A question for the science types

[Jenise]

I was reviewing a recipe for popovers, i.e. Yorkshire puddings. In my head resides the minimum proportions for planning purposes (1/2 T butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup flour, 1 egg: multiply as necessary, x3 is a reasonable batch), but I wanted to review for temps and timing. So I selected a King Arthur flour recipe off Google to look at, and discovered a new twist.

They call for warming the eggs in warm water prior to mixing. So, fellow foodies, to what end? More lift? Quicker lift? Will a warm egg get more 'pop'? I typically mix the batter 30 minutes before use so it's not going into the oven dead-cold. In a way this reinforces that, but perhaps not exactly.



Ingredients
Volume Ounces Grams
Update measurements 4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), lukewarm
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Position a rack on a lower shelf. The top of the fully risen popovers should be about midway up the oven. What you don't want is for the tops of the popping popovers to be too close to the top of the oven, as they'll burn. Use a standard 12-cup metal muffin tin, one whose cups are close to 2 1/2" wide x 1 1/2" deep. Grease the pan thoroughly, covering the area between the cups as well as the cups themselves. Make sure the oven is up to temperature before you begin to make the popover batter. Use a wire whisk to beat together the eggs, milk, and salt. Whisk till the egg and milk are well combined, with no streaks of yolk showing. Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk till frothy; there shouldn't be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are OK. OR, if you're using a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment, whisk at high speed for 20 seconds. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl, and whisk for an additional 20 to 30 seconds at high speed, till frothy. Stir in the melted butter, combining quickly. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Make absolutely certain your oven is at 450°F. Place the pan on a lower shelf of the oven . Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350°F (again without opening the door), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. If the popovers seem to be browning too quickly, position an oven rack at the very top of the oven, and put a cookie sheet on it, to shield the popovers' tops from direct heat. If you plan on serving the popovers immediately, remove them from the oven, and stick the tip of a knife into the top of each, to release steam and help prevent sogginess. Slip them out of the pan, and serve. If you want the popovers to hold their shape longer without deflating and settling quite as much, bake them for an additional 5 minutes (for a total of 40 minutes) IF you can do so without them becoming too dark. This will make them a bit sturdier, and able to hold their "popped" shape a bit longer.

[Robin Garr]

I've always had the impression that warm eggs trap more air and create a lighter finished product. I always use that exact method for omelets or my omelet-like scrambles so I can get the eggs really frothy before they hit the pan.

After consultation with our resident baker, I've been told that warm ingredients will blend better (lower risk of clumpies) and lead to more trapped air (as Robin mentioned) which provides more pop and lift as you suggested. She almost always use room temperature eggs, butter, milk and Flour (she stores flour in the freezer) unless a recipe specifically calls for chilled ingredients.
BP
We just had popovers for dinner last evening...a coinkydink??

[Robin Garr]

We just had popovers for dinner last evening...a coinkydink??

Mary is making some for breakfast. What does it mean!

I'm making Yorkshire puddings tonight to go with the roast beef,

I'll try warming the egg, but I've never heard of adding butter to the batter mix

[Jenise]

I'm making Yorkshire puddings tonight to go with the roast beef,

I'll try warming the egg, but I've never heard of adding butter to the batter mix

A typical Yorkshire pudding would employ some of the beef drippings. In lieu of that, butter's nice.

[Jenise]

She almost always use room temperature eggs

Ditto. I'd just never pre-warmed them. (Didn't last night either).

[Robin Garr]

Speaking of popovers, here's our Christmas breakfast. A steel popover pan and really fresh pastured eggs make it easy.

popovers20151225.jpg

Robin

They look gorgeous!!

I warmed the egg for my Yorkshire pudding on Sunday and didn't notice any difference.

I wondered if the advice to warm is aimed at those who keep eggs in a refridgerator? I don't.

[Robin Garr]

They look gorgeous!!

Thanks, Peter. They are basically small Yorkshire Puddings.

[Robin Garr]

I wondered if the advice to warm is aimed at those who keep eggs in a refridgerator? I don't.

