Popovers are a fluffy pastry made without the use of any leaveners like yeast or baking powder. To create this affect you really have to make sure you do not open your oven to check the baking progress since the hot air expanding inside the popovers are what make them rise. If you ever see deflated popovers it is usually because the temperature inside the oven dropped before the popovers set.

Every year we make popovers with split-pea soup, using the leftover ham from Christmas. And we always forget to make a double batch because there are never eoungh popovers around.

Method 

• Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F
• add a little melted butter to each well of the popover pan and place it in the oven while you make the batter
• beat the eggs with the milk, 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and the sugar and salt.
• mix the flour a little at a time until smooth
• remove the pan from the oven and fill each cup halfway 
• bake for 15 - 20 minutes (depending on your oven) then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue for another 15 minutes. 
• remove when puffed and browned. 
• wait until the full 30 minutes to check the popovers. 
• remove and serve right away.

There are many types of flour cooks can use to bake with to achieve very different results.

Main Types of Flour

• All-Purpose
• Cake
• Bread

One of the main differences between these types of flour are the protein content. All-purpose is essentially an equal mix of cake and bread flour. Cake has the least protein and bread has the most.

Cake flour has a protein content of 5-8% and is used primarily for cakes (angel food, yellow cake). This flour is finer and lighter.

All-purpose has a protein content of 10-11% and is used for a variety of items (cookies, biscuits, cup cakes, roux, white sauce, pie crust)

Bread flour has a protein content of 11-13% and is used when you want your result to be chewy (bread, pizza dough).

These three types of flour are not really interchangeable. Their protein content are so different and it does really matter what type of flour you use. You could not make angel food cake as light and fluffy without cake flour as all-purpose and bread flour would make it much heavier.

The flours that works best to interchange are all-purpose and bread flour (depending on what your're making) For example, you could make pizza utilizing all-purpose flour or a mix between all-purpose and bread flour, but it would not be recommended to use cake flour for this purpose. Basically cake flour would not form a stretchy dough because it lacks the ability to form gluten.

When you read a recipe that calls for a certain ingredient such as flour you typically see it referred to by "1 cup AP Flour". When you use a measuring cup, such as the one below you should note that both photos show measures over 1 cup, even though by weight they are 8 ounces.

For a given cup of flour, by volume you should expect to see a weight of about 5 ounces, not 8. We say about 5 ounces because sometimes it may be 6 or so, if it is packed to any degree.

When you are baking it is important to have the correct measurements, so we recommend that for ingredients that are affected by air, such as flour, you go by weight (mass), and not volume. This is especially true when using recipes that call for something sifted. Make sure that you make your measurements before sifting. As the second photo illustrates, sifting the same 1 cup (8 ounces by weight) increases the volume by around 10 - 15%, and can throw off your baking.

Don't forget to get a Kitchen Scale

Imagine serving this dish for a brunch – it could either be the “dessert”, or the main meal. Or simply make this dish and keep it in the fridge for an easy and delicious breakfast served with plain yogurt or some sour cream. The one thing to think about is to reduce the sugar content somewhat. When you make crumble for dessert, then sugar is an essential part, however when you make it for breakfast, you might enjoy a less sweet meal. Ideas for reducing the sugar content in the granola include using some honey for an interesting flavor, or to use less sugar and some apple sauce when combining the granola.

This recipe could easily be varied: for example, other fruits in season would make a wonderful dish such as pears, apricots, nectarines, cherries, berries or cranberries (perhaps in combination with apples or pears). Then you have the topping – there are lots of options available there. Of course nuts can be varied endlessly, try cashews, walnuts, pistachios, and instead of just plain oats, you could combine it with rolled rye flakes, wheat flakes or perhaps add a cooked grain such as barley or quinoa to make it more wholesome and interesting. Then of course you could also add seeds such as sunflower seeds, flaxseeds or sesame seeds as well as some dry fruit for contrast.

There are so many possibilities for this meal, and this dish is basically an idea of how to cook a different way for breakfast. However, this meal would also be great as a snack or as dessert. And if plain yogurt doesn’t seem fun enough for a fine brunch, then try combining the yogurt with some mascarpone cheese or perhaps some flavoring such as vanilla or some sugar and cardamom.

For an 8x8 dish (about 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of butter for the pan

Between 2- 4 apples depending on the size, cored and cut in pieces. (You could peel the apples if you prefer, however the skins add texture, flavor and vitamins) Ideally use a couple of different kinds of apples

1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup of oats (could be replaced by other grains or rolled flakes)
½ cup of slivered almonds
½ cup of coconut flakes
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of honey
3 tablespoons of apple sauce
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
4 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon of brown sugar, for topping

Method:

Butter the dish well. Combine the apple pieces in a bowl with cornstarch, cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice. Mix well, and place the apples in the buttered pan. In the same bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping except for the butter and the sugar. Cut the butter in small cubes and integrate it into the mixture by hand. Place evenly over the apples. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Start with covering the top with aluminum foil. When there are 5-10 minutes check, how far along the crumble is and remove the foil if it’s almost done.

Let cool a bit, and serve with plain yogurt.  

Pate a Choux - cream puff dough. Used for eclairs and other pastries.

4 ounces water
2 ounces butter
1/4 tablespoon salt
3 ounces AP flour, sifted
2-3 eggs

Add the water, butter and salt in a 2 quart sauce pan, bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour. Use a wood spoon to stir until it pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the heat and continue to stir.

Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth.

Place in the refrigerator or use immediately.