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These overnight yeast waffles are light, crispy and delicious. Mix up the batter the night before and the next day you will have the best breakfast. This is our family’s favorite waffles of all time!
Make Ahead Overnight yeast Waffles
Years ago family friend, Merill Watts, shared his overnight yeast waffle recipe with us and it has truly been a family favorite ever since. It is our go to waffle recipe and is always requested for birthday breakfast. We basically don’t ever make any other waffle.
The great thing about these waffles is you can mix them up the night before, let them sit all night and just add in a couple of ingredients in the morning and you have amazing waffles!!
These are yeast waffles and that overnight time allows the yeast to work its magic. And the best part is you get all the prep work done and cleaned up the night before. This makes the morning go smoothly! And the result is a perfectly light and crispy waffle.
Ingredients Needed
- Yeast. Dry active yeast
- Flour. Use all purpose flour but these waffles can also be made with whole wheat flour, they just won’t be as light.
- Butter. I use salted butter but if you use unsalted just add in a bit more salt.
- Milk. I use 2 % but you can use what you have on hand.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar but you could also add in honey.
- Salt
- Baking Soda. Be sure to add this in right before cooking the waffles.
- Eggs. These are also added in right before cooking.
How to Make Yeast Waffles
- Add warm water and yeast in a large bowl, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, add milk and butter. Don’t let the milk come to a boil. Just get it hot enough that your butter will begin to melt. Remove from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes for the butter to finish melting.
- Add salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture.
- Pour in the butter/milk mixture. Check the temperature of your milk. You want it between 105-115 degrees F. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.
- Remove the plastic wrap in the morning.
- Add in the eggs and baking soda.
- Stir well to mix in eggs and baking soda. You are now ready to make your waffles!
How to Serve Overnight Waffles
We love yeast waffles covered in:
- Fresh berries or other fruit
- Whipped cream
- Cinnamon Syrup
- Buttermilk Syrup
- Peach Jam
- Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Sauce
but they are great just with plain old maple syrup too!!
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I forget to make them the night before?
I have done that and I just mix them up in the morning, let them sit for about an hour then add in the egg and baking soda and cook them up. It works just fine.
What kind of waffle iron do you use?
I think these yeast waffles are at their best when cooked in a Belgian waffle maker. I have tried lots of different waffles makers and this is the one I currently use. A Belgian waffle maker is deeper and you get a crisper waffle.
What does the yeast do?
The yeast makes a nice light and crisp waffle and it also gives it a bit of a tang which we love!
Can I make them ahead and freeze them?
You can make them ahead and freeze them and I often will freeze any leftover waffles I have. The best way to freeze them is to stack them with parchment paper between them and then into a zippered freezer bag.
How Do You Reheat Waffles?
The best way to reheat the yeast waffles is in a 400 degree F oven for about 5 minutes if they are thawed and for 10 minutes if frozen. If you have a wide toaster be sure and thaw them first before warming them up in the toaster. Belgian waffles are too big for most regular size toasters.
Every time my kids come home for a visit I will text them and ask them what they want me to fix when they are home. The first response I almost always get is “Overnight Yeast Waffles!”
We love them, and I know you will too!
Check out more of our family’s favorite breakfast recipes:
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This is my current favorite Belgian waffle iron for yeast waffles.
Yeast Waffles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 cups milk warmed
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
Instructions
- Use a big mixing bowl (the batter will rise to double its original volume.)
- Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast
- Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes
- Warm the milk on the stove (I just add in the butter so it is melting as the milk warms)
- Be careful not to let the milk boil or get too hot
- You don’t want it to kill the yeast when you add it into the yeast mixture
- Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture and stir until smooth and blended (can use a hand beater to get rid of the lumps if needed, I usually don’t need to.)
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature
- Just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs, add the baking soda, and stir until well mixed The batter will be very thin
- Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into a very hot waffle iron
- Bake the waffles until they are golden and crisp
- This batter will keep well for several days in the refrigerator
- Depending on the size of your waffle iron this makes about 6-8 waffles
Tips & Notes:
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Nutrition Facts:
nicolthepickle says
I made these and they were a waffle revelation to me. I loved how light and crisp they were.
I thought they had a tad much salt and I love salt in everything sweet/baked.
Thank you very much for the recipe.
Leigh Anne says
You’ll never want to any other waffle again! Glad you loved them too.
Alyssa says
We loved these waffles, but they came out a little tart. Any suggestions to make them sweeter? Maybe vanilla or cinnamon?
Nicole Holmes says
My twin boys are turning 4 this week! I love this recipe but do you think I could modify it to add sprinkles? Have you ever tried it? May sprinkle over the wet batter just before cooking? I’m thinking funfetti style. Any suggestions??
Leigh Anne says
Sprinkles sound fun! Have never tried it before but would try sprinkling them after you pour the batter into the waffle iron. Happy Birthday to your boys
Lisa says
I mixed these up last night, but woke up this morning & it didn’t rise at all. I assume I messed something up with the yeast? I would think it’s probably not ok to finish them up?
Leigh Anne says
They don’t rise like bread does so don’t expect to see a big bowl full of batter. It will just get bubbly on top – it is probably fine and you should go ahead and cook it. If it doesn’t get bubbly your water might have been either too hot or too cold and the yeast didn’t activate or you killed it with too hot water.
Coral says
I mixed these up last night for today’s breakfast and they were yummy—-very light and crispy. Just an FYI for those who like to incorporate other flours beside white. I used a half cup of buckwheat and a half cup of oat flour with the balance being white and they were still very good. I am always trying to cut down on white flour and some sugar in my recipes.
Leigh Anne says
So glad they worked well with other flours! Thanks for letting us know.