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
