Pâte à choux is the most famous of all pastry doughs.
Developed in the court of Catherine de Medici, in 1540, pâte à choux contains only eggs, flour, butter and water, yet it forms the base of the most delectable pasties in the world. If you’ve eaten a cream puff or an éclair, you’ve eaten pâté à choux. Once you master the technique, a new world of pastry awaits.
Instructions
1. Measure 2 cups of milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan and add 1 cup of butter. Do not substitute margarine for the butter in this recipe. Heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a boil. Remove from the heat and set on a safe heat-proof surface.
2. Add 8 ounces of bread flour all at once to the hot liquid, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the mixture forms a ball around your spoon and pulls away from the edges of the pan. This process takes about 3 minutes, depending upon your burner heat. Be careful so as not to scorch the dough.
3. Transfer the thickened mixture to a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
4. Break eight eggs into a small bowl and with the mixer running; add the eggs, a couple at a time, to the dough. Beat after each addition until the mixture appears smooth and shiny, approximately one minute.
5. Pipe the finished pastry dough from a pastry bag into your desired shapes and bake at 350 degrees until the puffs are golden in color, approximately 50 minutes. Limit the thickness of the dough to 1-inch in diameter.
Tags: until mixture, stirring constantly