Popovers that didn't pop like they should have. That's what I get for using a new recipe!
My family loves popovers and considers them a real treat. We occasionally have them with a nice winter soup and I always make them to go with our Christmas Eve clam chowder. The other night I happened upon 'Cooks Country' from America's Test Kitchen and found the secret to making perfect popovers, or so they said.
I bought the bread flour they not only recommended, but insisted upon, whisked the batter until perfectly smooth, like they said, poked a hole in the top to let steam escape, etc. etc.
Result? Their popovers simply tasted like bread fresh out of the oven - which, I'll admit, is not a bad thing. BUT, it's not popovers. I don't want popovers to be heavy and dense and bready! I want popovers to be light, airy, and crisp. AND, when I poked them, they deflated!
SO, I'll scrap that recipe (Sorry, America's Test Kitchen) and go back to my tried-and-true Betty Crocker 1969 Cookbook for wonderful, light, and airy popovers that are crisp on the outside and moist on the inside (and much taller than those in the photo, I might add.)
Betty Crocker 1969 Cookbook Popovers
Makes a dozen popovers
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups All-Purpose Flour (not bread flour, not self-rising flour)
1 t. salt
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease (with shortening) 12-part muffin tin. With wire whisk, beat eggs slightly. Add milk, flour, and salt. Beat just until smooth. Do not overbeat.
Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake 25 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 15-20 minutes longer or until deep golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve hot, with Real Wisconsin Butter.
I mean it:
REAL WISCONSIN BUTTER.
It's delicious, and it will make our neighbor's cows happy. :-)
P.S. So, tell me what you think: Is King Arthur Flour really all that much better than, say, Gold Medal or Robin Hood? Or is he just another pretty face? I don't know. I mean, really. King Arthur would have lived half a millennium before the Crusader pictured on the flour bag! But still, it makes a pretty package, doesn't it. I could use some education here regarding brands of flour. Do you have a preference? Do you really notice a difference? A big difference?
This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
and Tasty Tuesdays
and Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods
and Tuesdays at the Table
Judy..I just recently started buying King Arthur's flour...do I notice a difference? Not at all...but I don't claim to be a baker, so there could be something there that I'm missing. I have not done side to side testing though.. maybe that's something I should do at some point??
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I love popovers but I have yet to make them....I'm thinking your tried and true recipe is the one I should try!
(you know what else is good that comes from Wisconsin...fried cheese curds!! YUM!)
mmmm! LOVE popovers! We only have them once a year so it's a very exciting thing!
ReplyDeleteI started using King Arthur's this year and I like it. I can say that unbleached is different from bleached but have no idea about brand differences...it is, however, difficult to find other unbleached brands around here without having to go to Whole Foods = EXPENSIVE. The popovers look yummy-lish!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Judy;
ReplyDeleteCame across your site this morning,looks like I could spend a few hours browsing. Want to pass a site on to you. www.mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com
I am a yeast baking coach, give hands on lessons to young and old. Visiting our son and family in Cincinnati lately, I enjoyed giving a class in an Ohio kitchen.
Will get back to reading your site.
from the west coast of Canada, Port Moody,
Dorothy
Thanks for asking about types of flour. The most important thing that sets King Arthur Flour apart is that our flour is always consistently high-quality from bag to bag, year to year, so when you bake the same recipe with it you'll always have the same results. Other millers cannot say the same for their flour. More details are available here: We have some information on what makes King Arthur Flour different at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flours/
ReplyDeleteWe also back up our flour with TONS of baking resources, from free recipes (here's one for popovers: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/popovers-recipe), to a baking hotline you can call for baking advice from experienced bakers, to baking education programs here in Vermont and all over the country. We're here to offer the best ingredients, tools, and advice so you can do your best baking ever!
Hope that helps. You might also be interested in reading what some of our customers think - here's a post from our Baking Banter blog where our customers sum it up for us! :-)
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2009/08/29/join-the-conversation/
Thanks again for the chance to educate. Happy baking!
