I love Belgian Waffles – those thick, square yeasty ones.

Sadly, I can’t really make those in my little waffle iron at home, as that one is for the thinner German ones. Still, I wanted to try out a waffle receipe with yeast anyway, as yeasty waffles are also quite American (I think!) and the waffles there are not really sweet and actually, often eaten with chicken.

As you know, I’m always one for sweet rather than savory though, so I opted to serve them with blueberry compote, quickly made from frozen blueberries.

Please note, that the waffle dough  has to rest overnight, so you’ll need to make it in the evening ahead of your waffle brunch!

For the waffles you’ll need:

• 21 g OR ½ a cube of fresh yeast
• 125 ml water at room temperature
• 1 tsp sugar
• 485 ml warm milk
• 120 g melted butter
• ¾ tsp salt
• 235 g white flour*
• 50 g wholemeal flour*
• 2 eggs
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

*of course, you can also just use 285g plain flour instead of the plain/wholemeal flour combo, if you prefer

For the blueberry compote you’ll need:

• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 ½ tbsp honey
• ¼  tsp ground cinnamon

In the evening, mix together the yeast, water and sugar in a big bowl (about 3l capacity) and set aside for 5 minutes.
Add milk, butter, salt and flour and mix everything together with an electric whisk. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it sit on the kitchen counter overnight, for the batter to rise and (at least) double in size.

In the morning, start with the compote:  pour 1 cup of the blueberries into a pot with the water, honey and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Now that the blueberries are soft, mash them against the pan with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Add the remaining blueberries and on a low heat, warm them through for about 5 minutes.

For the waffles, mix the eggs and bicarb of soda and fold them in the risen batter.

Warm up your waffle iron and get baking (as per manufacturers instructions).

If you fancy, add a dusting of icing sugar…