Red Velvet Liège Waffles

I’ve been toying with the idea for quite some time and for a while almost gave it up thinking red velvet again? I thought that I’ve reached the end of my red velvet waffle journey when I made my yeasted version but realized I have not done it the Liège way- you know, more dense and bread-y like eating a toasty brioche.  So I sat down and worked on the two recipes I have to come up with this project.  It's not difficult when you have trusted recipes on hand.  Since I have Liège waffles in mind, I just followed the recipe but incorporated the red velvet aspect- buttermilk, red vegetable food color and unsweetened cocoa powder.

Red Velvet Liège Waffles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup scalded buttermilk (you can make your own by replacing a tablespoon of milk for every cup with a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice; let stand for 5 minutes before using.  In this case, only half a cup is needed so 1 1/2 teaspoon as there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon) 
3 tbsp water 
2 cups bread flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 extra large room temperature egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp + 1 tsp light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter- melted and cooled to room temp
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp red vegetable food color
1/2 cup Belgian Pearl Sugar

Directions:
1. Sift together bread flour and cocoa powder

2. Place yeast, buttermilk, red vegetable food color and water into the work bowl of a stand mixer. Stir for a few seconds to moisten the yeast.

3. Add the egg and 1/3 of the flour mix. Mix to blend. Scrape down sides of bowl.

3. Sprinkle remaining flour over the mixture, but do not stir it in. Cover and let stand 75-90 minutes (you’ll notice the batter bubbling up through the cover of flour by the time expires). I did it for 90 minutes and with good results.

4. Add brown sugar to the work bowl and mix on low speed just to blend.

5. With machine on low, add honey and vanilla. Then add 2 tbsp of butter at a time. Mix 4 minutes at medium-low speed; scrape down sides once or twice in that period. Let the dough rest for 1 minute and then continue to mix for 2 minutes. If you measured your ingredients perfectly, the dough will be sticking to the sides of the bowl in the last minute of mixing and then, in the last 30 seconds of so, will start to ball-up on the paddle. If this does not happen, let the dough rest for 1 more minute and mix for another 2 minutes. Whatever the outcome of the extra mixing, proceed to Step 6. I didn't encounter any problem so it was full speed ahead to the next step!

6. Scrape the dough into a large bowl, sprinkle lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 4 hours. This step is crucial for developing the flavor.

7. REFRIGERATE FOR 30 MINUTES BEFORE PROCEEDING TO STEP #8. This is essential. The yeast respiration must be slowed before continuing. I didn't miss the step this time :-)

8. Stir the dough down (meaning: gently deflate the gases from the dough, by pressing on it with a rubber spatula), scrape it onto a piece of plastic wrap, and then use the spatula to press the dough into a long rectangle. Fold that rectangle over on itself (by thirds – like a letter) so that you have a square of dough. Wrap it in plastic, weigh it down a bit (I put two heavy dinner plates on top of it) and refrigerate overnight. Mine was rectangular all the way 

9. The next day, place the cold dough (it will be quite firm) in a large bowl and add all of the pearl sugar to a bowl. It will seem like a lot of sugar, but it’s supposed to be mixed into the dough by hand until the chunks are well distributed. Divide the dough into 5 pieces of equal size- I did six though because I think five is too big and used more sugar pearl this time because the batter itself hardly used sweetener except for a tablespoon honey and a little brown sugar. 

10. Shape each chunk into an oval ball (like a football without the pointy ends) and let it rise (covered loosely in plastic wrap) for exactly 90 minutes.

10. Preheat waffle iron and cook each waffle according to waffle iron instruction.  It should beep when done,  

Like the regular Liège waffles from an earlier post, some sugar pearls didn't melt and just stuck to the waffles but no worries, these are brittle and will not ruin your teeth.

Instead  of cream cheese frosting, I decided to make cream anglaise sauce with cream cheese to keep the tradition. 

Creme Anglaise Sauce

Ingredient:
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 pkg softened cream cheese
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

 Instructions:
1.Warm the milk or cream in the sauce pan and remove from heat. 
2. In a medium, heat-proof bowl, whisk the yolks together and then whisk in the sugar then the cream cheese. Continue whisking until the mixture turns pale yellow and forms ribbons on the surface.
3. While whisking steadily, pour the milk into the egg-sugar mixture in a steady stream.
4. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly to make sure the bottom does not burn or the eggs curdle.
5. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens enough to fully coat the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Strain the custard to remove any bits of eggs that may have curdled and stir in the vanilla. 

With fresh berries ... awesome! I know I'm being repetitive but in case you haven't read my earlier post, the best feature of a Liège waffle is that it can withstand whatever topping or sauce you serve it with- it just stays crunchy and delicious!  I'm so happy with the way my waffles turned out!