in Europe TOGETHER! Whop whop!! When we get home for sure. They sound like they would be right up Vaun's alley!
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