Célestine's strawberry and chocolate Liège waffles

Ingredients

14 servings

• 20 g brown sugar (or 2 packets of vanilla sugar)
• 30 g fresh baker's yeast (or 12g dry yeast)
• 500 g T55 flour
• 1 egg
• 125 g lukewarm semi-skimmed milk
• 5 g salt
• 250 g softened unsalted butter (at room temperature for several hours)
• 25 g honey
• 2 g baking soda
• 3 g cinnamon
• 200 g pearl sugar (nib sugar)
• 250 g strawberries
• 100 g chocolate chips coated in a little flour (1 teaspoon)

Steps

1. 1

   Dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm milk (be careful not to heat the milk too much so as not to kill the yeast).

2. 2

   In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the dough hook, mix 300g of flour (reserve the remaining 200g) with the yeast and milk mixture, brown sugar, and egg. Knead for about 5 minutes at medium/high speed until the mixture is homogeneous and the dough comes together. Leave in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

3. 3

   Resume preparation: degas the dough by punching it gently, add the soft butter, honey, the remaining 200g of flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Knead for about 10 minutes and let rise again for 30 minutes at room temperature.

4. 4

   After the second rise, degas the dough again using a wooden spoon this time, incorporating the pearl sugar and chocolate chips (previously coated in a little flour to protect them). Finish by hand if the mixture is too dense.

5. 5

   Form dough balls of about 90g (up to 140g if you want full waffles that cover the entire iron plate) and place on a sheet of parchment paper while waiting for the iron to heat up.

6. 6

   Once the iron is hot, place a dough ball in the center of the mold and close the lid without pressing: the little trick for obtaining very fluffy waffles is to close the lid gradually as they cook, without trying to crush them completely. Let cook for about 4 minutes and remove using a utensil to avoid sugar burns.

7. 7

   Serve with melted chocolate or chocolate spread and fresh strawberries for even more indulgence!