Buckwheat Popovers
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
The smell of baking popovers brings me right back to my dad’s weekend breakfasts. He traveled a lot, but he would make us breakfast when he was at home. On weekday mornings it was always Cream of Wheat. I am not sure if we were trying to distract him because we really didn’t like the cereal very much, or because he was just an irresistable target, but occasionally while he stood in his undershirt and boxer shorts, my brother and I would try to yank them down. Quickly grabbing them with one hand, Dad would run out of the kitchen, while my brother and I howled with laughter. On some cold damp weekend mornings Dad made popovers, my very favorite breakfast. I loved watching them puff up through the dark oven window. (We were under strict instructions not to open the oven door because popovers are very sensitive to heat fluctuations.) To get the full delicious experience, once they’re cooked you have to immediately rip the popover open and as the steam starts to escape, quickly add in a small pad of butter to the warm layers of eggy dough. I think they are perfect just like that, but you might like a spoonful of jam, honey or marmalade. The recipe below calls for buckwheat flour, which gives the popovers a slightly nutty flavor. You can find buckwheat flour in most grocery stores alongside the other flours. Bob’s Red Mill sells a good one.
I inherited my father’s popover pan and though it works great, it is very heavy. The newer ones with individually linked cups are really much easier to work with. The ingredient list is short, so it only takes about three minutes to pull the batter together, and then 30 minutes to cook. * The milk and eggs must be at room temperature, though so to speed things up, I cover the whole eggs in warm water for a couple minutes and microwave the milk on medium power for 30 seconds or so. They will be ready for the batter by the time you get your coffee ground and your water boiled.
Preheat the oven °425 adjust the rack in the middle of the oven
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter plus extra for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups milk room temperature (*see above)
11/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
3 eggs room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
Instructions:
Generously grease your pan. When the oven reaches 425° place the pan in the oven for two minutes to preheat.
Whisk your flours and salt together in a medium size bowl. In a large measuring cup lightly beat eggs and then add the milk and the melted butter. Make a well in your dry ingredients and pour in the milk/egg mixture. Gently whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth.
When you pan has preheated using oven mitts pull it out of the oven and quickly fill each cup halfway up and place back in the oven keeping the door closed for 30 minutes.
Photo by: Lucy Alexander