Breads

Maple Bacon Popovers

Tall, crisp-edged popovers with airy centers, smoky bacon and a subtle maple sweetness.

Prep: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting
Cook: 35 minutes
Serves: 8
Difficulty: Intermediate

Make AheadBatter can rest overnight; bake to order.

Cooking for

guests

There is no bread on this menu that earns a bigger reaction for less work. The batter is five minutes of whisking; the drama comes from a screaming hot pan and a closed oven door.

Ingredients

Popovers

6 slices thick-cut smoked bacon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups whole milk, at room temperature
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp pure Grade A dark amber maple syrup
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp reserved bacon fat or melted butter, for the pan

Maple butter glaze

3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Method

Bacon and batter

1
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, reserve the fat, and chop the bacon finely. Blot the pieces well — wet bacon weighs a popover down.
2
Room-temperature eggs and milk are not optional. Cold liquid produces short, dense popovers. If you forgot, set the eggs in warm water for 10 minutes and warm the milk to just barely tepid.
3
Whisk the eggs until pale and frothy, then whisk in the milk, maple syrup and salt. Add the flour and whisk just until smooth — a few small lumps are fine, overmixing is not.
4
Whisk in the melted butter and let the batter rest 30 minutes at room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator, then bring back to room temperature).

Bake

1
Place a popover pan on a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F with the pan inside for at least 15 minutes. A hot pan is what launches the rise.
2
Pull the pan out, brush each cup generously with bacon fat, and divide the bacon among the cups.
3
Fill each cup about two-thirds full with batter and return to the oven immediately.
4
Bake 20 minutes at 450°F, then reduce to 350°F without opening the door and bake 15 minutes more, until tall, deeply golden and firm to the tap.
5
DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR before the 30-minute mark. A single early peek collapses the steam structure and there is no recovery.
6
Brush the hot popovers with the maple butter, sprinkle with flaky salt and serve immediately.

Muffin pan alternative

1
A standard 12-cup muffin pan works well; grease every cup and fill only the outer ring plus two center cups so heat can circulate.
2
Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes, then 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes. They rise a little less dramatically and taste every bit as good.

“Popovers wait for no one. Have your guests seated and ready when these golden beauties leave the oven.”
— Chef Dawn

Chef Dawn's Tips

Weigh or spoon-and-level the flour; packed flour is the second most common cause of squat popovers.
Use dark amber maple syrup, not pancake syrup — you want maple flavor, not sugar.
Pierce each popover with a paring knife right out of the oven to release steam if they will sit even 2 minutes.
Bake them while the roulade rests: the timing lines up almost exactly.

Make Ahead & Storage

Best within minutes. Batter holds overnight, refrigerated. Baked popovers can be re-crisped at 350°F for 5 minutes, though they will never be quite as tall.

Original recipe, testing notes and photography by Chef Dawn Creates.