Parmesan-Herb Popovers Recipe | Sur La Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good popovers? ›

My biggest tip for creating perfect popovers is to use warm milk and room-temperature eggs with absolutely no chill on them. Do not take the milk and eggs from the fridge and use them. Cold ingredients will give you dense popovers. Warm ingredients will give you light, airy, and perfect popovers.

The gluten in flour (and protein from the eggs) create the structure that traps steam in rising popovers. Without this structure, steam will escape like air from a punctured balloon, and your popovers will puddle, not pop.

Popover pans are distinguished from regular muffin tins by their deep, steep-sided wells. This forces the batter upwards and results in a popover with a puffy dome and crispy sides. Many popover pans have the cups welded to a wire rack. While this looks odd, it promotes even circulation of air and heat around the tins.

Basic popovers are made with eggs, milk, and flour. The batter is thin enough to be pourable, about as thick as heavy cream. The high proportion of liquid in the batter creates steam that causes the popovers to puff up like the popover pictured below. The conversion of the liquid in the batter to steam is dramatic.

The flour needs some time to absorb into the liquid, which not only thickens the batter a bit, it also allows the gluten molecules to relax which makes for a lighter, not chewy popover. The resting period also makes the batter more velvety and helps allow air bubbles to release.

Seeking Optimal Lift and Crispness

Not only were popovers made with bread flour about 30 percent taller than those made with all-purpose flour, but their higher walls were also thinner, making them a bit more crisp, and that crispness held up as they cooled. Bread flour was in. Next up: the milk.

Make the batter in a blender; make it with a whisk. Beat till smooth and frothy; leave some lumps. Everything should be at room temperature.

A popover pan should be greased. I prefer to use melted butter, but oil or nonstick spray would work too. Greasing the pan ensures that the finished popovers don't stick and promotes browning on the exterior of the popover. After you've greased your pan, place it into the oven while it preheats.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, or until popovers are puffed and browned. Do not check popovers until they have baked for a total of 30 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and serve hot.

Should popover batter be lumpy? ›

Whisk till all the big lumps disappear; smaller lumps are OK. Whisk in the butter, and let the batter rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the little lumps will have risen to the top. Give the batter a few more good licks with the whisk to recombine.

Remove from oven:

Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape. Serve right away.

Allow the batter to rest at room temperature while the oven preheats. Resting the batter really does result in better-risen popovers with an airier texture (as opposed to chewy). At least 15 minutes allows the starch molecules to expand and the gluten to relax.

If your popovers lose volume when they come out of the oven, they are probably underbaked. When these airy baked goods aren't cooked enough, too much steam stays trapped inside. That moisture condenses once they're removed from the oven, causing them to collapse.