How To Make Choux Pastry (pâte à choux)

Choux Paste variations and uses

Choux paste is a multifunction wonder and is the base for many popular desserts such as:

Profiterole and cream puffs – both are piped into a ball and filled. While profiteroles can be filled with anything: ice cream, sweet cream, stabilized whipped cream, and even savory fillings like cheese puffs, cream puffs are filled with sweet creams, like this Choux a la creme recipe, filled with Creme Legere, creme chiboust, or creme mousseline.

Eclairs – choux dough baked as a log, filled with cream, and dipped with chocolate ganache.

French crullers donuts – the paste is piped into a ring shape, then fried and dipped into a thick sweet glaze.

Churros – long logs fried in deep oil and then coated with cinnamon sugar.

Choux un craquelin – profiteroles pr cream puffs topped with a sweet cracker.

Chouquetts – the raw dough is topped with pearl sugar for added sweetness and texture.

Paris Brest – a ring-shaped choux pastry topped with almonds and filled with cream.

Croquembouche – small cream puffs piled into a tall cone. The pastries are dipped in caramel and swirled with crispy caramel threads.

Karpatka. A Polish classic mountain cake made of two layers of choux cakes and filled with cream.

The Science Of Choux Pastry

Please remember that although this is science, it is not rocket science, and after reading this paragraph, you will have a deep understanding of what and how to make the perfect choux pastry every time.

The perfect choux bun is light and puffy with a hollow interior. While its shell is sturdy enough to stretch without tearing, like a bread crust, it is also tender and pleasant to bite, like a buttery cake.

The fascinating thing about choux pastry is that it doubles its size during baking even though there is no chemical (baking powder, baking soda) or biological (yeast) leavening in the dough. A high moisture content is incorporated into the paste in a unique two-step mixing method that gives it its famous puffy quality.

Choux Pastry ratio

2 parts water :1 part butter: 1 part flour: 2 parts eggs.

This ratio is for grams and oz only; keep this ratio in mind when and when you wish to change the recipe. For example, the ratio is critical to the success of our french pastry dough: If we decide to use shortening instead of butter, we need to use 80% butter because it is 20% water.

The egg’s amount might vary depending on variables such as how long you cooked the dough, climate, and moisture in your kitchen. Read more to see how to tell if you need to add more eggs to your cabbage pastry.

Making the Panade

Panade is the term that refers to the process of cooking and thickening starches; for example, pastry cream or, in our case, choux pastry. We bring liquid and melted fat to a boil, add the flour, and cook until it reaches 175F. This step is how we achieve the perfect balance of sturdy, stretchy, tender, and delicate shells. First, the melted fat coats the flour granulates and minimizes the formation of tight gluten chains. Second, as the temperature rises, the starch molecules bounce around and absorb the liquids, and later during baking, they will release long chains that will coagulate (form a net) with each other and build a stable structure.

Cooking the panade to 175F

Many professional bakers cook the panade to a 175F (79C), and there are two main reasons for that:

1. Starches released into liquid immediately absorb it. At a temperature of 140F 60C, they swell and absorb even more liquid as they move around. But the gelatinization begins at a temperature of 204F (85C) when the starches release long chains that bond with each other and provide stability to the dough. Cooking the panade to 175F (79C) is finding the sweet spot between allowing the starches to reach maximum absorption without getting to the final gelatinization.
2. An enzyme called amylase in the starches tends to disturb them and break their structure. At a temperature of 170F 76C, the enzyme is inactivated.

The eggs role

The yolk is approx. 80% fat and will contribute to the tender texture of the pastry. But egg whites are more than 90% protein that can stretch and expand. They expand and stretch as the steam expands, puffing the pastry. However, because the steam pressure is consistent, it eventually breaks the protein chains (eggs and flour), giving the signature hollow interior.

And because it is exposed to heat directly, the egg whites tend to set faster and can resist the pressure from evaporation. 

Oven Temperature

Know your oven. The correct temperature is necessary to achieve perfectly puffed pastries. If the temperature is too low, there might not be enough pressure to stretch and puff the pastries, and we will end up with small or flat ones. If your oven runs too high, the pressure from the evaporation is too abrupt and will break the shell and give it an even appearance. Or, they will set fast before the steam has a chance to evaporate and turn out flat with no hollow.

