We Tried 9 Different Liege Waffle Recipes

In this bake off, I review 9 different liege waffle recipes!

The full breakdown, including the data analysis and my top picks, will be live on my blog. Thank you to our sponsor, @imperialsugar for providing the high-quality pure cane sugar that went into each waffle recipe!

Recipes (in order shown):
00:00​​​ Intro to the Liege Waffle Bake Off
10:09 Liege waffle recommendations
10:57 Wrap up!

In case you're new here, here's how a bake off works:
- I bake 9-12 different recipes in one day
- Samples of each recipe get distributed to a team of tasters
- Tasters rank each sample for flavor, texture and overall appeal
- We analyze the data and rank each recipe according to the scores!

[happydutch]

Nice comparison. But the waffles are baked with a to high temperature. Those waffles are not crunchy at the outside. Temperature must be between 175 and 185 Celsius. The slightly melted pearl sugar gives them a crunchy bite, more inside. And they are not dark brown but golden brown. They must be a little soft. Your waffles are burnt. That can be an influence of the taste.
In Liege there is the Confrérie de la Gaufre Liégeoise La Strème, they have contests, to determine who makes the best waffles. And they have their own (original???) recipe.
But more important, I like your comparison a lot. And for everyone, when making those waffles, try recipes out and what you like the most, use that.
I'm from the Netherlands, living not far away from Liege. And even in Liege not all wafflesbackers are the same, some are better, some are less.
Then 1, In Belgium and the Netherlands the most used flour is a less "stark" flour, more to use within patisserie then bread making. The most American flours are better for bread. That makes a difference in the product. The less "stark" flour gives a little softer product. That's what these waffles must be.
Then 2. I learned from a very good professional person, make first the dough, let it rest (and or rise) and then ad the butter. You have to be sure there are enough gluten in the dough. If you ad the butter (not melted) to soon, it is difficult to get glutennetwork (hope that's the right term in English).

[bigchungus]

I am always impressed with the quality of these videos. Keep up the superb work!

[huntstyle]

These look and sound burnt. I read on one recipe that many consumer waffle irons are significantly hotter than the waffle irons used in Belgium. Sugar burns at 375 degrees, so you gotta keep it under that temp. The solution this one found is to unplug the iron after 1 minute, then cook for an additional 3 minutes, but it'll likely vary with each iron. Mine actually has a temperature control, and if I set it to about a medium temp, the sugar does not burn.

[mountainclimbers]

I really appreciated this video. Not only is it exactly what I was looking for (which version of these waffles and how/why are they different), but your video is very well done and easy to watch. I went by your recommendation, after having a similar recipe for the 1st time a few weeks ago, and it came out just perfect. I doubled it as to have some for the freezer (which I buried so they don't all get eaten in one day). Looking forward to seeing more from your site. Cheers.

[isabelissimaa]

This was my first time having these. Loved the surprise pockets of crunch and sugar 😍

[ezenkrul]

Liege waffles are amazing, I make my own as well. These are looking burnt though hun..and that crunch. I never had a liege waffle be crunchy before.

[AleanaFernando]

This video is a life saver! I just bought a waffle iron and I'm gonna use the hummingbird high recipe and yes I love how it's an overnight rest so I can just make the waffles immediately the next morning

[omaryousef]

One day I’m going to tell people I knew the Pancake Princess before she had 1, 000, 000 followers.

Just wait.

[kaitlynchiu]

Ahh I LOVE liege waffles! Thank you for making this bake off!!

[julieblair]

"This one had a great lightness, very delicate and tender." [ the sound of eating charred sourdough toast 3" thick ]

[noba]

Ahhh new subscriber here and I've been searching for a liege waffle recipe by sheer coincidence! Perfect timing :D

[rebekahchambers]

Thanks for the video!! Exactly what I was looking for 👍 Very informative and I love not having to test them all myself, haha!

[ReubenNinan]

I really appreciate your videos and blogs. With recipes being put out like crazy and recipes being not tested or having too much clout due to the recipe developer your comparisons really help

[gregharris]

I ended up going with the word press version . It was great but my stomach did not appreciate the 2nd waffle. Ty for the vid. It helped a lot🌸

[BrunoSantos-fckb]

Great videos became an instant fan. Could I suggest you to do a video with pancakes and crepes?

[wreckoningday]

They sound like croutons when you're eating them. Are they hard and somewhat dry? Is that how they're supposed to be? I've never had a liege waffle which is why I'm asking.

Edit: I learned a lot just hearing the descriptions on ingredients/rise and the outcome on taste. Really interesting.

[folukara]

why does you burn them, they sound burnt and too crunchy

[teddibear]

Amazing and detailed video as usual! The blog post doesn't seem to be up yet? Thanks as always

[bigbrain]

You should really try Bruno Albouze's recipe. I did his liege waffle and it was the most proper one I've ever tasted. Especially his addition of caramel to the mix. Also please turn off 'made for kids' setting on your channel because it doesn't allow people to ring the bell to your video. How did I figure that out? I subscribed and tried ringing the bell ;)

[alexsouthpb]

Sorry, but crunchy Liège waffles is too cringy for me. Had to stop watching/listening to the crunching. They should be chewy and the crunch coming from the pearl sugar. I still appreciate the effort you put in and will take a look at the recipes to see the differences.