I started doing these during the pandemic for entertainment. At this point I make them just to prove I can, and to show off. Everybody loves to watch these things grow. It’s like Mary Poppins magic, but turn out to be real food too. Despite the name, their texture is like a croissant without layers. Unlike a croissant, which you should not mess with, if you change the oil/fat they bake in, you can enhance their flavor in all sorts of ways. And like all good pastries, they’re perfect for bringing hot, tasty filling from plate to mouth. If you can get them to rise you’ll love them.
When I asked UK bakers to suggest a good recipe, the first one came in with a promise to never fail, and here it is, BBC’s Best YPRecipe. It makes good on that promise, but if industry standard, pragmatic units of measurement, are not for you, I’ve got you covered.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour sifted and spooned in, not packed
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp fine grain salt, not coarse or flaked
- Canola oil, or any other high-heat vegetable oil, enough to line the bottom of your baking dish
Give yourself plenty of time so the batter can cool in the fridge before you start. It can hold in there for quite a while so feel free to make it in advance. Just make sure it’s cold before you pour, at least 30 minutes.
Place the flour in a mixing bowl and pour in the eggs, making extra sure there’s no shell. In this case, play the adult and actually crack them into another bowl before you pour them in. Mix until smooth and then add the milk, followed by the salt. Keep mixing until the batter is free of lumps. Pour the batter into something with a spout to make it easy to pour, then chill.
If you’re using ramekins or a muffin tin, fill each with a coating of oil so that the whole bottom is covered and put them into the oven to pre-warm with it. I suggest the bottom middle to leave plenty of room above to rise. Set the oven to 450°F, and wait until it’s smoking hot. Don’t skimp on the waiting and don’t use the convection setting. You’ll know it’s time to add the batter when the kitchen fills up with the smell of hot oil.
Before you move on to opening the oven, take the batter out of the fridge and whisk one more time. Make sure there are no lumps.
You’ll need to get the tin(s) out of the oven, filled and back in as quickly as you can manage without burning yourself. Don’t leave the oven door open. No matter the size of ramekin or tin, fill each basin until it’s 1/3 of the way full. Put them in the oven and set your timer. You should start checking at 16 minutes, but they may take up to 20 in more humid regions. You want them to be golden brown but not burnt. I mean no disrespect as I compare one of the great hallmarks of British baking to something French, but they should have the color and crackly texture of a croissant.
When you pull them out they will begin to deflate. If you’ve done it right, the inside will fall and the outside will hold, leaving you with a tasty bread-like bowl for whatever sweet or savory thing you care to put in them.
- Change out some, or all, of the oil for fat from your favorite tasting animal. Depth of flavor is a good thing-lard, schmaltz, tallow, or you know, bacon grease. Just keep to high-heat stuff, no olive oil.
- Anything in the batter with weight to it will limit the rise. This includes bits of egg shell, globs of flour and undissolved bits of salt. Use a sieve to strain the batter before resting it in the fridge to catch anything you missed. Some chefs purposely put herbs and spices or even small seeds in the batter to add flavor. On your own head if you take it too far and it falls flat.
- Milk-fat molecules are crucial to the structure that builds up in the heat to give the Yorkie its rise. Imagine making a sand castle with no water and you have the general idea. Fresh skim milk might have enough intact milk-fat molecules to work under the right conditions, but they break down easier than in fattier milks, so it’s more likely you are wasting your time.
- To get a nice round Yorkshire Pudding, as opposed to one that bulges on one side, use a good spout that accurately hits where you expect it to. Aim for the center of the baking dish’s well. Let it spread out to the edges on its own. You also need to be fast so the tin doesn’t get cold, so speed and accuracy.
- There seems to be a lot of hand wringing over what to call these things. Traditionalist-historians stand against new-world pudding-haters in a senseless, social media, save-the-dish stand off. What do I think? I think they taste good and that’s enough for me.
Yorkshire Pudding, United Kingdom