Choux Ingredients

You only need four ingredients to make this versatile pastry dough:

• Liquid. You can use water, milk, or a combination of water and milk. The most common question is if we can use milk when making choux puffs. And the answer is yes, but the result will vary. Firstly, the milk will contribute to the browning of the pastries. Secondly, because milk’s boiling temperature is higher than water, evaporation will start later, resulting in a less puffy pastry with fewer hollows.
• Butter. Or your choice of fat oil, shortening, vegetable oil, margarine, and even vegan butter will work just fine. Keep in mind that butter provides a unique flavor that non of us cannot compare. Also, butter is about 4% milk solids, which like milk, contribute to the browning.

• Flour. Bread flour and unbleached all-purpose flour are both great options. The amount of protein (gluten) in the flour and its strength keep the sturdy form of the shells. The gelatinized starch is not enough to maintain balance. Avoid using bleach, cake, pastry flour, or self-rising flour. Check out my Pretzel Cream Puffs, for a surprising flour subsitution.
• Whole Eggs. Most recipes call for large eggs weighing 55 grams each in the states. Whenever possible, weigh your eggs before adding them to the dough. And always bring them to room temperature before use.
• Salt (optional). Even though it helps with flavor, it also strengthens the flour. It can be added if using unsalted butter, but ensure it is no more than 1% of the liquid. Too much salt will strengthen the gluten, and the pastry will not rise.

How to make Choux Pastry, by hand or using a stand mixer

Start by measuring your ingredients and bringing them to room temperature. You can make it by hand, using an eclectic or stand mixer.

Piping

When piping profiteroles, hold the bag about 1 inch over the pan at a 90-degree angle. Then gently press the dough, and do not move the bag until the dough reaches the tip. Moving the pastry bag up or down will create ruffles and misshape the choux buns.

Topping and finishes

Brushing the pastry pre-bake will add more browning and prevent over-splitting and cracking. Make sure to brush gently; it is excellent when you sprinkle pearl sugar or plan to serve the pastries with no topping, like craquelin or chocolate ganache.

Choux Making Tips

I’ve collected the essential tips for the best results, and I recommend carefully reading them before baking.

• Weight the ingredients. Cups and measuring spoons are not as prices as a kitchen scale, and the slightest difference can make or break the pastries.
• Use room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs will not incorporate well, and the pastries will not rise as tall.
• Sift the flour. Small lumps are not easy to distribute, and the paste might be clumpy.
• Use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the right temperature.
• I recommend baking profiteroles, cream puffs on dark baking sheets, choux au craquelin, and eclairs using light ones.
• Do not open the oven door during baking! It will deflate the pastries.
• Let cool in the oven door shut for 10 minutes (don’t open the door), then only crack open for another 20 minutes.
• Keep cool. Especially if this is the first time you are baking choux pastry, it might take one or two attempts before getting it right.
• To make chocolate cream puffs, replace 15% of the flour (10g) with cocoa powder.

Choux Pastry Troubleshooting Guide and FAQ

The panade is very oily.

You cooked the flour mixture long enough for the oil and water to split. That’s ok; it will come together when you add the eggs.

Runny dough that spreads too much

Here are the reasons for the dough to be runny and how to fix it:

1. You needed to add more flour. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour.
2. You should have cooked the panade longer. Use a kitchen thermometer or cook for an extra minute over low heat.
3. Too much egg. Firstly, weigh the eggs, add them in three or four parts and do the V test before adding the last portion.

The choux is too thick.

Same reasons and fixes and when it is too thin but the opposite way:

1. You added too much flour. Use a kitchen scale to measure it before adding.
2. You overcooked the panade, and as a result, the starches coagulated, and a lot of the moisture evaporated. Use a thermometer or pay attention to cook it only for a short time.
3. Not adding enough eggs. Add a drip (teaspoon) or beaten egg until you get the right consistency.

The pastry is deflated/collapsed.

You opened the oven door mid-baking or took them out too soon. Do not open the oven door and allow the pastries to cook in the oven. The door shut or slightly open.

Pastries did not puff.

1. The oven temperature was too low or too high. Use an oven thermometer to ensure the correct temperature, then increase or decrease the temperature.
2. Too much salt. Either skip the salt or pay attention when adding (should not be more than 0.1% of the amount of flour)

The Pastries are not hollow inside.

There are a few reasons why this might happen:

1. The oven temperature was too high, and the pastries were set before they could puff. Reduce the oven temperature, and bake on the middle oven shelf.
2. Too much moisture. Measure the amount of liquid and eggs, and cook the panade correctly.

Check out these recipes for some Choux pastry filling ideas

Boston cream donuts (pastry cream), Chocolate ganache, Brioche donuts (chocolate cream), Bavarian cream donuts (Bavarian cream).