Blueberry Yeasted Waffles

Helllloooo holiday weekend! I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been looking forward to this one for the past few weeks. Long weekends are just the best, for so many reasons! We’ll be grilling, shopping (hoping to find some good deals on clothes for vacation!), hanging out with friends, making one last trip to the drive-in before it closes for the season, and so much more. Can’t wait! Do you have anything fun planned?

One thing I’m definitely NOT doing this weekend? Saying goodbye to summer. Nope, not happening. Even if it’s the “unofficial” start of fall, I’m clinging to these last few weeks of summer. You’ll believe me when you see next week’s recipes 🙂

It might seem odd that I’m sharing a waffle recipe with you right before one of the biggest grilling weekends of the year, but let me explain. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t cook breakfast all that often – it’s usually grab and go with cereal or yogurt. But I make an exception on long weekends; there’s just something about them that begs for a lazy morning with a big breakfast. And that’s exactly what we’ll do.

(By the way, if you are looking for more grilling ideas, I have a ton of burgers in the archives for you, as well as a Pinterest board devoted solely to them!)

So, these waffles, they’re pretty awesome. Earlier this year I found my go-to classic waffle recipe, and now I’m adding a yeasted waffle to the mix too. These waffles are light and crispy with a fantastic depth of flavor thanks to the yeast. Oh, and did I mention they’re full of blueberries? And good news – the recipe specifically calls for frozen wild blueberries so you can make them year-round, not just for the few months of the years blueberries are in season. You do need to prep the batter the night before but for me that’s not a drawback at all. It just means I can roll out of bed and have these waffles ready even more quickly in the morning!

Hope you have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Blueberry Yeasted Waffles
from Cook’s Illustrated, July/August 2007

{Two notes: You can substitute low-fat milk for the whole milk if you prefer. Frozen wild blueberries are best in this recipe – larger berries (fresh or frozen) will release more juice which can burn and taste bitter when it comes in contact with your waffle iron.}

1 3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour plus an additional 2 teaspoons, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries

Add the milk and butter to a saucepan. Set over medium-low heat, and cook until the butter is completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool until just barely warm to the touch. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. When the milk/butter mixture is just warm, gradually whisk it into the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a bowl, then add them to the batter and whisk to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give the batter one final stir with a rubber spatula, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours (or up to 24).

When you’re ready to cook the waffles, preheat your waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you want to keep the waffles warm, preheat your oven to 200 F then place a wire rack inside of a rimmed baking sheet and pop in the oven.

When the waffle iron is hot, remove the batter from the fridge (it should be foamy and will have increased in size); whisk to recombine (the batter will deflate, that’s fine). In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 teaspoons of flour. When they’re all evenly coated, add them to the waffle batter and gently fold to incorporate.

Fill the wells of your waffle maker and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions (4 minutes in my waffle maker). To keep the first waffles warm while you finish up the batter, transfer to the wire rack in the oven. Serve with your favorite toppings!