Pâte a Choux

                                                                                                                                                                                        Photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Pâte a choux [paht ah shoo]: A versatile dough of flour, water, butter and eggs distinguished by the fact that the flour is combined with the butter and water and partially cooked before the eggs are added to it.  The resulting dough, which can be sweet or savory, puffs when it bakes and so has a light and elegant texture in and of itself and a neutral, eggy flavor that carries more assertive savory and sweet flavors well.  Gougeres, cheese puffs, are made by seasoning pâte a choux with parmesan or other cheeses and are served warm from the oven or cooled and filled with a savory farce.  But these puffs can also be filled to make such sweet preparations as éclairs (cream puffs) and profiteroles, puffs sandwiched around ice cream and covered in chocolate sauce.  Pâte a choux is sometimes added to forcemeats as the panade, something that binds, enriches and flavors. Pâte a choux can be poached, a form of pasta sometimes called Parisian gnocchi. Pâte a choux is made by bringing water and butter to a simmer, stirring in nearly an equal volume of flour and cooking the mixture till it pulls away from the sides of the pot and dries out somewhat.  Eggs are then beaten into it one by one.  The mixture is typically piped onto a sheet pan and baked. Pâte a choux is a fundamental part of the cook’s repertoire.

I love the pâte a choux for it’s versatility.  McGee  calls it “a brilliant invention” (see page 553 of the new On Food and Cooking for his elegant overview of its workings).  It’s delicious, nutritious, and employs the cool mechanics of the egg with it’s ability to trap air bubbles and puff.  In recent demos, I’ve done pâte a choux piped into hot oil for donuts that I roll in cinnamon sugar.  They could be dusted with powdered sugar; in France this preparation (there’s a recipe in A Return To Cooking) is called pets de nonne, “nun’s farts”—how can you not love the French?)

UPDATE: Michael Pardus called me on the strike out above, and he's right.  In fact, I don't know where I got this business of whipping in air bubbles that puff (though mechanically beaten choux does puff considerably more than that stirred by hand, so this may have something to do with the puffing).  The fact though seems to be that the primary leavener in a choux is steam, from the large quantity of water you begin with. Thanks Michael. 

Among those we asked was our man Alton (who includes a choux recipe in his excellent book on baking): "Steam provides the lift but gluten provides much of the resistance as do egg white proteins which contribute to the drying as well. So there are two issues, the leavening and the thing being leavened. Hand choux is possible but it is extremely difficult. Don't forget that a choux paste is in essence an emulsion."  In the aforementioned book he writes "the addition of eggs makes for large irregular puffs."  Maybe that's where I got it!  In any case, the dough wouldn't leaven without all that water, nor without the gelling of the gluten, and the protein from the egg is a factor.  Ultimately pate a choux is a cool complex little system that all cooks ought to be familiar with.

UPDATE, 12/17, A PASTRY CHEF WEIGHS IN:

Shuna added this comment on shape and cheese, which I don't want anyone to miss:

"I taught an entire 3+ hour class last year on pate a choux. My very favoritest thing to talk about is where the name of the pastry came from.

"When you pipe the dough in little mounds with a rounded top, they bake to look like tiny cabbages, hence the name.

"I also like to make this metaphor: when piping pate a choux it reacts much the same as clay does. If your hand/ piping bag are tilted in any particular direction, thus your dough will bake in that direction.

"Lastly, as a gougere is a French pastry, the cheese would always be a French one (like Gruyere or Emmenthaler), not an Italian one. In fact the cheese's moisture content is an important one when it comes to how the gougeres bake and hold their upright position in an oven and later, when cooling.

"I know too much about this. Just ask TK or SD."

Thanks, Shuna!

Pate a Choux basic recipe
The following is a standard recipe for basic pâte a choux.  To make gougeres, or any savory preparation, add two tablespoons of Parmigiano-Reggiano to the dough along with the eggs (top with more cheese to bake them in a hot oven for a half hour or so till cooked through).  For a sweet choux dough, add two tablespoons of sugar to the milk and butter as you heat it.

