Lockdown 2020 has become a pivotal moment in world history. All of us will be sharing stories of our collective experiences. But in there, will be individual moments that changed the course of a person's life story.
For our family shop, it closed the door to our supplies of pearl sugar waffles. We’d been open barely months, fulfilling a desire to run a family business after 40 years of scrambling in the corporate world. Late at night a single email landed in my mailbox telling me the supplier's business had become a victim of the pandemic.
We were down to about a week's supply, and although I’d tinkered with recipes over the past year, now it became urgent. So started a personal journey to create my unique recipe. Here we are, 2024, and I’m confident, we’ve created the perfect waffle dough. There’s been much tasting, and experiments into fine-tuning my recipe.
It’s been a steep learning curve, understanding the alchemy of mixing basic store cupboard ingredients. The dough is an intricate process; it merges the art of making brioche and croissants. Like any yeast baked goods It requires time to add the butter bit by bit, let the dough rise, chill, and rise again.
And who knew sugar didn’t come as granules only, but what I call tiny nuggets of white gold? I even tried making my own pearl sugar! The experiments will continue for the foreseeable future, I don’t think pearl sugar manufacturers need to worry about competition just yet!
Jumping through a myriad of health & safety rules later, together with new exporting hurdles due to Brexit, I’ve arrived at my destination. Returning customers in the shop were proof that I’d succeeded.
Pearl sugar waffles, that are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. A couple of minutes, cooked between 180 - 190 degrees centigrade in a cast iron waffle machine. leaving you little crunches of sugar to bite through. Just the right amount of sweetness, so you can be generous with maple syrup or chocolate. I love to drizzle dark chocolate, then sprinkle generously with pistachios and throw a few fresh raspberries over it. Yummy.
Have you tried serving with fried chicken. That’s another story folks.
You can order my frozen pearl sugar dough direct to your door. Share photos of your favourite toppings and get 10% off your order.
#humberstonepantry