Sweet Or Savory Pate A Choux Food

SWEET OR SAVORY PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Boil water, butter and salt or sugar.
• Remove from heat and add flour; stir quickly and return to heat.
• Keep stirring until all flour is mixed in and dough forms a ball.
• Move dough into the bowl of a stand mixer; let cool for 5-7 minutes.
• With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time; make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding another.
• After all eggs are mixed in and dough is smooth, put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Pipe golfball size shapes, 2 inches apart on parchment lined sheet pan.
• Wet a finger and smooth any points or they may burn.
• Cook at 425 for 10 minutes, then drop temperature down to 350 and bake 10 more minutes or until golden brown.
• Once they are removed from the oven, pierce them with a paring knife, or slice open to release steam.

SWEET CHOUX PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
• Put 1 1/2 cups/375 ml water, the butter, sugar and salt in a roomy saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once, beating until it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Return the pan to the heat for a minute or two and beat to dry it out a little. (Removing moisture will allow the paste to absorb more egg, which will ultimately make the puffs lighter.)
• Remove the pan from the heat. Beat in the eggs, the equivalent of one at a time, until fully incorporated. (Do not try to add them at once because they can't be incorporated quickly enough, it makes a total mess, and furthermore you may not need all of them.) After the third addition of egg, add only enough to make dough that will fall, glossy and heavy, from the spoon. Beat in the vanilla. Spoon the dough into a piping bag.
• Mix a bit of milk into any remaining egg (if no egg left, use only milk). Have at the ready with a pastry brush for glazing. Pipe the dough into evenly-sized (about 1 inch/2.5 cm) balls on a nonstick baking sheet, leaving a good 2 inches/5 cm between them so they have room to expand. Brush the tops with the glaze and press the snouts down with a fingertip. Bake until puffed up, light, dry and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, so they can breathe all around and will keep their shape and not go soggy.

SWEET OR SAVORY PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425°F and adjust oven rack to the middle. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Place the water, butter, and salt in a 3-quart saucier, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add all of the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, about 1 minute. Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 5 minutes to cool, or until there is no more steam rising. With the mixer still on low speed, add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding another. You will need to stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment. Before adding the last egg white, check the mixture for consistency: It should tear slightly as it falls from the beater, creating a"V" shape. The mixture may only need 1 egg white.
• Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plastic coupler and a round tip. Pipe a little of the mixture into the four corners under the parchment paper to hold it in place on the sheet pans.
• Pipe the mixture into 2 1/2-inch-long strips on the parchment, 4 rows of 6. Use a clean dampened finger to smooth any tips left from piping.
• Place the sheet pan of eclairs in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 more minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately pierce the bottom of each eclair with a paring knife to release steam. Repeat with the remaining eclairs. Let cool completely before filling.

PâTE à CHOUX PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently to encourage the butter to melt. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, add the flour all at once and stir rapidly with a spatula until the mixture forms a thick paste and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
• Remove from the heat. Wait for 2 minutes, stirring the paste a couple of times to cool it slightly, then vigorously beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated before adding the next. (I do this by hand, but some folks prefer to use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.)
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch (1-cm) tip, pipe the choux paste into mounds 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) high on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Or, use 2 teaspoons to drop the paste into mounds.
• If you want puffs with a shiny glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk and brush the tops of the puffs without letting the glaze drip down the sides, which will inhibit rising.
• Bake until the puffs are golden brown on the tops and sides, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them rest in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and poke each puff in the side with a paring knife so that it releases its steam. Let cool completely.
• Pâte à choux puffs can be stored at room temperature for several hours. I prefer not to freeze them because there is a noticeable difference in quality between fresh and frozen puffs, but if you have leftovers, you can freeze them for up to 1 month and recrisp them in a low oven before serving.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Using a large pot, bring the Water, Butter, Sugar and Salt to a boil over high heat.
• Chef's Note: It is important to cube the Butter into small pieces so that it melts completely before the Water comes to a full boil. If the Water boils too soon, there will be too much evaporation and the final dough will be too dry.
• As soon as the Water reaches a boil, add the Bread Flour in a single addition. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture over medium-high heat until a homogeneous dough forms. Continue to actively stir the dough over the heat ("Dessecher") until it forms a ball that easily pulls away from the side of the pot - approximately two to three minutes.
• Chef's Note: When adding the dry ingredients, stir aggressively - the dough should form quickly. Cooking the dough mixture for a couple of minutes causes the starches in the Bread Flour to gelatinize and also dries the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat the dough on medium speed for several minutes, releasing heat and steam. While the dough cools, beat the Eggs and Egg Yolks together in a separate bowl and set aside.
• Once the dough is no longer hot, add the Eggs in no fewer than six additions. After each addition, mix the dough until the Egg is completely incorporated. When all of the Eggs have been added, the dough should be slightly fluid (i.e. when a trench is drawn through the center of the dough, it should fill back in within a couple of seconds).
• Chef's Note: It is important that the dough cools slightly before the Eggs are added or else the Eggs will cook. However, if the dough is too cold, the Eggs will not mix in well.
• Form and bake the Pate a Choux according to the specific recipe. Most pastries made with Pate a Choux are baked in a high temperature oven (i.e. 400+ degrees Fahrenheit) for over 20 minutes.