Popovers - Success!

I've always wanted to try making popovers and have had the King Arthur Food blog recipe saved for a while. Now I had just had a conversation with TWO people the day of making these where they mentioned they have never had good luck with popovers and have given up. These worked perfectly on the first try. I don't think I can take credit for my success, I think it is all due to the recipe. It worked really well and I used a regular muffin pan.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), lukewarm
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

Servings:
17-18 popovers, you will need two muffin pans!

Instructions:
Fully preheat the oven to 450 degrees F! <-- This is important to make sure the oven is fully up to temperature before starting. Position a rack on a lower shelf. Grease muffin pan thoroughly (I used Pam). Thoroughly whisk the eggs, milk, and salt. Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk. There shouldn't be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are ok. Whisk in the melted butter, combining quickly.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door! Reduce the heat to 350°F (again without opening the door!), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown.

If there is a little bit that isn't browned, you run the risk of collapse. The first pan I cooked till every visible spot was a very deep golden brown and I thought this made them a little overcooked. But the second batch had a few small spots that hadn't turned golden brown yet and there was a smidge of collapse, but nothing resembling full collapse. They were still hollow in the center. They even made their own holes on the bottom so I didn't need to make holes in them to prevent sogginess.



Not having cooked popovers before, I would not have guessed they were finicky based on this recipe. I highly recommend it for your next bread making experience. Next time I will be trying variations with adding powdered Vermont cheddar, herbs, and may favorite I have seen - corn and chive (Smitten Kitchen but with the King Arthur Baker's Banter recipe).

Recipe From:
King Arthur Flour Baker's Banter Blog