Table of Contents Show
Waffles are flour confectionery products that consist of several waffle sheets layered with filling. A characteristic feature of waffles is the crispy properties of waffle sheets.
Waffles are a popular and easy-to-prepare dessert dish. The Germans are considered the inventors of this dessert.
History of occurrence
Medieval residents perceived waffles as one of the varieties of ordinary cookies. They prepared them from cream, flour, water, sugar, and eggs.
Waffles were known both in ancient Greece and in Germany. In the 17th century, the Dutch brought waffles to the American continent during emigration. At that time, it was a dish exclusively made at home. Later, people learned to add various syrups to waffles and since then, waffles have become a confectionery delicacy.
Over time, waffles have spread all over the world and remain popular to this day.
Composition and types
Classic wafers do not contain preservatives, flavor enhancers, or dyes. Their dough has a natural composition. The calorie content of the dessert depends on the fillings and their features, which, as a rule, is high.
On average, the energy value of a stuffed waffle is about 342 calories per 100 grams of the product. Without filling, this pastry is used as a basis for ice cream forms or as an addition to berry desserts. Chefs prepare cakes and pastries, tubes, and various intricate desserts based on waffle cakes.
All existing varieties of this baking differ from each other exclusively in fillings. The most famous and beloved waffles include:
- crispy waffle leaves without filling
- stuffed desserts, which may contain a filling-fudge, fatty filling, or fruit and berry
- fructose, fortified waffles, and other dietary varieties of dessert
Beneficial and harmful properties
The energy and nutritional value of this dessert are both a plus and a minus. Waffles easily satisfy hunger, because glucose in the composition can stimulate brain activity during mental work. However, by abusing waffles, you can easily earn obesity and other consequences for your health. Diseases that prevent the use of waffles:
- pancreatitis
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
- allergic reactions to the components
- obesity or diet
How to make waffles in a waffle maker
The easiest way to make waffles is to make them in a waffle iron. It is a quick recipe that everyone can prepare at home. Ingredients:
- Flour – 1 cup
- Butter – 200 g.
- Granulated sugar – 2 tbsp.
- Chicken egg – 5 pcs.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Melt the butter to a liquid state. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stove.
- Add sugar to the butter and stir the contents thoroughly. Leave the product to cool.
- Beat the eggs into the cooled butter and gradually sift the flour. Stir the dough until smooth and runny.
- Turn on the waffle iron. Pour a small amount of dough into it and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- While the waffles are warm and soft, you can roll them into tubes.
How to make waffles in the oven
Another way is to cook waffles in the oven. This recipe will differ from the previous one by a longer cooking time. The dish will turn out airy and less crispy. Ingredients:
- Flour – 250 g.
- Milk – 400 ml.
- Eggs – 3 pcs.
- Dry yeast – 2 tbsp.
- Butter – 100 g.
- Sugar – 50 g.
- Salt – 0.5 tbsp.
- Vanillin – 1 g.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Prepare the products.
- Use a mixer at low speed to mix the liquid ingredients.
- Melt the butter, enter the eggs one by one, add warm milk.
- Add sugar, salt, vanilla, yeast to the sifted flour – mix.
- Add flour with additives to the liquid components, knead a homogeneous, non-thick dough. Let it stand while the oven heats up to 220 degrees.
- Put the molds in the oven and pour the dough.
- Bake until lightly golden when the dough rises and seizes well. It can be 8-9 minutes.
- Remove the waffles from the mold, moving them to the baking tray with the relief up.
- Continue baking for another 4-6 minutes at 220 degrees.
In this recipe, the waffles must be turned over and not allowed to fry too much. They won’t be crunchy.
How to make waffles in a sandwich maker
Another option for making waffles is to make them in a sandwich maker. Many people have such a unit in the kitchen. Ingredients:
- Butter – 100 g.
- Eggs – 2
- Sour cream – 1 tsp.
- Starch – 2 tbsp.
- Milk – 100 ml.
- Sugar – 3 tbsp.
- Cream – 250 ml.
- Powdered sugar – 2 tbsp.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Beat the melted butter and sugar with a whisk or mixer.
- Add the eggs, milk, and flour, mix well.
- Add sour cream and starch.
- Knead a homogeneous dough.
- Bake the waffles in a sandwich maker, until they are ruddy.
How to make waffles with a frying pan
An alternative way to prepare waffles is to use a frying pan. Ingredients:
- Chicken egg — 3 pieces
- Sugar – 150 g.
- Milk — 100 ml.
- Butter — 100 g.
- Wheat flour / Flour – 200 g.
- Vanillin — 1 tbsp.
- Salt — 1 tbsp.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Take the eggs, add sugar and whisk everything with a mixer until fluffy.
- Add 100 ml of milk, a pinch of vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
- Add 100 g of melted butter. It should not be hot.
- Then sift the flour and whisk well.
- Remove the dough with a spatula from the sides of the bowl.
How to make waffles without eggs
Without eggs, you can make thin waffles, from which you can then model waffle tubes and fill them with various sweet ingredients.
Dessert without eggs turns out to be crispy and delicious, and in addition, you can make waffles from simple and affordable products that are always at hand. The cooking technology remains the same. You will need a waffle iron, flour, sugar, salt, and other additives to taste.
