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If you’re like “This? The ultimate guide? Right. Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin” then keep READING because there is no way in hell you won’t find here a little something that will help you get the most perfect choux, eclairs or Paris-Brest you’ve ever seen made.

I often say that when it comes to fundamentals, the recipe doesn’t matter too much as long as it’s an error free one. I mean, you could get very nice looking choux with dozens of other recipes but I’ll be damned if you use this one, follow the process and are not doing the happy dance in your kitchen when you see them come out of the oven. This recipe is from chef Bourgi, or rather his instagram page (@karimbourgi). It taste delicious even without a filling and even without the craquelin on top! The kids actually love to eat it without anything inside, unheard of for choux pastry which tends to be… well… pretty uninteresting on its own.

Choux pastry

Before we start doing anything, you need to have everything weighed and ready to go. Trust me, I am not always this uptight with weighing everything before baking but for this it really is a must and I’ll tell you why: pastry choux is like your youngest child, it is impatient, sensitive and it will throw a tantrum if not treated the way it wants. It does not like to wait when you’re cooking it, hydrating it (adding the eggs) or pipping it so yes, weigh everything before starting, the 250g of all purpose flour on one side. The 500g of eggs on the other side and everything else in the saucepan: 250g of milk, 250g of water, 250g of butter, 4g of salt, 4g of sugar, 3g of vanilla extract.

Once you’re ready, place the saucepan on the stove on medium. The butter needs to be cut in small pieces so that in can melt evenly. More importantly, it needs to be melted by the time the liquid comes to a shy boil (leaving the saucepan on the stove once the liquid is boiling will cause too much liquid to evaporate. In turn, you will end up with very different quantities than the recipe intended and will have to compensate hydrating the dough with more eggs).

When the butter is melted and the liquid has just started boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the stiffed flour in one go (again, do this away from the the heat source to prevent exaggerated evaporation of the liquid).

It is important for the liquid to boil so that the starch contained in the flour can ‘explode’ when hydrated by a boiling liquid. It is equally important to stiff the flour prior to adding it to the liquid. This will help tremendously obtain a smooth pastry choux, free of lumps.

Using a whisk or a wooden spatula mix vigorously until everything is combined. We call what’s obtained after this step a ‘panade’ in French. The panade now needs to be rapidly cooked on the stove to remove excess humidity (humidity we will add back in the form of eggs) but not too much either (the risk is to damage the starch resulting in a product that will color extremely fast in the oven).

Return the saucepan on the stove on high and dehydrate the dough. You need to stir using the wooden spatula continuously. The dough is dehydrated enough when a fine crust forms at the bottom of the saucepan, it no longer feels sticky to the touch, and it does not stick to the edges of the saucepan.

Transfer to the mixing bowl with the flat attachment and start mixing on medium speed. The dough needs to partially cooled down before adding the eggs to prevent them from cooking on contact. Once the dough is cooled but still a bit warm (you should no longer see any steam coming out of it) start adding the eggs.

Add the eggs slowly and with caution. Stop the mixer and using a rubber spatula mix the dough manually so that what’s on the edges is brought back to the middle. This is also the opportunity to check for the right consistency.

So how do we know the dough is hydrated enough? Is it too liquid? Should I add more eggs?

I know of two ways to check if the dough is at the right consistency:

• 1) The dough forms a peek when falling off the spatula.

• 2) MY favorite: a trench dug in the dough with your finger should close slowly. If it doesn’t close at all (meaning you still see the trench after a couple seconds) the choux pastry is too dry. If it closes very fast it is too liquid, you won’t be able to pipe it and it will have a very hard time rising in the oven (hello pancakes).

Once the pastry choux is ready, place into a pipping bag with the appropriate pipping bag depending on the product you are making. Pipe the choux pastry on a greased stainless steel baking tray or on a baking tray with a silicon mat. Avoid baking the choux on a piece of parchment paper (I find it tends to prevent the dough from rising).

If you are not using a craquelin, and still want to get a smooth surface (to glaze eclair afterwards for example), before baking spray the Choux pastry with pam oil and then dust with powdered sugar. This is the best method in my opinion to get a smooth surface. Egg wash will tend to make the choux or eclairs crack.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your product. Avoid very high temperatures as this will cause excessive development and cracks will form on top of the dough. Once the choux (or whatever else you are making) are baked, transfer to a cooling rack to allow the steam to escape and not make the bottom of the choux soggy. Some people recommend to let the end product air dy for 24 hours before using, I don’t usually do it, it’s up to you!

If using a convection oven (the one where air is circulated with a fan), I suggest to preheat the oven to 572°F. Place empty baking trays inside the oven. When it reaches 572°F, place the trays with the choux in the oven on top of the preheated baking trays. Turn off the oven to prevent the pushed air to deform the products. When the temperature goes down to 400F, turn the oven back on to finish baking.

Freeze me!

You can most definitely freeze choux pastry. In most cases I actually find it works better. I am not sure why, maybe the fact that it is frozen and cold when it goes in the oven (because yes, it works even better not thawed than thawed). It also takes out of the equation the pipping which means you will have perfectly identical choux, very helpful for cakes like Saint-Honoré for example.

To freeze choux, simply fill these moulds up (or similar ones) with choux pastry.

Once they are filled place in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen enough, unmould and place in a freezer bag. Seal, and keep in the freezer until you need it!

The day you want to make choux, simply take some out of the freezer, place on a tray, oil spray and dust with powdered sugar and bake right away! If you choose to place a craquelin, you will need to let the choux defrost a little so the craquelin can stick.

And there you have them… Unlimited perfect choux… every. single. time.

HELP:

• Choux pastry does not like to wait. Ideally you want to pipe it while it is still warm. But sometimes it has to wait, because there’s already is a tray in the oven. If that’s the case, it is better to leave it in the refrigerator in the pastry bag (filmed at the tip if opened) or filmed in the bowl.
• The eggs need to be at room temperature. It does not mean it won’t work if they are cold but you will have much better chances if they’re not.
• About the eggs, they need to be added slowly and gradually. There are many factors that will influence how much eggs you need regardless of the recipe which is just a guideline. The flour you use, how long you boiled the water/milk, how long you cook the dough on the stove after having incorporated the flour and even how humid your kitchen is.
• Add the eggs slowly! it’s easier to fix a dough that’s too dry rather than one that’s too wet.
• The oven! Some people will recommend to slightly open the over door at point A. The reason being to let some of the steam out so that the choux don’t crack. I never do. It is just too risky. Only open the oven door when you are certain the choux have baked enough. The outside crust need to be strong enough to retain it’s shape (and not flatten) so you should already be seeing some coloration before opening the oven door.
• The egg wash: it should be banned. It just makes everything crack as the eggy wash cooks. If you don’t want to use a craquelin, use oil spray and powdered sugar.
• The craquelin won’t only help the choux develop, it will also make it tastes much nicer.
• Choux deflate after baking? They were probably underbaked.
• Choux deflate during baking? Someone opened the oven door, letting the steam escape and so the choux can’t rise anymore.
• Choux don’t puff up at all? The dough is probably too liquid and spread out during baking instead of puffing up.
• Choux form irregular cracks on the top despite not using egg wash? The dough was probably too dry.
• Choux are not empty inside and are doughy? The dough was probably too liquid or underbaked.