Crispy Waffles with Bourbon Caramelized Bananas

This blog post is written by my friend, colleague, and baker John McKay. After tasting these waffles recently, I asked John to share his wisdom, precision and experience of elevating this staple of weekend brunches to a new and extraordinary level. The pictures are from my recent encounter with them. Here's John very welcome offering...

Nothing makes a better breakfast treat than a good waffle, topped with fresh fruit and some dark maple syrup.  For a special occasion, some caramelized fruit, a touch of ice cream, or even whipped cream are great additions.  But while sweet toppings can improve lackluster waffles, the best place to start is with a waffle that would still taste great even when eaten plain.

For most people, the ideal waffle has three characteristics: a slightly crispy exterior, a soft and almost creamy interior, and great flavor.  After many experiments, I've discovered that the most difficult aspect to achieve consistently is the crispy exterior, and there is a lot of good and bad advice out there about how to make crispy waffles.  Here are a few thoughts after cooking close to a hundred variations over the years, which might be helpful if you want to improve your favorite recipe.


One common theory is that high-moisture batter will make it more difficult to produce crispness, since the steam retained in the batter will (supposedly) steam the outside of the waffles.  I've seen popular recipes using thicker batter, substituting oil for butter, adding cornmeal or crackers for a false sense of "crunch," and even substituting cornstarch for some amount of flour in the recipe to absorb moisture.  None of these methods is very effective, and all have some negative impact on the flavor and texture of the waffles.

Taking a cue from the science of bread-baking, I looked for the kind of things that will have a major impact on crispness of waffles.  To bake a crusty baguette or a crackling sourdough loaf, you actually need high moisture and high temperatures.  Whether or not the crust softens after baking will depend on the interior moisture of the loaf (which can be effectively reduced if the loaf rises higher) and the thickness of the crust.  A thick crisp crust can be aided by a long fermentation that will cause the crust to "blister" and dry out, as well as having enough oil in the dough to "fry" the crust (as in oily focaccia).

To produce a crispy exterior, I therefore prefer the following things in a waffle recipe: a relatively moist batter that is also rather light (to allow the maximum rise), a long yeasted fermentation, a decent quantity of oil, and a very hot waffle iron.  The long fermentation will also use enzyme activity to break down some elements of the flour and produce a creamier interior while also adding a yeasty tang to the flavor.  For lightness, be careful not to overmix the batter after the fermentation, but you can add beaten egg whites for additional lift.  And lastly, for the best flavor, butter is better than plain oil; buttermilk is better than milk.

Below is a recipe for yeasted waffles.  If you haven't tried them, don't be afraid -- they're easier than baking powder/soda waffles.  And you get to do almost all the prep the night before, so you can roll out of bed and start pouring in batter by the time the iron gets hot.

I've also included a decadent (but easy) banana recipe as a topping, though these waffles will go well with almost anything.
 

CRISPY WAFFLES
(similar to recipes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe)

2 cups all-purpose flour (substitute some with whole-grain if you like)
1 Tbsp. sugar*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. instant yeast
2 cups milk (or buttermilk*)
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter*, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs at room temperature, separated*

1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour in milk and whisk lightly to wet all ingredients.  Whisk in butter and vanilla until ingredients are loosely blended (some lumps are fine).  Batter will be rather thin.

2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight.  Be sure bowl is large enough to allow room for some rise.  Ideal temperature is somewhere around 60-75 F; if temperature is higher, let stand at room temperature for a few hours (until batter is quite bubbly) and then refrigerate overnight.

3. The next morning, heat and oil waffle iron.  (If temperature is adjustable, use high or perhaps medium-high heat; you will need to figure out what works for your iron.)  Separate eggs, and beat whites until soft peaks form.  When iron is ready, gently stir yolks into batter with a rubber spatula, and then fold in whites very gently with the spatula.

4. Pour just enough batter into the iron to cover the cooking surface.  Bake for 2-5 minutes, depending on the temperature setting and the waffle iron.  Waffles should be crisp and light golden brown (a slightly mottled crust is normal).  Adjust temperature or bake time after the first test waffle, and allow iron time to reheat between waffles.

5. Serve immediately, topped with BOURBON CARAMELIZED BANANAS (see below), maple syrup, fresh fruit, or other toppings.  If necessary, waffles can be held for a short time in a 200 F oven.  Place waffles directly on a rack (rather than on a plate or pan) to maintain crispness; do not stack.  Leftovers may be frozen and reheated in a toaster oven.

Makes about 6 thick Belgian waffles.

Notes:

-- If you prefer sweeter waffles and a slightly darker crust, you can beat 1 to 4 tablespoons of sugar into the beaten egg whites before folding into batter.
-- Buttermilk provides more flavor, but if the buttermilk has a very active culture, it can also ferment overnight and produce a slightly sour note, which may or may not be appealing.  (A small amount of clear liquid may separate from the batter; just stir back in with the eggs.)  You may also need to add slightly more liquid if the buttermilk is thick.  I find the overnight fermentation here already provides plenty of flavor, even with regular milk, but I always use buttermilk in baking powder/soda waffles.
-- If the amount of fat seems excessive, or if you prefer to slather butter on top of your waffles rather than put it in them, you can reduce the quantity of butter with a slight decrease in crispness and flavor.  To increase the crispness, remove waffles from the iron when slightly underdone and finish baking on a rack in a hot oven.
-- Separating and beating the egg whites is not essential, particularly if you have a waffle iron that rotates upside-down for even baking.  It does slightly increase the lightness of the waffles, but if you are careful not to stir the batter too much when adding in the whole eggs, the difference may not be significant enough to justify the additional effort.

BOURBON CARAMELIZED BANANAS

There are two approaches to caramelized bananas.  The recipe here produces a syrup that is more helpful with waffles and less likely to result in a burned, sticky mess.  This approach can also be used for other fruits, such as apples or pears.  The traditional method is mentioned in the note below.

For each person, use about 1 large banana.  Bananas should be fully ripe (yellow), but still firm. For each banana, use about:

1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar or white sugar
1 tablespoon fairly good bourbon (a little more for flambé)
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

1. Slice bananas in whatever way you like.  Traditional caramelized bananas are sliced lengthwise, but for topping waffles, I find slicing across or on slight diagonals to get smaller pieces is useful.

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foam begins to subside but has not yet browned.

3. Add bananas and sugar.  Spread bananas so that they form a single layer (or as close to a single layer as possible).  Stir gently until sugar melts.

4. Cook, while shaking and stirring gently to prevent sticking, until sugar and bananas begin to show color and syrup begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the bourbon and stir into the syrup.  At this point, you can flambé the bananas by lighting with a match (add more bourbon if necessary) or continue to cook until the sauce thickens again.  Spoon over waffles while still hot.

Note -- For traditional caramelized bananas (which are a bit firmer and have actual dark, thick caramelized sugar), make the following alterations: Before adding the sliced bananas to the pan, coat them completely with the sugar.  Place in a well-spaced single layer in a dark (preferably cast iron) skillet and cook over medium-high to high heat, without stirring or moving, until one side has caramelized to a deep reddish-brown, about 5 minutes.  Be careful not to burn them.  Turn bananas and cook without moving until the same color is achieved on the other side, about 2 minutes.  Remove bananas from pan, deglaze with bourbon, return bananas to the pan (or pour sauce over bananas in serving dish), and flambé.  The tricky part with these is that the bananas can go from nice caramel to burned carbon in a matter of seconds, creating the worst mess you will ever have to clean up in a skillet.  The sugar is also more viscous and doesn't flow into the recesses of a waffle, though you can always add a bit of maple syrup on top.