How To Make Waffles Without Waffle Iron (Potato version)
Waffles can be not only sweet but also salty. You can serve potato waffles for breakfast, and have a snack with them. It is convenient to give such waffles to a child at school or take them to eat in nature. Ingredients:
- Potatoes – 400 g.
- Chicken egg – 2 pcs.
- Milk – 150 ml.
- Butter – 25 g.
- Wheat flour – 100 g.
- Salt – to taste
- Greens – 3 tbsp.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Peel the potatoes cut them into small pieces and boil in salted water until tender.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan, heat it and add the butter.
- When the butter has melted in the milk, pour the mixture over the mashed potatoes.
- Mix everything again and let the mass cool down to a warm state.
- Add two medium-sized chicken eggs and mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
- Finely chop the greens: it can be green onions, parsley, dill, coriander.
- Add the herbs to the dough and mix well.
- Sift the flour with salt and add to the remaining ingredients.
- Grease the iron with vegetable oil and bake.
How to make waffles with pancake mix
The pancake mixture and the waffle mixture are very similar. You can make pancakes from the waffle mixture without any changes. The waffles are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. To make waffles from the pancake mixture, you need to add a little oil to the pancake batter.
Why don’t my waffles get crispy?
There are some reasons why waffles do not turn out crispy. Here are the main ones:
- Storage conditions for wafers. Keep them away from fragrant products, as they can pick up the smell. Exclude humidity in the room, otherwise, the wafers will quickly absorb moisture.
- Insufficient heating of the waffle iron. In this case, instead of thin crispy waffles, you will get pancakes with an inexpressive taste.
- Too much dough per serving. If you pour an amount of dough on the preheated waffle iron platform that exceeds the required amount, then the waffle will turn out to be pancake-shaped. Excess moisture will not have time to evaporate and the pastry will not crunch.
- A small number of eggs and butter. It is these ingredients that make the waffle dough crunch after baking.
- Improper storage of wafers. It is not necessary to stack them one on top of another or place them in a deep dish. A grid or a dry wooden board is best suited.
What type of waffle mix does Disney use?
The waffles made by Disney became famous. Manufacturers make them in the characteristic form of Mickey Mouse. The main ingredient is chocolate mousse.
For the chocolate mousse, it is necessary to combine cream, sugar, water, corn syrup, cocoa in a saucepan.
Put on medium or high heat and stir the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves. After that, you need to reduce the heat to a minimum, put the chocolate there and wait until it melts.
What do hotels use for waffle batter?
It is difficult to imagine waffle dough without flour, eggs, and sugar – these are the main ingredients, also, depending on the recipe, cream, milk, mineral water, yeast, nuts, baking powder, salt, soda, water, vanilla and other flavorings and additives (up to 10-12 ingredients) can be added to the dough.
Experienced cooks believe that in order for your waffles to turn out crispy, you need to add starch to the dough in a ratio of 50 to 50 flour. Often alcohol is added to the dough for waffles: fruit liqueurs, cognacs. It is better if all the ingredients for the dough are at room temperature before mixing.
Before baking, the waffle iron should be warmed up for 10 minutes and lubricated with vegetable oil (this moment may also depend on the type of waffle iron, see the instructions for your device). If the dough for waffles is liquid, then it is not necessary to smear it on the waffle iron, if it is thick, non-flowing, then it needs to be leveled before closing the device.
To prevent the dough from sticking to the waffle iron after baking, it is better to use powdered sugar instead of sugar.
What is the difference between a waffle and a Belgian waffle?
Many countries can boast of national recipes for original and delicious waffles. But for connoisseurs of this delicacy, perhaps the two most famous varieties remain the reference samples: Viennese and Belgian.
The history of waffles in Vienna is closely connected with the name of the Austrian confectioner Josef Manner, who at the end of the XIX century introduced a new type of dessert to the public – “Neapolitan waffles”. They got their name due to the filling of hazelnuts – they were delivered from Naples at that time.
The new delicacy was strikingly different from the already familiar desserts of this kind. The main feature of Viennese waffles today is the cooking process, which allows you to get a structure that is sufficiently porous to add a filling.
In addition to the nut mass, cream, honey, berries, fruit jam, processed cheese, and even bacon were eventually used as a filler. Viennese waffles are served hot to the table, and they are usually baked rectangular.
Belgium is considered the “ancestor” of waffles, because it was on the territory of this country, presumably in the XII-XIII centuries, they began to cook for the first time. If you continue to compare Belgian and Viennese waffles, the differences can be found in the variety of cooking and serving options.
In Belgium, you will get acquainted with at least two different types of dessert: French and Brussels.
Why are Belgian waffles famous?
The most popular are Belgian waffles. They are served in all cafeterias, restaurants, in places of street trade. This folk dessert was adored by kings and baked by ordinary Belgians. In coffee establishments in Belgium, chefs prepare real waffles in a completely different way.
Their basis is a very thick pancake dough without yeast, with a lot of melted butter. Relief squares are obtained lush, soft. They are eaten only warm. The main feature is the combination of crunch at the edges and softness.
Closing
There are a large number of different waffles. Each type differs in taste characteristics, consistency, and cooking technology. You can cook waffles in a waffle iron, oven, or sandwich maker.
You can also add various toppings there. The main feature of this dish is the speed and ease of preparation. Even a beginner can easily prepare this dessert. But people with allergic reactions, overweight, and stomach diseases should not often use this dish.