Gluten Free Popovers Recipe (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.

Popover rule #2: Use all-purpose flour

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.

Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: The key to making these popovers super light and fluffy is to use bread flour. Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein than all-purpose flour, causing it to yield a much lighter and fluffier popover.

Chef's Notes. The difference between popovers and Yorkshire puddings is that Yorkshires use the beef fat (the drippings from a beef roast).

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.

The room temperature of the batter, the heat of the pan, and high heat the oven are all what create the steam initially to get the batter to rise, then the bake at 350°F sets the batter and creates the crispy outside.

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.

To make ahead: You can make the batter and refrigerate it for up to one day before baking. Just let the batter come to room temperature and whisk it well or whirl it in the blender for a few seconds before pouring it into the muffin tins. To store: Store baked and cooled popovers in a ziptop bag for up to a day.

How to prevent popovers from deflating? ›

An additional trick for keeping popovers crisp is to gently poke a hole in the side of each one with a sharp knife when you remove it from the pan to allow extra steam to escape without deflating the crust dome.

The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850.

According to The Kitchn, popovers are airy and fluffy in nature—boasting a golden brown exterior like Yorkshire pudding. In fact, this pastry is made with a similar batter of flour, salt, eggs, milk, and butter. Another fun fact—a popover gets its name from the “dramatic rise” caused by the steam.

Popovers are very similar, if not the same as Yorkshire pudding.

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. The perfect popover, however, is easy to master.