Homemade Belgian Waffles
Ingredients:
2 Cups AP Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
4 TBS melted butter
2 cups milk
You'll also need a waffle maker. Any style will do, but non-stick is important.
First step is to separate your eggs. You'll want to put the whites into your mixer bowl, or a bowl you can use a hand mixer in. Place your yolks in a different bowl with extra room for other ingredients to be added later. There are all sorts of ways people suggest to separate eggs, I have found that my fingers really do work the best. I don't like the shell method for several reasons, one its better to crack eggs on a flat surface so little shards of shell don't end up in your egg, also because all the bacteria and germs associated with eggs are found on the shell, so no need to expose your egg to any more of that than you absolutely have to. Make absolutely sure none of the egg yolk ends up in your egg white bowl. The whites will be nearly impossible to whip if there is yolk in it.
Start your egg whites whipping. You're aiming for stiff peaks, which at a medium speed take a while to achieve. You should have time to prepare the other parts while they're whipping, but be sure to keep an eye on them, in case the whip up faster.
In the bowl you placed your yolks in, add your sugar.
Mix them together thoroughly, until the sugar has disappeared into the mixture.
Add you milk and vanilla to you yolk mixture and stir well.
Add your melted butter and stir again.
In yet another bowl, add your flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk them together thoroughly. This keeps you from having to sift them together.
Whisk your yolk and milk mixture into your dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix, but just enough to combine. There can be a few lumps in it.
Hopefully your whites have whipped and look about like the ones in the picture below. You want them to stand up when pulled from the mixture, but not be dry. If they appear dry, you've whipped them too long. Unfortunately, there's no real fix for this, except to start over with new whites.....so, as icky as raw eggs feel in your hands, be sure and keep an eye on them so you don't have to repeat the separating process.
Now its time to gently fold you flour and milk mixture into your whites. Start with adding about a quarter of the mixture to your whites. This would also be a great time to plug in your waffle iron.
Using a spatula, carefully fold the whites over and into your milk mixture. Go around the sides with the spatula and then back through the middle, careful not to apply too much pressure. You worked really hard for all the air bubbles in those eggs whites, try not to pop them! They're what make these waffles have such a great light texture.
As you get one addition mostly folded in, add another and repeat the folding process. Be sure to check the bottom of your bowl and make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
And, you're ready to bake your waffles!
My waffle maker uses about 3/4 of a cup of batter to fill. They'll all vary, so add your batter slowly and figure out how much your waffle maker needs to be full, but not overflow. Cooking times will vary with each machine, too. Mine takes about 2 cycles to finish cooking. Watch for the steam to stop coming out from the waffles. Also, I've had rotten luck using any kind of spray to ensure the waffles don't stick. If they've finished cooking, they should release fairly easily from a nonstick surface and they get such a better texture and color without using a spray.
Lay the waffles out to cool completely, then place them in a zip top bag. Remove as much extra air as you can and they're ready to freeze. They're easily reheated in the toaster in the morning! Ta-da! Served with a side of fresh fruit, you have REAL FOOD for breakfast!
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