Seeded Popovers
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. Good luck friends – let me know how it goes!
More Puffy Recipes
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- Seeded Pumpkin and Feta Muffins
- Six Seed Soda Bread
- Seed Pâté
- Big Sur Bakery Hide Bread
- Homemade Chili Crisp
- Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Continue reading Seeded Popovers on 101 Cookbooks
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. Good luck friends – let me know how it goes!
More Puffy Recipes
More Recipes with Seeds
Seeded Popovers
I use individual timbales here, but you can use a special popover pan or muffin tin. Deep and narrow tins get great results, but muffin tins deliver the delight as well. And If you opt out of the seeds, you’re back to my basic popover recipe. Feel free to swap in chopped dried or fresh herbs, grated cheese, spices, zests, etc.
Ingredients
-
2
cups
/ 475 ml whole milk -
2
tablespoons
unsalted butter -
2
cups
/ 9 ounces / 255 g unbleached all-purpose flour -
1 1/4
teaspoons
fine grain sea salt -
3/4
teaspoon
baking powder -
1/4
cup
/ 1.5 oz / 45 g raw, uncooked millet seeds -
2
tablespoons
/ .5 oz / 15 g toasted sesame seeds -
2
tablespoons
/ .5 oz / 15 g toasted sunflower seeds -
5
large eggs, room temperature(!)
Instructions
-
Start by preheating your oven to 425°F / 220°C, with a rack in the low-center. If you’re using popover or muffin pans, grease them, I like to use clarified butter. If you’re using individual timbales (like I did), do the same. Place the tins on a baking sheet, preferably rimmed.
-
Place the milk and butter in a medium saucepan and gently heat until it is warm to the touch, not more than 115°F/45°C – you don’t want to scramble the eggs down the line. Remove from heat.
-
Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the millet, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. Set aside.
-
Now you’re going to whisk the eggs. It’s important to start with room-temperature eggs here, using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment at medium-high speed. It’ll take a couple of minutes, but you want the eggs to get nice and voluminous, light, and take on the color of yellow taffy (see photo up above). Dial back the mixer speed, and add the milk in a slow, steady stream. Gradually add the flour mixture a bit at a time, and whisk for another 60 seconds. Transfer to a pitcher.
-
Preheat the empty popover pans in the oven for five minutes. Quickly, but carefully, remove them (you don’t want to let all the heat from the oven), and fill each tin 1/2 full with batter, maybe a touch more. If you’re using muffin pans, fill every other hole, to give room for the popover. Transfer to the hot oven carefully (but quickly!), and dial back the heat to 400°F. Bake for 30-45 minutes. I hate to give exact times here, I really go by sight. Without opening the oven look for deep golden coloring on all sides, and lots of airy lift.
-
Bake as long as you can without letting the tops get too dark, if you let them bake on the long side, you’ll end up with more structure, which helps keep your popovers puffed when they come out of the oven. When golden, remove, turn out onto a cooling rack, and enjoy as soon as possible.
Notes
Makes 6-8 large popovers.
Serves
8
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
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