In the red white and blue corner, Sourdough Popovers, in the other red white and blue corner, Sourdough Yorkshire Puddins. Wait a hot minute, they’re twins! Call off the cagematch, its been fixed…
Jokes aside, it is very hard to tell the difference between the two. Our ‘Murican Popover has a slightly different ratio of milk to flour, and MAY be made using a different pan but otherwise they are mostly identical. I found a lot of variation in the recipes, with some popover recipes almost equal to the YP recipes and vice versa. The puddins often use muffin tins whereas the popovers often use a taller popover tin that facilitates the height of the popover.
Next difference, you have to spray the pans or brush with oil or butter for popovers, whereas the puddins are friend in a lot of lard in each tin. I prefer to use a good amount (tablespoon) of heart healthy oil in each tin.
Another, wierd one. Almost every ‘murican recipe for popovers insist that you not overmix, while the Brits are all about getting a smooth consistency. Jaimie Oliver actually says you should use an oversized bowl so “you can aerate the mixture”.
My good friend (inside joke) Gordon Ramsay says mix it well, so that is what I did, and it turned out great. There’s no issue with overmixing imo, since there is no leavening agent. We are also told that sourdough, milk and eggs must be at room temperature. I did warm up the ingredients but I wonder if this is more urban myth than a science based fact.
Finally, couple of technique hints I picked up. Jaimie Oliver has this great idea of filling up a single tin on the left side of the pan, then lifting the left side of the pan and letting the oil run down into the other tins, which gives you an even amount of oil in all the tins. I’ll link the Jaimie Oliver youtube vid. He also has a nifty idea to use a spoon to catch any spills so there are no spills on the rim of the pan. This may affect the rise of the popover/YP
Also, place the pan on the bottom rack, close to the heat. Preheat the stone or baking steel if you use either.
* We prefer the less eggy texture, so we may cut down the eggs to one egg next time, we’ll update this recipe once we try it out. Otherwise this turned out really great.
Recipe
70g Sourdough (Fed, so room temperature).
70g AP Flour
2 Eggs (room temperature)
120g Whole Milk (room temperature)
Pinch of Salt
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 475f.
Mix the liquid ingredients (eggs, milk and sourdough), making sure to beat the eggs into a consistent texture first. Sift the flour through a sieve to ensure no clumps, and incorporate into a loose runny mix. Pour it into a jug that has a pour spout for easy pouring.
Set up your muffin pan on a level surface such as a counter. Either pour a tbsp of oil into each tin, or fill up the left most tin (say about 3/4 full or all the way full). Then lift up on that end of the pan angling the pan so the oil runs down into the remaining tins. Stick the muffin pan in the hot oven for 5 minutes or until the oil smokes.
Take the tin out and place it on the stove (careful, its very hot!). QUICKLY pour the mix into each tin, being careful not to drop any on the lip or between the tins. It should sizzle as soon as it is poured in.
Place the whole pan back in the oven on the lower rack for 15 minutes. Monitor and turn off the oven when the top is golden brown and puffy.
Happy Cooking and Happy Eating!