Popovers are traditionally made in muffin form but in the recent craze to bake bread, I thought it would be fun to try making popover bread. While doing some research I found that there is actually a popover shirt for men – who knew? It doesn’t look anything like I thought it would – somehow in my mind I thought it would have more of a Pillsbury Doughboy look to it. Check it out at LLBean. It’s described as “a popover style that couldn’t be easier to wear.” Hmmmm.
If you want to follow me down this rabbit hole… After reading about the LLBean shirt I had to know more. Certainly there must be some reason for using the word “popover” in the clothing line. Here’s what I found from Wikipedia:
“Popover is a type of dress originally designed by Claire McCardell in 1942. The outfit type became the basis for a variety of wrap-around dresses. A versatile wrap dress, it could be used as a bathing suit cover-up, house dress, dressing gown, or party dress.”
Well that explanation did not answer my question, only confused me more. I finally found the answer at Hugh And Crye:
“A popover shirt is a woven garment made with 100% Egyptian cotton that has 3 or 4 buttons at the top of the shirt. The 1 quarter placket stops at the center of the chest. Since the popover does not have a full placket with buttons going down the front, it must be “popped over” your head and shoulders to be worn. Due to the lack of stretch in a woven garment (as opposed to a knit garment), the body is cut a little looser to make it easier to put on and take off. This looser fit gives the popover a more casual, relaxed look. The best way to describe the popover is a polo shirt made with dress shirt fabric.”
Ta dah! Now that makes sense!
And if you are wondering if I will ever get around to the recipe, wonder no more. Let’s get started.
Buttering the baking dish (instead of using oil spray) is important because it puts a thicker layer on the dish and it’s easier to remove the bread when done.
Whisk ingredients. Batter will be runny not thick like traditional bread. No kneading necessary here!
Pop it in a hot oven for a little over a half an hour.
When done it is lightly “popped” up.
It was hard to capture a photo of the bread while it was fully “popped” because it starts deflating almost immediately (similar to popover muffins). The fluffier parts create air pockets which are useful for stuffing the leftover bread with other delightful ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened (divided)
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heavily butter (using about a tablespoon of butter) an 11 X 7" baking dish.
- Whisk together flour, parsley, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Combine eggs and milk together and then gradually add to the flour mixture. Mixture will be runny.
- Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cool slightly, and whisk into mixing bowl with other ingredients.
- Pour mixture in the buttered dish and bake about 35 minutes or until the loaf is puffed and golden.
- Serve warm.
And if you like this type of light bread, you may want to try Yorkshire Pudding, a form of popover that the English enjoy. We loved it when we visited England last year. If you’d like to see our experience with Yorkshire pudding in England, here is the blog post from our travels that day Yorkshire.