A World Cup Brunch // Liege waffles

liege waffles // a thousand threads
Nothing shuts DC down like the World Cup. (Well okay maybe this, but…)

During the week, day games mean the television moves from C-SPAN to ESPN, happy hours are that much happier (or more depressing, depending on your friends’ teams) and work gets done somewhere in between the cheers and jeers… I think.

But on the weekends, there’s really just one thing that can make the fun of the World Cup even better — and that’s brunch. So this week, to celebrate the World Cup, I teamed up with Bing to provide a little brunch inspiration.

I’m not sure if you’ve already seen it, but Bing has a cool tool to predict the winner of each World Cup game — all you have to do is type “World Cup predictions” into a search. And if you take a look right now, Bing has Belgium winning today before moving on to Sunday’s game with Russia.

So while you tune in to watch their next match, you can celebrate Belgium’s win with a brunch buffet that includes these tasty liege waffles.

Your brunch guests will be so psyched they’ll barely even notice the USA game on later that day.

… okay maybe not. But they will love the waffles regardless of who they’re rooting for, and that’s probably worth it right there.

liege waffles // a thousand threadsliege waffles // a thousand threads
Liege waffles
Adapted from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water (between 90 and 100 degrees F)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup pastry flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
5 eggs
1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons pearl sugar (I used raw sugar, since pearl sugar is hard/was impossible to find, but I recommend prepping well in advance and making sure you have the real stuff — you can order it online. I just don’t think the raw sugar measured up.)

Combine yeast and water in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Melt butter, and also let sit until it reaches a temperature of approximately 115 degrees.

While you wait, sift flours and granulated sugar into a separate large bowl, then mix in the salt.

Crack eggs in a medium bowl, then split vanilla bean and scrape the pulp into the eggs. Beat with a whisk until well blended.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture, then add yeast and melted butter. Whisk just until smooth.

Cover batter with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for one hour or overnight. (I used the bread proofing setting on my oven, which worked great at 100 degrees F.)

Once risen, gently mix the pearl sugar into the dough at let rest for 15 minutes. While waiting, preheat your waffle maker to medium-high.

Scoop 1/4 to 3/4 cup, depending on the size of waffle desired, into the waffle maker, then sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar. Close and cook until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

liege waffles // a thousand threads

I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site and Bing. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of payment, product or experiences.

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