Help! Liege Waffle excessively dense
I made liege waffles today and got a very dense crumb. I'm not sure if my waffle iron is not hot enough since it's a old model that only plugs in, no heat control. Any suggestions? Also, I left the dough in the fridge overnight, but since it didn't rise much I let it proof around 85 degrees covered in plastic wrap for an additional 2 and a half hours. Any suggestions?
I followed this recipe: http://liegewaffle.wordpress.com/liege-waffle-recipe-liege-gaufre-recette-metric/
Best Answer
Given the very-specific times and temperatures given in the recipe, I'd bet that deviating at all would probably cause this result. Step #7 specifically states that you want to slow and limit the yeast's growth, which I would guess is to form very fine gas bubbles in the dough and provide a final burst as the waffle cooks. Letting it proof for so much longer probably let some of those bubbles merge and escape from the final dough. In short, don't do that, even if it doesn't rise very much.
If you follow this recipe to the letter and it still doesn't work, check your yeast for freshness. They may be expired (in more ways than one) and less effective than normal.
Finally, don't beat yourself up if it takes a few tries to get this right. This is a very finicky recipe - I've never seen so many temps and times in a waffle recipe. There's probably a reason why the author states that they aren't seen much even in Belgium.
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Why are my waffles too dense?
When your waffles are dense, it means that you're not lightening the batter properly. To lighten the batter, you're going to need to separate egg yolks from egg whites and then whip your egg whites to froth them up. With the egg whites whipped, you're going to need to just fold them back into the batter.Why are my Liege waffles hard?
Overworking the dough. Mixing the dough excessively will over-develop the gluten and give your waffles a tough texture.How do you make waffles less dense?
Add stiff egg whites. When you beat egg whites to stiff peaks, they hold in a TON of air (think about what's going on with souffles). Incorporating stiff egg whites into your batter makes the waffles incredibly light instead of heavy and dense.Why are my Belgian waffles tough?
If you're too vigorous, you run the risk of overdeveloping the gluten in the flour which can make waffles chewy or tough; too little and you could be left with lumps. Whisk steadily and not too quickly until the batter looks smooth and thoroughly mixed.Belgian Liege Waffles | BEST Waffles Ever!!
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Answer 2
Sounds like you may have skipped the step of letting the dough rise before putting it in the fridge. We manufacture Liege waffle dough wholesale and we find that you don't even need to let it rise that much before cooking. If you make the dough, add butter, add pearls, let it rise, then you can actually cook it right away. You don't have to retard the fermentation overnight and you'll still get a very good waffle.
Or, maybe you didn't use bread flour that is high in protein/gluten. If you use cake flour, you'll get a very different result.
Or, a step that is often missed is stretching the dough into a semi-flat oval before pressing with the waffle iron. By stretching the dough, you give it enough space to expand inside the waffle iron. By doing this, you end up with a lighter less dense and doughy waffle. The inside texture/density of the waffle should be somewhat similar to challah bread. Give it a try.
Lastly, maybe your temp is too high so you didn't cook the dough enough leaving it very doughy. You really need to be in the 350-360 range for about 2 1/2 minutes.
Good luck!
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