This article will compare Regular waffles to Belgian waffles and tell you all of the differences and similarities between these two types of waffles.
A waffle is a type of breakfast food that is popular all around the world, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Hong Kong, Norway, Japan, and the United States. The two most popular varieties of waffles in the United States are regular waffles and Belgian waffles. They have a similar structure to a cake and they can be round or square-shaped. They are made from flour, milk, eggs, butter or vegetable oil, and leavening agents such as baking powder or yeast. Regular waffles use baking powder as a leavening agent while Belgian waffles use yeast. Large amounts of fat may be needed in some recipes to give the waffles a more crispy texture.
Belgian waffles are more popular in the United States than regular waffles because Belgian waffles have deeper pockets for more toppings and a lighter, airier texture but regular waffles have a richer flavor.
Belgian waffles are leavened with either whipped egg whites or yeast, making them lighter and fluffier than regular waffles because regular waffles are leavened with baking powder.
Regular waffles are made with a thinner batter that uses more butter than Belgian waffles which creates a crispier exterior.
Belgian waffles are traditionally topped with strawberries, powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce while regular waffles are typically served with only maple syrup and butter.
Table of Contents
- 1 Differences between Regular and Belgian waffle makers
- 2 Ingredients for Regular and Belgian Waffles
- 3 Baking Powder vs Yeast
- 4 Differences between Regular waffle batters and Belgian waffle batters
- 5 When were Belgian waffles, also known as Brussels waffles, first created?
- 6 When were Belgian waffles introduced to the United States?
- 7 When were Regular waffles created?
Differences between Regular and Belgian waffle makers
There are a couple of differences in the size of the indentations for the cooking plates for regular and Belgian waffle makers. A regular waffle iron has plates with shallow indentations and small squares while a Belgian waffle maker has plates with deeper indentations and larger squares.
The deeper indentations and larger squares of the Belgian waffle maker enable the batter to expand much more, resulting in a thicker, fluffier waffle. Since a regular waffle maker has more shallow indentations and smaller squares, the batter will have much less room to expand and you will end up with much thinner, crispier waffles.
The deeper pockets of Belgian waffles enable them to be eaten with whipped cream and fruit toppings, while the shallower pockets of regular waffles limit the toppings to syrup, butter, or jam.
These regular waffles look like the Eggo waffles that you find at the supermarket.
The Black and Decker G48TD is the best regular square-shaped waffle maker and it can make four 0.5-inch thick square-shaped waffles at a time which are much thinner than the 1-inch thick Belgian waffles made by most Belgian waffle makers.
Currently, Belgian waffle makers are the best-selling waffle makers in the United States, far outpacing the sales of regular waffle makers because there is not a high demand for them which is why there are barely any regular waffle makers for sale. There are a lot of Belgian waffle makers with removable plates including the All Clad Gourmet, Krups GQ502, Secura, and Hamilton Beach 26201. However, there is only one regular waffle maker with removable plates for sale, the Black and Decker G48TD 3-in-1. The All-Clad Gourmet is the best square Belgian waffle iron with removable grids because it has the best heat distribution.
Ingredients for Regular and Belgian Waffles
With the onset of fall, many are prepping to enjoy delicious dishes that come with the change of seasons. One of the best dishes people eat during these cooler mornings is a sweet breakfast waffle. A waffle is a type of cake or bread that one can make using a waffle iron and waffle batter that you spread on the waffle iron’s cooking grids.
But, what are the ingredients in regular and Belgian waffles? The list includes yeast, baking powder, milk, flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. The purpose of these ingredients is to make Belgian waffles light and fluffy and regular waffles dense and heavy and give them a signature crispy texture on the outside and just enough sweetness to keep you coming back for more.
These tasty treats are made by adding flour and other dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, including buttermilk and eggs, and then mixing the dough until it forms a batter that is nice and thick.
Regular waffles tend to be denser and more caramelized than Belgian waffles. These are reasons why Belgian waffles use a slightly different recipe than those regular waffles typically seen on your breakfast table that use baking powder, 3 eggs, and 1/8 cup of sugar per batch. Belgian waffles use yeast, beaten egg whites, separated egg yolks, and less sugar and butter per batch to give them a fluffier and sweeter taste.
If you would like to add an additional flavor to your waffle, try adding a tasty ingredient such as cinnamon, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, or berries.
Baking Powder vs Yeast
Belgian waffles are made using a yeast-based batter, as opposed to thin waffles that are made with a baking powder-based batter. Yeast is a living single-cell organism, and it needs sugar and warm water to become active. When mixed together in the batter, the yeast eats the sugar, creating carbon dioxide gas in the process. That gas is what creates the air bubbles that make the batter rise and give Belgian waffles that characteristic fluffy texture. Yeast takes a lot longer to leaven the batter than baking powder does and it also gives it a lot more lift.
