Yeasted Malt Waffles

I first made these waffles by Marion Cunningham a few months ago, and I have been coming back to them ever since!  I just got Baked Explorations, and after reading it cover to cover several times, I decided the first thing I wanted to try was the malted waffles.  Those boys love malt, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.  It seemed to me this would pair well with the yeast flavors (enhanced by the maple syrup) in the delicious Breakfast Book recipe.  It does, and the malt flavor is very subtle, but a nice addition.  If you don't have it on hand, just skip it and proceed without it.   You can also substitute 1 teaspoon sugar for the maple syrup if you find yourself out of it.  The grade B syrup has a deeper flavor than Grade A.  My supermarket only carries it in its own brand!  The best part about these if you make the batter the night before, then just cook them in the morning- almost easy enough for weekdays!  These also freeze well once cooked, and you can put them in the toaster for warming (beats L'Eggo!!).

Yeasted Malt Waffles
base recipe from Annie's Eats, who got it from Marion Cunningham with adaptations inspired by BAKED Explorations and King Arthur Flour


Ingredients:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. active dry yeast (I use instant – either is fine)
2 cups whole milk, warmed
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup malted milk powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP grade B maple Syrup
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Combine the water and yeast in a large mixing bowl, letting yeast dissolve. Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the bowl.  Whisk until well blended and mostly lump-free.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight (it'll be fine, but if this wigs you out, you could do the fridge).  Be careful- make sure your bowl is much larger than the volume of batter- it will rise overnight and could end up with waffle counter!!

When you are ready to make the waffles, preheat the waffle iron.  Preheat the oven to 200˚ F and place a plate in the oven.  Just before making the waffles, whisk the eggs and baking soda into the batter until smooth.  The batter will be very thin.  Fill waffle wells and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Cook until crisp and golden.  Transfer finished waffles to the oven rack in the oven while you cook the rest of the batter (to maintain crispness).  Top with butter and syrup.