Name: Easy Sourdough Popovers Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup milk, room temp; 3 eggs, room temp; 1/2 cup (sourdough starter, fed or discard); 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup All purpose flour

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Using discard and a few simple ingredients, these sourdough popovers are a wonderfully comforting treat! With a soft interior and the slightest tang, all you need is a little butter on your hot popovers to make the perfect winter day snack!

sourdough popover with butter on a white countertop next to a blue and white striped tea towel

I am always on the hunt for more great recipes to utilize my discard. I’d much rather make something for my family than throw it out.

And, lately, these popovers are quickly becoming one of my go-to recipes to use up my sourdough starter discard.

These are especially enjoyable on these cloudy, cold February days here at the Farmhouse. There is seriously nothing like a baked treat fresh out of the oven to warm you right up!

This sourdough popover recipe is super simple, using ingredients you probably already have on hand. Plus, there is no kneading or proofing. Simply mix the batter, add it to the popover tin, bake, and enjoy!

What are popovers?

Popovers are similar to Yorkshire pudding, a popular side dish in Great Britain.

Made with eggs, milk, and flour, this super simple batter rises and literally pops over while baking to create a soft, airy bread.

The secret to a good popover is heat. As you will notice, there is not any baking powder or baking soda in this discard recipe. It is actually the steam created by the liquid in the batter that makes them rise.

Vertical image of sourdough popovers split open with butter

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Simple and quick: Made of pantry staples, these come together in no time, and there is no proofing required.

Delicious: These are so comforting and yummy!

A great way to use discard: I hate any food waste, and that includes throwing out my discard. This is a perfect way to easily use the discard up!

Tips for making the perfect sourdough popovers:

Don’t over mix! This can cause the final product to be tough.
The batter is pretty thin, similar to pancake batter
Don’t fill the tins all the way up with dough if using a popover pan.
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before starting the dough. Popovers rise and popover because of the steam created by the liquid. With cold ingredients, your popover may fall a bit flat.
I found it is helpful to have a hot pan. Preheat the popover pan before adding your ingredients. Heat is your friend. These are basically like a puff pancake in muffin form, so they deflate quickly after baking, but are still so delicious.

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FAQ:

six sourdough popovers on a white countertop next to a blue and white striped tea towel

What makes popovers not rise?

The secret to popovers is all about the heat! Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before mixing up your batter. It also helps to warm up your popover pan in the oven before filling it.

What is the best flour to use for popovers?

I personally use all purpose flour, and it works great!

Yes! You will get a bit of a different shape, but it is possible. When using a muffin tin, you’ll want to fill the batter to the top.

Can you long ferment sourdough popovers?

I tried long fermenting these, and it failed. I believe the hydrated flour makes it too dense to rise and pop over properly.

aerial view of the sourdough popover batter in a popover pan

Ingredients:

Milk: Make sure it is at room temperature. This is critical to how well your popovers will rise in the oven.

Eggs: Your eggs should also be at room temperature.

Sourdough starter: You can use a fed starter or discard for this recipe.

Salt

Flour: I use all purpose flour for this recipe.

Tools you may need:

Large Bowl

Popover Pan

Danish Dough Hook or Whisk

How to make Sourdough Popovers

six sourdough popovers on a white countertop and blue and white stripped tea towel

Preheat your oven and popover pan

Preheat your oven to 450°F. I found it is helpful to preheat the popover pan as well! You can stick it in the oven while it is preheating.

For this recipe, Heat is your friend. These are basically like a puff pancake in muffin form, so they deflate quickly after baking, but are still so delicious.

Mix your ingredients

milk and eggs in a bowl with a dough whisk and a cup of flour to the side

Before you mix your ingredients, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature first – this is key for a good rise.

Mix together the room temperature eggs, sourdough starter, salt, and room temperature milk.

Mix the flour in gently with a whisk or danish dough hook.

Bake!

If you preheated your popover pan, carefully remove it from the hot oven.

You can either spray it with nonstick spray or use a little coconut oil or butter so the batter doesn’t stick.

Add the popover batter to the pan, but make sure not to fill all the way up. Leave room for them to pop up!

Place it back on the oven rack. Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes. Then, reduce heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Storage

You can keep your popovers for few days, just make sure to store them in an air-tight container. We like to reheat our leftover popovers!

sourdough popover cut in half with a pat of butter on a white countertop surrounded by more popovers and a blue and white stripped towel

The best toppings for fresh sourdough popovers:

Sourdough popovers are best enjoyed warm – ideally fresh from the oven.

We like to enjoy popovers at the farmhouse with a little bit of honey cinnamon butter, homemade herb butter, or strawberry jam.

More sourdough discard recipes:

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!