This recipe can be made all in the same pot using a stiff wood spoon, but it’s easier, and the dough puffs more, if you use a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer to beat in the eggs.

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup eggs (4 large eggs)

1. Bring the water and butter to a simmer over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour and stir rapidly.  The flour will absorb the water quickly and a dough will form and pull away from the sides. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two.  Transfer the paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or to a bowl if you're using a hand mixer.  (If you want to mix the eggs directly into the dough in the pot, let it cool slightly, 4 or 5 minutes, or cool off the pan itself by running cold water over its base if you will be mixing the eggs in that pot.  You don’t want to cook the eggs too quickly.)

2. Add the eggs one at a time mixing rapidly until each is combined into the paste.  The paste will go from shiny to furry, slippery to sticky as the egg is incorporated.  The pâte a choux can be cooked immediately at this point or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.

Pipe or spoon choux paste into hot oil for doughnuts and cook for 5 minutes or until done.  Spoon or pipe it  onto a baking sheet (see above, remember to press the peaks down with a moistened finger, they can burn) and bake in a hot oven (425 for 10 minutes, 350 for another half hour or so, is ideal) for cream puffs, profiteroles and gougeres.  Or pipe into simmering water for parisienne gnocchi (remove when they float, then saute in brown butter with additional garnish of your choice, excellent recipes in Bouchon for all of these preparations).

Comments

[bluexmas]

The one in your demo was very delicious :) I am thiniking to try myself but doing anything else but...

[Darcie]

Inspired by your Cleveland demo, I pulled out Mom's trusty "cream puff" (as we called them in ND) recipe to compare it to yours. It turns out it was exactly the same! I won't make fun of my mom's cooking anymore - she obviously knows something! I posted the results of my baked puffs on my blog if anyone wants to see color cream puff photos.

Don't forget, you can incorporate cooked potatoes into pate a choux and make Potatoes Dauphine (fried, not baked). I will be making those for my Solstice celebration.

Thanks for the inspiration to make these again. I had forgotten how easy and impressive they were.

[stephanie]

"The Gourmet next Door" Amy, (which is a horrible show IMO, but I watched it yesterday for lack of anything else on) happened to do both a savory and a sweet rendition of exactly this on yesterday's show. I remember thinking that I should go onto the Food Network's site and grab the recipe...

Thanks for saving me the trouble, Michael!

[Connor]

Can the eggs be added to the dough in a food processor instead of a standing / hand mixer, or does the latter work better? If I'm not mistaken, Jacques Pepin recommends finishing the dough in a food processor in his newest cookbook...

[growler]

Connor, you must have missed this, the same way I did when I first glanced at the entry:

"This recipe can be made all in the same pot using a stiff wood spoon, but it’s easier, and the dough puffs more, if you use a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer to beat in the eggs."

[Bill Burge]

Our local foodie magazine in St.Louis, Sauce Magazine, just this month did a piece on pâte à choux with the all too true statement:

"I’ve often wondered why pâte à choux sits on the bench while puff pastry plays first string in most bakers’ lineups. After all, pâte à choux (pronounced paht-a-shoo) rises just as impressively and with substantially less work."

And so it does.

http://www.saucemagazine.com/article/16

[Tags]

So, pets de nonne means “nun’s farts.”

Kinda lends new meaning to the term "teacher's pets," especially in Catholic schools.

Shoo, Tags, shoo!

[Connor]

Hey Growler -- I'm curious about the difference in making pate a choux with a food processor (which Ruhlman's post doesn't mention) versus a stand mixer or hand mixer. My first instinct is that the blade of the food processor would deflate the eggs more than a paddle attachment on a mixer, but I'm curious whether it makes a difference.

[ruhlman]

i've never made it in a food processor, but i agree, seems to me you would both cut the gluten and slice the air pockets. and even if you do use a processor, you'll spend more time cleaning blade and bowl than you would if you were to simply beat in the eggs by hand which wouldn't be worse than using a cuisinart.

and darcie, i forgot about the classic pommes dauphine, potatoes mixed with pate a choux and piped and fried! thanks! i still remember bianca my friend at table one in skills doing hers for a practical and their not puffing enough. bianca, where are you?!

