Ordinary Pâte à Choux

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (2.8 litre) heavy saucepan
• •Sturdy wooden spoon
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •13 by 18-inch (33 by 46 cm) baking sheet
• •Piping bag with a 1/2-inch (12 mm) plain tip
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the kitchen

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), or 360°F (180°C) with a fan, and line a 13 by 18-inch (33 by 46 cm) baking sheet with parchment. Sift the flour onto a sheet of paper so it can go into the pan in one movement. Crack the eggs into two small bowls, two eggs in each; together they should weigh close to 200 g without shells.

2. 2

   Boil the foundation

   Put the water, butter, salt, and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt completely, then bring the liquid to a full rising boil. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it surges upward. The flour must meet boiling liquid, but prolonged boiling throws away water and disturbs the proportions.

3. 3

   Dry the panade

   Tip in all the sifted flour at once and beat firmly with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Return the pan to medium-low heat and work the panade, the flour paste cooked on the stove, for 2 to 4 minutes. It is ready when it gathers into one smooth mass, stops clinging to the spoon, leaves a thin film across the pan, and shows the faintest bead of butter at the edge. If the butter runs out in a puddle, the heat is too fierce. Remove the pan and beat until the fat is absorbed, then return it to gentler heat. Ça se rattrape.

   Drying is the step that decides the lift. A wet panade cannot hold the prescribed eggs without spreading, while an overcooked one turns greasy and tight.
4. 4

   Beat in the eggs

   Take the pan from the heat and beat the panade for 1 minute to release its fiercest heat. Add the first two eggs together, exactly as the formula directs, and beat until every trace is absorbed before adding the second pair. The paste will separate into slippery pieces at first. Keep beating; it will gather into a smooth, glossy mass that falls from the raised spoon in a heavy ribbon. If it still looks curdled, it usually needs more beating, not more flour.

5. 5

   Rescue loose paste

   If the finished paste pours like batter instead of dropping heavily from the spoon, the panade was underdried. Do not stir in raw flour. Make a corrective panade with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) water, 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, and 1/4 cup (60 ml / 28 g) flour. Dry it firmly, cool it for a minute, then beat it into the loose paste one spoonful at a time until the proper heavy ribbon returns. You may not need all of it.

6. 6

   Add orange flower

   Beat in the orange-flower water only after all four eggs have disappeared into the paste. This final addition preserves the book's sequence and gives the ordinary sweet paste its quiet floral note. The pâte à choux is now complete and ready to shape.

7. 7

   Pipe the puffs

   Transfer the paste to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (12 mm) plain tip. Pipe 24 mounds about 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) wide, leaving 2 inches (5 cm) between them. Hold the bag upright and stop squeezing before lifting it away. Press down any sharp tips with a fingertip dipped in water so they do not scorch. Two spoons will also shape honest little puffs if you have no piping bag.

8. 8

   Bake until hollow

   Bake for 15 minutes without opening the door. Reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C), or 320°F (160°C) with a fan, and continue for 18 to 22 minutes, until the puffs are deeply golden, rigid at the sides, and light when lifted. Pale choux collapses because its walls have not set. Turn off the oven, prick each puff once near its base, and return the tray for 5 to 10 minutes with the door slightly ajar to dry the interiors.

9. 9

   Cool before filling

   Cool the shells completely on a rack before cutting or filling them. If they soften as they stand, bake them again at 350°F (180°C) for 5 minutes and cool once more. Keep fillings separate until close to serving so the shells retain their crisp, delicate walls. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Weigh the flour and eggs if you can. Four modern large eggs should give about 200 g without shells, an honest equivalent for the source's fair-sized eggs; much larger eggs can loosen this small batch beyond what the panade can carry.
• •Orange-flower water is not orange extract. It is floral rather than sharply citrus, and it belongs in this particular formula. Add it last, after the eggs, because the sequence is part of the paste.
• •A wooden spoon is enough. The original batch needed considerable muscle because it held sixteen eggs; quartering the quantity removes that brigade burden without changing the technique.
• •Judge baked choux by colour and weight, not the clock alone. It should be deep gold, firm along every ridge, and remarkably light. Pale shells may look finished, but they soften and collapse as they cool.

Advance Preparation

• •The finished paste can be held in a tightly closed piping bag in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Pipe it while cold and allow a few extra minutes in the oven.
• •Bake the shells a day ahead, cool them completely, and store them airtight. Restore their crispness at 350°F (180°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, then cool before filling.
• •Unfilled shells can be frozen for up to one month. Reheat them directly from frozen at 350°F (180°C) until crisp, then let them cool completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 14g)