Almost certainly so. Sadly, U.S. "sanitation" requirements demand that eggs be washed at the producer. This has the effect of removing the protective coating that permits our neighbors in the UK and on the Continent to keep your eggs safely without refrigeration. We can't do that, particularly with the real threat of salmonella that occurs with our industrially produced eggs. I won't eat them any more ... all our eggs come from local farms through farmers markets or specialty stores.

A good overview from our National Public Radio:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 ... rld-doesnt

[Robin Garr]

I wondered if the advice to warm is aimed at those who keep eggs in a refridgerator? I don't.

Almost certainly so. Sadly, U.S. "sanitation" requirements demand that eggs be washed at the producer. This has the effect of removing the protective coating that permits our neighbors in the UK and on the Continent to keep your eggs safely without refrigeration. We can't do that, particularly with the real threat of salmonella that occurs with our industrially produced eggs. I won't eat them any more ... all our eggs come from local farms through farmers markets or specialty stores. But under the law, even those need to be washed. When we buy eggs from neighbors who keep hens, we don't need to refrigerate those, either.

A good overview from our National Public Radio:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 ... rld-doesnt

Indeed

I've enjoyed popovers several times at The Jordon Pond House Restaurant in Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor.

http://www.ohranger.com/acadia/news/200 ... e-popovers

I wondered if the advice to warm is aimed at those who keep eggs in a refridgerator? I don't.

Almost certainly so. Sadly, U.S. "sanitation" requirements demand that eggs be washed at the producer. This has the effect of removing the protective coating

I had no idea.

My family often used to do popovers - the trick is to have really hot fat in the bottom of each spot in the muffin tin or whatever when you add the batter, and then get it straight into the oven - we used to use fat from the roast after it came out to rest, or saved bacon fat.

I disagreed with the practice of filling them up with green peas once they were made and if they subsided in the middle though.....

Another thing we did, probably not well known in the US, but correct me if that isn't the case, was to cook the Yorkie batter in a square pan and put sausages into it so you ended up with a combined effect like pigs in a blanket but with Yorkie batter instead of pastry known as Toad in the Hole.

[Jenise]

I wondered if the advice to warm is aimed at those who keep eggs in a refridgerator? I don't.

Almost certainly so. Sadly, U.S. "sanitation" requirements demand that eggs be washed at the producer. This has the effect of removing the protective coating that permits our neighbors in the UK and on the Continent to keep your eggs safely without refrigeration. We can't do that, particularly with the real threat of salmonella that occurs with our industrially produced eggs. I won't eat them any more ... all our eggs come from local farms through farmers markets or specialty stores.

A good overview from our National Public Radio:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 ... rld-doesnt

No problem getting fresh eggs in winter? Around here, my supply dries up come December.

[Jenise]

I disagreed with the practice of filling them up with green peas once they were made and if they subsided in the middle though...

You WOULD.

Toad in the hole with a batter isn't unknown here, but I have to admit the only time I've seen it in the flesh was in an American version of a British pub. However, a sweet version of what you call a Yorkie batter done in large pans and inexplicably called a Dutch Baby is a hugely popular breakfast dish.

However, a sweet version of what you call a Yorkie batter done in large pans and inexplicably called a Dutch Baby is a hugely popular breakfast dish.

Ackk! We have the De Dutch Pannekoek House here and they do that sort of thing http://dedutch.com/menus/the-pannekoeken/

[Jenise]

The pannekoek batter is different though. A Dutch Baby rises like a Yorkshire pudding, pannekoek's are more like crepes--an eggy batter with pizza-like toppings. Doesn't work for me!

[Robin Garr]

No problem getting fresh eggs in winter? Around here, my supply dries up come December.

No, and I don't know enough about chickens to say much, other than some of our neighbors' hens stop laying for a while when they are "molting," but I don't recall that as a seasonal thing. The three or four local farms that have ramped up production enough to serve specialty grocers seem to keep them coming regularly.

I had understood from another discussion here that hours of daylight have something to do with production. Something I or someone else saw, possibly in a documentary. Maybe klieg lights in the henhouse?