[realitybites]

Those black and white pictures are gorgeous. Your wife sure is a wonderful photographer.

I love making pâte a choux. Once I made egg salad sandwiches by slicing my little puffs in half then filling them with the cooked egg mix.

The egg-based pastry goes great with the egg filling.

[mike pardus]

Hi MR,
RE: "the cool mechanics of the egg with it’s ability to trap air bubbles and puff"

Are you sure about this? When piping out the choux you dont see any air bubbles, it's thick and dense. My assumption has always been that the egg adds structure to the dough (along with the gluten developed by beating) and that when the trapped water turns to steam it is held in by the egg/gluten structure, forcing the rise to occur.

I tend not to like the food processor idea because it feels like it would shear the gluten, but not because of any effect on air bubbles.

Thoughts?

[realitybites]

I just made some puffs using half the recipe. I blended the eggs into the dough with a hand mixer. Then I dropped them by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet to bake. They turned out great--not quite as pretty looking as Ruhlman's though. I could blame the camera (cheap), the photographer (me), or the cook (again me).

Picture of puffs: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&friendID=17954197

[Connor]

Thanks, Ruhlman. I checked this morning and the food processor tip for making pate a choux is from Jacques Pepin but not from his latest cookbook. It's from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. The only time I've made pate a choux (for gougeres) was with a food processor, and they turned out well, but next time I'll try my mixer.

[wezil]

Like realitybites I also ran home and made a half batch (almost exactly the same way). So simple yet so pleasing. Now my mind is swimming with different possible variations. Combining the last 2 Elements blog post and filling the Pate a Choux with custard. How about replacing some of the water with Grand Marnier? Shredded ham and gruyere? Thank for all the hard work Ruhlman.

Brad

[ruhlman]

brad, i think filling it with a custard is a splendid idea--it would make it a much denser richer cream puff. i've filled them with creme patisserie and they're excellent.

michael, yes, i'm pretty sure you are whipping air into the mixture, even though it is dense. i'm not near my mcgee so can't check. but just because you can't see the air doesn't mean there isn't air. when you cream butter and sugar air gets whipped into the mixture, no, increasing its volume and making the butter more pale.

[Pookha]

I first made these when I was ten. I had a cookbook with pictures to follow, and no one to tell me I couldn't do it (Mother was a wise woman--and she wanted someone else to learn to take over the cooking). They turned out a little misshapen, but were otherwise wonderful. I've practiced a lot since then. Crab salad is a lovely filling.

I'm a wooden spoon mixer for this--maybe someday I'll graduate. And I definitely want to try the gnocchi parisienne.

[sheila]

So, am I dense, or is it possible to make these just by mixing by hand?

[ruhlman]

i think i say in the post that you can incorporate the eggs using a stiff spoon in the pot you cook the water-butter-flour in.

[Frederick]

Michael,

First of all, thanks for this blog. I just finished "Making" and the essays in "Elements." I'm getting ready to start "Soul" tonight sometime. I owe you some thanks for leading me back to cooking...one of my greatest loves.

I work for a french wine import company called Robert Kacher Selections and have the opportunity to travel to Burgundy every year. The gougeres there are like none I have ever tasted. Many of our growers offer them to us when we arrive at their domaine. Some time ago, my mother was given a recipe from our of our grower's wives. I wanted to share it with you and with the rest of the bloggers.

Question, though: Assuming that one made the same recipe each time, what would make the gougeres light and puffy on certain occasions and somewhat flat (in height) and gooey on other occasions? I make this same recipe each time, and the results are occasionally inconsistent.

Thanks, again. If you are ever in the Salisbury, North Carolina area (near Charlotte), I hope you post it on the site.

GOUGERES a la Maison Corriher

(Choux Pastries with Cheese)

Makes 24 to 36 pastries, depending on the size

4 oz butter, cubed

½ tsp salt (I use sea salt)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 oz plain flour, sifted

4 eggs (reg size) or 2-3 lg eggs

4 oz grated Gruyere or Comte cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix 8 oz of water, the butter, salt, and cayenne in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once, beating vigorously until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Leave the mixture to cool slightly, then whisk in the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat in the cheese and mix well.

