The most delightful thing my oven produces is the popover. Gougères are a close second, but a seeded popover, like this one, wins for sheer drama. They’re golden-crusted bready crescendos made from the simplest ingredients. A crunchy exterior belies a billowy eggy interior that absolutely begs for a slather of compound butter or honey. Popovers are worth learning to make well. This task, I’ll be honest, takes a bit of practice. I’ve chipped away at my recipe and approach over the years and thought I’d post it here today to encourage you to give them a go. So fun, so good, and endlessly adaptable.
Popovers: Before You Start
I’m going to talk about technique down below, but before you dive down the rabbit hole related to the endless number of popover techniques out there, you really want to make sure your oven is on point. Make sure you have even constant heat and good control over temperature. A blast of heat in the beginning gets that upward push going, then a more gentle heat cooks the popovers through while allowing a beautiful crust to develop. Just know, while a bad run of popovers might not be pretty, they’ll likely be tasty regardless.
Variables
Before we get to the recipe, I’ll mention that just about every variable related to making popovers is up for discussion. This is whether you’re talking about the recipe or the technique. There is debate on what type of flour to use, baking powder vs. no baking powder, batter resting time, oven temperature, food processor vs. blender vs. mixer, preheating the baking tins or not, etc.
People are passionate, they’re emphatic. Some famous popover recipes use a much higher ratio of flour than I do here, I just never had any success with that. I’ve written a few tips into this recipe, deriving from things I’ve learned the hard way – for example, it is absolutely worth dirtying a pitcher and using it to quickly fill your pans. So, the recipe below includes everything that has worked for me over the years, the keys to delivering reliable popover beauties. Have fun!
The Fill Line
One last detail to be mindful of. How full should you fill popover pans? I fill my tins a hint over 1/2 full with batter, and get great pop. I’ve gone higher, but sometimes get spillover, particularly with an eggier batter. Bonne chance my friends – let me know how it goes.
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