We appreciate your curiosity regarding our recent switch to including an enzyme in our flour instead of malted barley! We formerly used malted barley because it is a source of enzymes, but we found that the level and efficacy of those enzymes can vary just a smidge from batch to batch. The activity of straight enzymes varies less, so using them creates an even more consistent flour. Chemically, this swap should have no effect on your baked goods, with the exception of providing more consistency in rise to yeasted baked goods. 
Here's a quick explanation of how the enzyme works: the enzyme breaks down the damaged starch in wheat flour into short strings of sugars, which allows yeast to work continuously during dough fermentation, proofing, and the early stage of baking. This results in improved bread volume and crumb texture, the same as when using malted barley flour. 

We suspect that your recent trouble with popovers may be stemming from some other issue- environmental factors or slight changes in method and equipment used can have a big impact on the success of any recipe. If you're interested in troubleshooting this further with us, we would be happy to help! You can contact our Bakers Hotline any day of week: (855) 371-2253, or via email or chat!

• Reply