Drop the mixture, one tablespoon (I use a teaspoon for the two bite size) at a time, on to a well-greased baking sheet (I use Pam).

Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden. The gougeres should be crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Leave to cool on a wire rack, but we like them warm.

You can make the batter early and refrigerate it until ready to use. If you do not use it all at one time, it will keep for another day as well.

**Special note: Use caution when adding the eggs one at a time. The size of the egg really makes a difference. I have used large eggs and the mixture is soupy and I had to start over again. The dough should not be runny like batter, closer to a bread dough. When you reach that consistency in making the mixture, stop adding the eggs.

***Some recipes call for a pinch of nutmeg, but we are not wild about nutmeg in our house except in dessert.

[carri]

Frederick, I would say that the age of your eggs could have something to do with your inconsistent outcomes...oven temp, too...not baking the choux long enough will cause them to fall and be gummy.

[kevin]

The last time I made gougeres I used gruyere and added some minced prosciutto -- they vanished from the plate.

[Annie]

I still have the page from an early 1980s Woman's Day Magazine for an "Almond Cream-Puff Ring." You make the choux paste (although the recipe never calls it that) and drop it by spoonfuls into a ring on baking parchment. After the ring bakes and cools, you slice it in half horizontally and fill it with a mixture of vanilla instant pudding, whipped cream, and a little almond extract. Then you drizzle it with a chocolate glaze. I like Brad's idea of using custard--it would update this recipe nicely.

[Maryann]

My mother taught me how to make these for cream puffs. We beat each egg into the batter by hand which is quite a workout! Then we fill with beautiful pastry cream. Some we half dip in chocolate. Happy Holidays to you and yours, Michael :)

[Bob delGrosso]

Michael R

I'm not sure which is more impressive. Donna's photo of the section of that profiterole or the suspicion that it's a photo of a profiterole that you made yourself.

On a technical note, I can't believe that beating eggs into warm dough brings in much air. However, you are certainly bringing in quite a bit or water and the ability of egg protein to form expandable cells.

Mike Pardus
I agree with you about the food processor and I agree with Ruhlman too. You can use the fp for this, but you have to use it very fast so you don't tear up the gluten. But even if you do everything right, you've got a damned awful mess to clean up. Tell me what's lousier than cleaning a food processor. A meat grinder perhaps?

Frankly, I can't think of any reason in the world why you can't beat in the egg into small
batches with a wooden spoon. That way you've only got two things to clean: the pot and the spoon. Duh.

[Bob delGrosso]

Annie
The dish you describe is called a
"Paris Brest" in honor of a train route I think.
It's typically made with butter-cream but I've seen it made with pastry cream with whipped cream folded in.

[Carolina Girl]

At last a practial use for the trivia my chef had in Bakeshop..... Paris Brest, as she explained, was a bicycle race and the tire is represented by the circle. Bob, have you heard this one or was she being all Jeopardy sabotage on us? ;)

[Annie]

Bob & Carolina Girl,

I Googled "Paris Brest," and sure enough this pastry was named in honor of a bicycle race between Paris and Brest, with the choux ring representing a tire. Now I am going to have to make one. Thanks!

[Aaron]

I love pate choux! I'm surprised nobody has mentioned churros. 'tis the season for churros and mexican hot chocolate.
One of my favorite ways to use pate choux is to make gougeres and use them as mini hamburger buns. Great cocktail appetizer: mini kobe hamburgers with bleu cheese mousse and sriracha ketchup.
As for Paris brest, I've always baked mine with sliced almonds on top, filled with pastry cream and dusted with powdered sugar.

[pat clemente]

Hi all,
The basics really do not change--I got out my old hand written recipe book that I copied from my mom,over fifty years ago, and it is the same one, complete with cream filing. The gougeres variation sounds great. I'm going to try it for a Christmas party. Thanks. Ive read about Paris-Brest but never tried it. Maybe now I will. Thanks. When do you add the mashed potatoe in that version????

