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Troubleshooting Yeasted Waffles

starvingviolist

I made the yeasted waffles and they came out absolutely disgusting. The bottom side was crispy, the top was completely underbaked, and the inside was gummy. I am using a brand new, if basic, cuisinart Belgian waffle maker. I split the batter in half and had some in the evening after a quick rise and more the next morning after a slow rise in the fridge. Same bro Ken both times. This is the first time I’ve had a chefsteps recipe fail. Any advice would be helpful.

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starvingviolist

Thanks for sharing this in the newsletter. I hope someone has something helpful to say! I tried the recipes again this weekend. Both the yeasted and the finer Belgian waffles. This time I used all purpose flour. At first I was optimistic because they rose and cooked on the top. But they were still gummy in the middle. I suppose it’s possible the iron is too hot, but I’ve never had this problem with other issues. That’s all the patience I have for a recipe that is failing, I’m afraid. I’ll be going back to my previous recipe, from King Arthur. And adding a bit of the malt powder, cause that’s delicious.

starvingviolist

update: I tried the recipe again this morning, with the same results. I tried the diner waffles recipe as well, and had the same problem. I think the problem may be the cake flour I bought, which I have never used before. I was able to somewhat salvage the diner waffles by adding 100g of all-purpose flour. There was still some gumminess but they at least cooked on the top, and the results were edible.

kevinbstewart

I am familiar with the issue and have the solution. This batter is thin and airy and makes delicious waffles but getting there can be tricky. Grab 2 hot pads and lay a couple of kitchen towels flat on the counter. Place your preheated waffle iron on top of the towels. For the next part speed is your friend. Open the iron and add the batter. Quickly close it and with the hot pads flip the waffle iron on its back, so upside down. Wait 20 seconds then flip the iron right side up to finish the cook. The method will evenly distribute the batter between the top and bottom plates which allows both sides to cook properly/evenly. Hope this helps

starvingviolist

Thanks for the help. I heated the waffle iron for more than 20 minutes, and I use the yeast for bread frequently with no problems. I don’t know what I was trying to type that came out ‘bro Ken’, but the same thing happened both times. The underside cooked beautifully, but the upper side seemed like maybe it collapsed and never touched the top. The middle never cooked. Suppose I can try again. I have used the iron before with a recipe from King Arthur with no problems. SorrY, seem to have posted this as a new comment instead of a reply.

starvingviolist

tim.d.chin

Hi! I'd love to help troubleshoot this for you. I'm bummed to hear that this recipe didn't work out for you.

We never encountered gummy or undercooked textures in testing, but I'd like to ask a few clarifying questions before making any firm recommendations:

Was your waffle iron truly preheated, and able to sustain that heat output over the length of cooking? Undercooking is largely a result of a waffle iron that isn't hot enough, no matter the waffle formula. I found this to be true across every waffle style in the parametric analysis (you're looking for at least 300F, and in this case more like 325F. The most reliable way to discern proper waffle heating is to use an infrared surface thermometer. Short of that, I recommend extending the cooking time in your iron significantly until they're cooked through.
Is your yeast well within the expiration date? Assuming no scaling errors or ingredient omissions, one of the the only other salient variables could be laggy yeast. Laggy yeast could contribute to the density/gumminess you describe, but that's more apparent in baked breads than in a waffle.
When you say "bro Ken[sic] both times", do you mean to say that the batter itself was broken/not emulsified when you went to cook the waffles? If so, that is unusual. As a potential solve, I would give the batter a quick whisk/stir before cooking.

Hoping I can help you out here.

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