-Allison@King Arthur Flour
Of course we do have to bear in mind that Allison's paycheck is signed by King Arthur Flour, but I will definitely take the information into consideration and will read other customers' reviews! Thanks to Allison for the baking lesson. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to the rest of you also, for your helpful comments. I think almost any soup or chowder is better if served with piping hot popovers!
...and did I mention Real Wisconsin Butter?? ;-)
BUTTER! ^.^
ReplyDeleteJudy,
ReplyDeleteThe main differance in brands is everyone uses a different combination of hard or soft wheat. So it all depends on what you bake the most. King Arthur is all hard wheat.
We just started using King Arthur. The biggest differance we have noticed is in bread. I think it has a little bit more gluten in it, than the majority of brands. The bread raises nicer and more consistantly. We have also noticed that the flour is a finer texture(but not really sure if that makes a differance). King Arthur is unbromated, which means it doesn't have potassium bromate, I figure one less chemical is better.
We have also noticed that Mom can tolerate it a little better than what we had been using before, which was Gold Metal. I know that doesn't really make sense, but maybe it is in the proccessing.
I just bought King Arthur bread flour, haven't gotten a chance to try it though.
So, bottom line...... I think King Arthur is worth it. *Tip: Target has it the cheapest!
P.S. I so agree with you! Real Wisconsin Butter!! 'nothin better!
Thank you, Heidi, for the unpaid endorsement of King Arthur Flour and letting us know where we can find it cheapest! And besides, I do love the picture on the front. :-) I also see that their gluten-free flour comes in a pretty blue bag. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't always buy it 'cause it's kinda expensive, I absolutely vouch for King Arthur. And for St. Paddy's Day, when I bake my Brown Soda Bread, it is MANDATORY to have their white whole wheat flour (and, if you can order it from their site, the Irish Meal). I have made a lot of soda bread over the years, and this stuff gives the perfect taste and consistency. They don't sign my checks, but a "thank you" gift would be much appreciated ... :) I received a gift card for their site a few years ago, and had way too much fun shopping!
ReplyDeleteI have never made popovers because I don't have a popover pan, but they look and sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteI just jumped up this very minute, ran to my cookbooks, and pulled down the Betty Crocker Cookbook my mom gave me, circa 1961!, and there was your recipe, only it was half of what you posted! How cool is that? :-) Now I'm gonna have to try it! 1961 was when she and Dad married. I wonder if she received two cookbooks and saved one for the daughter she would have one day? I'm gonna have to ask her about that!
ReplyDeleteBummer, usually any recipe from ATK is fantastic. It is comforting to know that they are fallible too! I love popovers too as they remind me of Yorkshire puddings, but alas, high altitude popovers just don't work here. You'll have to enjoy one for me.
ReplyDeleteYummy! The recipe looks so easy! I love things that are quick and easy and so tasty. I have to say that I love your soap! I hope people are buying it for the holidays! Have a great night!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
What about adding cheese in it? :D There goes my love for cheese. LOL
ReplyDeleteI just made my first popovers, and they sucked. Really, they sucked. I can admit it. It was a Giada DeLaurentis recipe, and I should have known better as I think she sucks. But, I'm trying yours next!
ReplyDeleteLots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
I super duper like popovers! so simple to make and at the same time very creamy, delicious. Perfectly good:)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cookbook of all time is my Mom's 1969 (7th reprint in 1982)Betty Crocker Cookbook. My Grandmother had a like-new copy just like my mom's and she gave it to me a few years ago... one of my most treasured items!
ReplyDeleteI just looked up Popovers and there is your recipe! Sooo cool! I guess Betty knew what she was doing with that book since so many of us love it ;)
As for flour... I am not a pastry chef... so take this with a grain of salt... I think the different types of flour obviously matter, but as for brands-- I buy what is on sale.
Oooh, those look GOOD!!
ReplyDeleteBetty Crocker rules. I've had a million cookbooks come through my house but the only one I can consistently trust is my old beat up Betty Crocker:o)
ReplyDelete