[Egaeus]

Ruhlman, I think I have my next great experiment: gluten-free pate a choux. I've had the supermarket crap like creme horns (back in the wheat days) and boxed creme puffs at the Chinese buffet. Even though it was horrid and nothing I ever wanted again, I thought that there was so much potential amidst all of the suck, but was too ignorant and ill-informed to know where to start. Now it's a different challenge. I guess I'll start with recipes from the web, and the good ol' stand mixer and I will work though flour mixes and xanthan gum until I get something edible. Of course, suggestions from the peanut gallery wouldn't be turned down. :)

PS I'm loving the Elements of Style. I'm glad I gave TNIC a chance so that through it I was introduced to you and your writing and your blog. Your books are a great resource, and I now have McGee and The New Professional Guess on my wish list (though McGee has been there since reading I'm Just Here for the Food).

[Egaeus]

Guess? What the heck kind of typo is that. Chef, dangit!

[shuna fish lydon]

Hello Michael,

I taught an entire 3+ hour class last year on pate a choux. My very favoritest thing to talk about is where the name of the pastry came from.

When you pipe the dough in little mounds with a rounded top, they bake to look like tiny cabbages, hence the name.

I also like to make this metaphor: when piping pate a choux it reacts much the same as clay does. If your hand/ piping bag are tilted in any particular direction, thus your dough will bake in that direction.

Lastly, as a gougere is a French pastry, the cheese would always be a French one (like Gruyere or Emmenthaler), not an Italian one. In fact the cheese's moisture content is an important one when it comes to how the gougeres bake and hold their upright position in an oven and later, when cooling.

I know too much about this. Just ask TK or SD.

[Doodad]

I made grougeres last night for the first time as a practice for Christmas dinner. They are fantastic. What a simple and delicious foil for so many things. I am going to put creamed spinach and had in them for the big dinner and sprinkle with cheese for a bigger cheese punch.

Thanks for teaching me this.

[Bob delGrosso]

I'll bet you picked up the misconception about eggs from the CIA. There were a lot of people there who referred to eggs as "leavening agents" they are not.

A true agent of leavening is anything that is capable of expanding perforce inside of dough. Here's a short list of "true leavens."

air
water
CO2
Alcohol

Stuff like yeast, baking powder, baking soda eggs are not "true leavens" per se. None of these are capable of causing expansion via the exertion of pressure on their own -not much anyway.

Rather, they are the means by which true leavening agents are produced or introduced into the dough and should not be called leavens, leavening agents or leaveners, in my opinion.

I think they are more accurately described as "leavening agent delivery systems." Hey that's a catchy name.(not) How about "LADS"?

[doodad]

So, if I am going to add moisture in either the form of creamed spinach or say a flavored fluid, would I subtract some water? Or add with the understanding that they may not rise as well? In the case of creamed spinach, how would you go about that?

[ruhlman]

doodad, while you could use a flavored liquid in place of water or milk, i wouldn't add creamed spinach to the dough itself. you might use creamed spinach as a filling, but it would be tricky to use in the dough.

[Aaron]

This week I just replaced bread for dinner service with gougeres. So far so good. Two days and nobody whining for bread and butter. Here's a tip I've come up with: instead of the usual bake at high heat for 8-10 minutes and turn down the heat and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, try this:
Pipe your gougeres on a silicone lined baking sheet like normal and then place in the cooler until chilled. Bake in a convection oven set at 375 degrees for 18 minutes. They'll puff just a touch more without blowing out and they'll come out lighter and more even in color. Like I said, so far so good.
Bob,
Funny you commented on the eggs and true leavens. I ask a lot of young and not-so-young chefs what leavens gougeres and they always start with eggs, then butter, then flour, then salt!? Stumps them every time.

[bob]

My favorite recipe with the stuff is faux eclairs... the filling is whipped up pate (fois if you got it), the "choco sauce" is actually darker-than-hell demi spiked with black truffles. patent pending! (heheh)

[delilahboyd]

I studied with Roland Mesnier and Mark Ramsdell, and I note that you and commenters leave out a crucial element: smell.

Choux paste isn't ready to pipe until it no longer smells like flour.

This is also true for pastry cream.

Keep stirring, y'all.

Love the blog!