Let's explore another genre of pastry together: CHOUX!
There are so many applications for pate a choux or choux pastry dough, so if you want to explore things like eclairs, st. honore, gougeres, large choux or cream puffs, croquembouche, or chouquettes, this is a must-learn recipe and technique. I want to start exploring all of these kinds of pastries with you, and instead of going over and over this basic dough recipe in each of those videos, I wanted to start with this multi-purpose dough on its own. Then, in each upcoming recipe we can focus solely on the unique variation of choux instead of going through the entire process each and every time!
You can bake choux pastry completely on its own, with an egg wash, or some other types of coatings, but the classic - and my favorite - is craquelin. Craquelin is the cookie-like crust on the top of many choux. Regardless of which style of choux you prefer, when you add something to the top of the choux before baking (egg wash, craquelin, etc) it helps trap all of the steam inside the choux as it bakes, which helps create the classic domed shape on the outside while becoming hollow on the inside.
One more thing you absolutely have to know about pate a choux: DO NOT OPEN YOUR OVEN WHILE YOU ARE BAKING IT! Not even a little. Not a tiny crack. Until the choux has fully developed, you need to leave the oven door closed, or you risk the choux collapsing.
Now let's get into the recipes!
Pate a Choux | Choux Pastry Dough
150g Water
150g Whole Milk
150g Butter (room temperature, unsalted)
6g Sugar
2g Salt
150g AP Flour (sifted)
280g Eggs (approximate)
1. Place the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt into a saucepan and heat until the butter is melted.
2. Cook the milk mixture on medium heat until it comes to a simmer, then turn off the heat and add in the flour.
3. Whisk the flour in until it is thoroughly combined, then turn on the heat again and cook the choux dough while constantly moving it around with a spatula or large spoon until it looks like one smooth ball of dough. This will help dry out and cook the dough.
4. Transfer the dough to the bowl of your mixer, and mix on medium speed until you no longer see steam rising from the bowl and the dough has cooled a bit.
5. Turn the mixer speed to low and add in the eggs one at a time.
6. Mix the dough until the eggs are incorporated and the dough looks smooth and shiny. When you pull the paddle attachment or your spatula out of the dough it should feel loose but elastic, and the dough should break off in a triangular shape when you pull the tool out of the dough. It should be thicker than the average cake batter, but looser than the average cookie dough batter.
NOTE: You may not need 100% of the eggs to achieve this state, which is why it is especially important to add in the eggs one at a time.
7. Rest the pate a choux dough for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to overnight, before piping it. You can leave the dough in a bowl and place plastic wrap on it, or transfer it to a sheet pan and place plastic wrap on it.
8. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Pipe the pate a choux. You can pipe it directly onto a silicone baking sheet (or parchment or teflon) to bake immediately, or pipe it into a silicone mold to freeze and use later.
10. I recommend creating a template with the cookie cutter you used for the craquelin, and pipe the same size circle for the pate a choux. Pipe a small dome or hemisphere, and top it with the circle of frozen craquelin.
11. Bake the choux at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes. In this time the choux will rise and become much larger than the size you piped.
12. Turn the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit BUT DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Continue baking for about 25-30 minutes, until the choux is golden brown.
13. Remove the choux from the oven and cool completely before filling.
Craquelin | Cookie Crust for Choux
100g Butter (room temperature, unsalted)
125g Cake Flour (sifted)
125g Sugar
1. Cream the butter and sugar with your mixer until thoroughly combined.
2. Add in the flour and mix until incorporated.
3. Place some of the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment paper, and roll out.
4. Roll the craquelin until it is very thin, then place the sheets of craquelin on a sheet pan and freeze.
5. Use a cookie cutter (I recommend 1.75-2.25" for making choux or cream puffs) to cut circles of craquelin.
6. Place the craquelin circles back onto the pan and freeze until needed.
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Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time!
Maddie
Filmed on my iPhone 13 and Sony a7iii
Edited in iMovie
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16 окт 2023