Baking powder is made up of baking soda and cream of tartar and when it is mixed into the batter for thin waffles, it causes a chemical reaction that creates carbon dioxide gas bubbles. This gas will get trapped in the batter and cause it to rise as it cooks but not as much as yeast. This results in waffles that are thinner, crispier, denser, and heavier than yeast-based Belgian waffles.
Differences between Regular waffle batters and Belgian waffle batters
One difference between regular and Belgian waffles is the amount of batter needed to create each type of waffle. It should not surprise you that since regular waffles are a lot thinner they require less batter than Belgian waffles do. Regular waffles require only 1/4th of a cup of batter while Belgian waffles need 3/4ths of a cup of batter to create the proper size and shape. This discrepancy is due to the fact that Belgian waffle batter is much thicker than regular waffle batter.
Belgian-style waffle batter is thicker and more difficult to spread across the iron evenly. Regular waffles, on the other hand, can be made with a thinner batter that will spread more evenly over the surface of the iron. Belgian waffles will take longer to prepare because they are larger, fluffier, and thicker while regular waffles are thinner and denser and will only take a few minutes to finish baking.
Another difference between the batters for Belgian waffles and regular waffles is with the use of leavening agents. Leavening agents are ingredients that cause batters to rise. In the case of Belgian waffle batters, yeast or whipped egg whites is the leavening agent of choice. Yeast is a biological leavening agent that causes the batter to rise as it ferments. The yeast-based batter gives Belgian waffles their distinctive fluffy texture and flavor.
Regular waffles are made with baking powder or soda as a leavening agent which does not have the lift of yeast or whipped egg whites. Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent that causes batter to rise when it comes into contact with heat because it will produce carbon dioxide gas bubbles. This results in a denser interior than Belgian waffles which is why regular waffles are usually quicker to make than Belgian waffles – there is no need to let the batter rise before cooking it.
The preparation process and the amount of each ingredient for Belgian waffles are a little different than for regular waffles. Belgian waffles generally have a lighter and airier texture but they are not as sweet as regular waffles. They get their light and fluffy texture from the addition of whipped egg whites, which are folded into the batter. Belgian waffle batters typically contain less butter and sugar than regular waffle batters because their exteriors are less crispy and caramelized.
When were Belgian waffles, also known as Brussels waffles, first created?
There are many different types of waffles, but the most famous and oldest thick Belgian waffle is the Brussels waffle. This type of waffle is believed to have originated in Brussels, Belgium, and is characterized by its rectangular shape and deep pockets. The dough for a Brussels waffle is made with yeast, which gives it a slightly chewy texture. The most common toppings for a Brussels waffle are powdered sugar and whipped cream, but they can also be served with Nutella, strawberries, or other fruit syrups.
Brussels waffles were first created by a cook in the city of Brussels, Belgium, while Liege waffles originated in the city of Liege, Belgium. Some say that he was inspired by a Dutch pastry, while others believe that he simply created the recipe himself. What is known for sure is that these waffles are distinctly Belgian in origin, and are still popular today all over Europe.
Brussels waffles are made with a yeast-based batter, resulting in a fluffy and light texture. They are typically topped with powdered sugar and/or fruit syrup, although whipped cream and scoops of ice cream are also popular toppings.
When were Belgian waffles introduced to the United States?
The Belgian waffles that we eat today were first prepared by Walter Cleyman in 1958 at the Brussels World’s Fair. He used gas-powered waffle irons that used heavy cast-iron plates with deep indentations to make these light and fluffy waffles. These waffles he served to fairgoers were topped with powdered sugar.
Eventually, he came to the United States and introduced Brussels waffles at the 1962 Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World’s Fair which took place from April 21 to October 21, 1962. This time the waffles were topped with whipped cream and strawberries.
The popularity of Belgian waffles really took off after Maurice Vermersch set up his waffle stand at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. He changed the name from Brussels waffles to Belgian waffles because more people knew about the country of Belgium than the capital of Belgium, Brussels.
When were Regular waffles created?
In Ancient Greece, the first foods that resembled waffles were created in about 1100 B.C.E (Before Common Era) and they were called obelios. They looked like flat cakes and they were baked using two round metal plates attached to long wooden handles and placed over a fire. They were not very savory or sweet because the ingredients only consisted of flour and water.
In the Middle Ages, waffles were made on flat iron plates held together by a hinged design that was set over an open fire and cooked until they were golden brown. They were a great way for medieval cooks to reuse leftover day-old bread.
During the 13th century, ‘gaufre’, the French word for waffle, first appears in print. The word ‘waffle’ can be traced back to the Old Frankish word ‘wafla,’ which means ‘a piece of honeybee hive.’
In 14th-century Europe, a waffle was not just a breakfast food. It was also a symbol of power and status, used in religious ceremonies by the aristocracy, often known as wafers. The tastiest waffles made from flour, milk, and eggs were only served as a feast among the upper class. People who were not royalty could only afford the cheapest of waffles made from water and the cheapest flour which tended to be rather tough and chewy in texture.
It wasn’t until the 15th century that the Dutch became the first to use rectangular-shaped waffle irons that came with plates with shallowly indented patterns.
