OVERNIGHT YEASTED WAFFLES

When I came to this country close to 10 years ago, it was an experience in itself. I am not talking about the culture, fashion or anything outwardly but I am talking about shopping for all the wonderful ingredients that I had been reading all my life in cookbooks that Mamma & Amma owned and all those wonderful kitchen appliances that I had been dreaming of using in my kitchen! Waffle maker called my name but at the same time I wasn't really sure if I should get one for us because how many times would you actually use it, right?

If you know me atleast a little bit personally, you will know that I cook a lot on a daily basis. But if you were to come to ours someday, there will hardly be any appliances to be found. Infact, I don't even own that many pots and pans for the same reason.

And that reason being...I cannot function in a cluttered environment. It honestly makes me feel so lazy inside. I need my counter tops to be empty at all times and with a shiny surface! I am constantly arranging and rearranging things to make space even when I don't own that many things! This is kind of growing with me as I grow older! :-) So inorder to avoid cluttering my kitchen shelves, I usually wait for months and sometimes even 10 years to actually buy an appliance...like a waffle maker!

Our little ones are forever hungry and they are such amazing food loving children. So it's actually a pleasure to cook for them. But these days, their requests are non-stop and I feel like a machine especially once Ian is back from school. Then even Zara's appetite hits the roof!
I don't enjoy cooking the same thing over and over again. So constant food requests plus my problem of not enjoying making the same thing over and over again kind of led me to buying a waffle maker a couple weeks ago.

When I brought it home, the kids were too excited to wait for me to make it over the weekend. So, I quickly glanced through the Cuisinart Belgium Waffle Maker manual and used a recipe which sounded really good to me. I mean, how can you go wrong with flour, butter, eggs & a pinch of sugar! This is honestly THE best waffles that we've eaten in our lives. They are thick, crisp on the outside and very soft and tender...almost like a set custard in the centre. SO GOOD!

OVERNIGHT YEASTED WAFFLES
Makes 8 waffles

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter,cubed
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active, dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:
Warm milk and butter together in a small saucepan. Once the butter has melted, remove and cool until just warm.
In the meantime, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar & salt together in a large bowl. Add the warm milk to it and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Cover the bowl and let the batter chill in the refrigerator for atleast 12 hours and upto 24 hours.
Pre heat the waffle maker to desired setting.
Whisk the batter to combine,it will deflate and that's OK. Pour 1 heaping cup of batter onto the centre of the lower grid of the preheated waffle maker; spread the batter evenly using a heatproof spatula. Close the lid and cook until the tone sounds.
Remove them carefully and serve immediately with a dusting of powdered sugar / maple syrup and some fruits.

* The first time I made these, I got exactly 8 waffles. The second time I made it, I made the first 4 for the kids and then wandered about doing other things. So when I came back the batter had risen again because of the yeast and I ended up with 12 waffles in total!
* You can freeze the waffles and reheat them on a rack in a 200 F oven for 5-6 minutes.

This is an excellent recipe when you have company because the batter can be made the previous night so you can take your own sweet time to wake up in the morning and the breakfast is done in no time at all! I must mention that the waffle iron does take a little while to heat up, so just keep that in mind.
I am thinking of doubling the recipe next time onwards so that I can freeze the extras for the coming days or for the days when the kids request for snacks after snacks!

My family only had one word to describe these … 'Amazing!'