Ready in 90 minutes and your new go-to recipe, these Quick Yeast Waffles are crispy, airy, tender, tangy, and have just a hint of sweetness.
Many waffle recipes exist – buttermilk waffles, yeast waffles, and everything in between. BUT only few make the cut, in my opinion. From what I’ve seen (I’m not saying I’ve seen them all, but enough), the quick and easy waffles are merely pancakes in waffle form. Well, that’s simply not good enough for me to pull out the waffle iron.
I wanted to find a waffle recipe worth pulling out my waffle iron. One that has a light, crispy, and airy exterior, with a soft and tender interior. A recipe with just a hint of sweetness so that it can be enjoyed alone with a cup of coffee, but when drizzled with maple syrup, would only be complemented and not overly sweetened.
My starting point was Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. Though I considered both buttermilk waffles and yeasted waffles recipes, the This batter must be made 12 to 24 hours in advance in the preface intrigued me. Perhaps it was because I’m a believer in the saying, everything worthwhile takes time, or maybe it was because as my mother would say, Patty always does things the hard way. Whatever the reason, I decided to give the yeasted waffles a try.
You might have even caught me making it, from start to finish, on my Instagram Stories. But, if you missed it, the gist of it was the batter rising in the refrigerator, cooking in the waffle iron, and the first bite, complete with an audible crunch! I wasn’t sure if I was going to post the recipe, but after a very informal poll via IG DM, the answer was an astounding YES! So, here it is.
At first I was going to post the exact recipe and method, but then I considered your busy life and how limited your time must be, and wondered to myself if there’s a way to create yeast waffles without having to think about it 12 to 24 hours in advance. I got to working and I’m here to report that there is a way to cut that timeframe down. Ninety minutes to be exact!
When making the recipe, the batter does resemble pancake batter. But just wait…
After a rise time of 1 hour, the yeast will produce lots of gas and bubbles will rise to the surface.
Then, into the waffle iron they go!
These quick yeast waffles check all the boxes I was looking for in a waffle – crispy, airy (the product of the yeast gas bubbles), tender, and not overly sweet.
And, with the addition of the yeast, there’s a delightful tang, a quality I didn’t even know I wanted, but now cannot live without in a waffle.
I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we do!
Quick Yeast Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, heat the milk and butter over medium heat. When about half of the butter has melted, off the heat and continue stirring until the rest of the butter melts. Let cool until warm to the touch, about 105°F to 110°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
- Slowly pour the warm milk into the flour mixutre and whisk until incorporated. Stir in the egg mixture until a thick batter forms.
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm and draft-free environment* until doubled in size with bubbles on the surface, about 60 minutes.
- Give the risen batter a large stir, just to deflate, and cook in the waffle iron according to manufacturer instructions.
Notes
Lightly adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook.
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I’m so intrigued by this yeast waffle! I make whole wheat waffles for my family quite often, but this sounds like a great departure worth trying!
Yes, do give it a try! I don’t think you’ll ever go back :) I bet with some modifications, you could make your own version of whole wheat yeast waffles for your family too :D
Awesome recipe. Nagging it for the second time now. Thank you
I am looking for a waffle recipe that is a Belgium waffle it has yeast in it and also beaded egg whites do you have any recipe like that or where I could find one
I have made many variations of waffles, including ffolding in beaten egg whites. In my personal opinion, the yeast gives waffles the fluffiness that folding in the whites do, and it is simpler.
This is a Belgian waffle
I’m really bad at planning ahead and prepping waffle batter the night before.. I was searching for a quick recipe when I came across your website. We were all starving so I only let it rise for 30mins and the waffles still came out DELICIOUS! I used half white flour and half whole grain spelt flours. Great flavor and ultra fluffy! Yum!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Your rendition sounds like a great way to healthify the recipe :)
Can I put mix in fridge
Yes, you can let it rise in the fridge overnight.
Had to sub 4 tbs butter for crisco, used active dry yeast instead of instant same amount as in recipe and after an hour I left it in the fridge overnight. Turned out great. Also doubled the recipe turned out fine. Super delish didnt have vanilla so added a dash of cinnamon.
Your rendition sounds delicious! I especially love the addition of cinnamon :)
Made this 4 times now in the past 2 weeks. This is our new go-to waffle recipe. Overnight does not work for our schedule, but 60 minutes is very do-able and totally worth the wait.
I’m so glad your family loves it as much as we do and that you’ve found a new go-to recipe :)
Love Love Love this recipe and my boyfriend did too! He’s been eating good during this quarantine cause my cooking and baking has gone through the roof; so i’m always looking for good ideas and recipes. it will now be my go to for Belgian waffles. I only had instant yeast and not active yeast so couldn’t do an overnight recipe. I usually keep instant yeast around the house so will be doing this next time I feel like waffles. I thought they’d be too yeast tasting based on some of the reviews, but they weren’t. They were perfect. Thank you Patty…keep them coming.
Hi Trisha, thank you for the sweet comment! I’m so glad you found a new go-to recipe :) Yes, instant yeast is the key to making them quick! They only need to rise for about an hour with instant…no need to plan the night before :D
I made these exactly as written, but I made pancakes instead of waffles. They were yummy. I think next time I will leave out the vanilla.
a) I forgot to add the rating,
b) these worked just fine as pancakes, fried in butter
c) I saw no reason to knock all of those lovely bubbles out, I just dipped them as is.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for your sweet comment :)
I have made liege waffles a couple of times, but other than that I have never attempted them. I don’t like waffles as a rule, I find them dry and flavorless. But my husband asked for waffles for Father’s Day breakfast.
These were absolutely perfect. I used a little more yeast than was called for but that was an accident.
They were fluffy inside, crispy outside, had a wonderful flavor, and I am stuffed to the gills.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe and to have contributed to a happy father’s day in some small way :)
Hi,
I am from Chennai. India.I have attempted waffles once about 8 years ago and they were quite a disaster so much so that I quit trying to make them. My kids asked if I could make waffles and I figured I vould give it a go again and saw your recipe. Just tried them this morning and it turned out great. Thank you so much for a quick and easy recipe .My kids loved it. And it’s going to be a new breakfast option!
Awwww thank you for your sweet comment! I’m so glad you decided to give it another shot but even happier that you found a new go-to recipe :D
All 5 of my family members loved it. I didn’t have rapid rise yeast. I used regular yeast and prepared the recipe as instructed. It was wonderful.
Thank you for the sweet comment! I’m thrilled you and your family enjoyed it and found a new go-to recipe :)
Can I sub buttermilk in this recipe?
I haven’t tested it, but I don’t think it’s needed. The yeast adds just enough tanginess :)
It was wonderful I will definitely make it again. I did add 2 tablespoons of malted milk powder. So yummy. Thank you.
Thank you for doing the experimenting for us! Rainy day made for a perfect breakfast for dinner! Fresh eggs from the coop! Loved and saved this recipe!
So glad you love the recipe and with fresh eggs, no less – AMAZING!
My waffles turned out perfectly – without having to plan for them the night before!
Waffles were crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. They smelled and tasted delicious, also!
Thanks 💚🩷
So glad you enjoyed them :)