The pastry base for all the delicious French pastries – eclairs, cream puffs, gougères, profiteroles – this easy 5-ingredient pâte à choux is light, airy, crisp and wonderful shell for any filling you desire. Whether sweet or savory, you cannot go wrong with this deceptively simple dough with the complicated name.
OK, so what is pâte à choux and how do you say it? Pâte à choux (pronounced like “pat a shoe”) is usually referred to as choux dough or choux paste.
Pâte à choux literally translates to cabbage paste because when it bakes, it puffs like a little head of cabbage. Think of a craggy cream puff in your local Italian market – little delicious cabbages!
Ingredients
Choux dough has only 5 basic ingredients, what makes it special is the method to make it.
- Bread flour. You can also use all-purpose flour, however I prefer to use bread flour for the sturdiness it provides. Nothing worse than a soggy eclair!
- Eggs. The most important ingredient, we need it to create a puff!
- Butter.
- Water.
Testing Choux
Even though it’s a simple recipe, I still wanted the best possible choux dough. The classic ingredients are all-purpose flour, butter, water and eggs. Not very complicated!
I tested with extra yolks and extra egg whites. Not as good! I wanted to test them with a little sugar and with milk to create a richer dough. However, I discovered that the sugars in the milk browned the dough too quickly – the inside didn’t set well before the exterior browned.
Next, I tried with 50% water and 50% milk. This was a much better result. The interior set nicely and didn’t brown too much this time.
Finally, I tested with the classic water-based dough. Honestly, this is still my favorite! Without fillings, I would prefer the 50/50 dough, however the water based version was a bit crisper shell for our fluffy fillings.
If you prefer a richer pastry, feel free to swap half the water for milk, it works well too!
How to Make Choux Dough
Choux dough is very unique because it is one of the only doughs that is cooked twice. First, the ingredients (without the egg) are cooked on the stovetop.
Similar to using a roux to thicken a sauce, this gelatinizes the starch in the flour creating a structure that can stretch and puff into a delightfully airy pastry. This article is a great scientific explanation, or let’s call it magic.
Through this post, I will give you a great visual step-by-step tutorial to demystify the process!
Stovetop Step
The first step to make choux dough is to cook it on the stovetop. Heat the water in a small saucepan to begin. Once it comes to a boil, take the pan off the heat and dump in all the flour in one go. The flour will look more like oatmeal for a few seconds, don’t be alarmed!
Return to the heat and stir until a smooth dough comes together and leaves a slight film on the bottom of the pot. This should take a little less than a minute.
Egg Addition Step
Next, to add the eggs. The eggs are critical because they provide the structure to hold the puffed dough. And the right amount of eggs is key. Too many eggs and you will have a runny, eggy pancake. Too little egg and the puffs will collapse.
How to know when there is enough egg? The amount provided in the recipe is a good guideline, however you should take your cues from the dough itself. Add beaten eggs to the dough in small additions until you lift your spatula and the dough falls off leaving a “V” shape (see photo above).
When to add the eggs? Well, it’s all about timing. Best is for the dough to be just slightly warm, but not HOT. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes after cooking on the stovetop to cool slightly. It lets the eggs incorporate nicely without creating scrambled eggs.
Piping & Baking Choux
Exactly what you want to make will determine how you spoon out your choux dough.
For round puffs, you can use a spoon or cookie dough/muffin scoop to divide out the dough.
For eclairs, a piping bag fitted with a ~1/2″ wide piping tip is great (I use an Ateco 807 tip). No piping bag? No problem. Use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut to create the same effect!
Once you have piped the desired shape, go back through and soften any peaks with a finger dipped in water. This will ensure a nice round final result.
Baking Choux
Baking choux is the most exciting part – watching the little puffs grow! Bake your choux dough in a very hot oven to start to create a great steam spring!
Then turn down the temperature to let the interior finish baking. Do not open of the oven until the shells are baked through, they will drop!
Once baked, remove the shells and turn off the oven. Cut a tiny slit in the side to allow the steam to escape. Return the pan to the OFF oven and allow the puffs to cool in the oven to really dry out the interiors and ensure a nice crisp pastry.
Tips of Choux Pastry
- Egg amount is key. Add enough beaten egg so the dough falls from a spoon in a “V” shape.
- High temp baking. Start on a high temperature to create an initial spring, then turn the oven down.
- Do not open oven. Don’t open the oven until the puffs are baked through.
- Cooling. Cut a slit in the side of the baked choux to allow steam to escape and finish cooling in an OFF oven.
How to use Choux Pastry
Wondering what to do now that you know how to make the choux dough? Your options are endless. Here are a few suggestions below:
- Add cheeses to the unbaked dough to make gougères. Gruyere is a common option, but think about making a Parmesan or cheddar version, or even a cacio e pepe version with cracked black pepper.
- Make a batch of pastry cream and make eclairs – coffee eclairs are a great spin!
- Mix whipped cream with your pastry cream and fill for Italian style cream puffs. Try these fun pumpkin pie cream puffs too!
- Place a scoop of ice cream in the center and cover with chocolate syrup for amazing profiteroles.
Frequently Asked Questions
This will depend on your finished product. For smaller sized puffs, I scoop a 1.5″ mound of dough. For extra large cream puffs a 2.5″ mound. For eclairs a 4.5″ log. Adjust as your desire, just remember the size will puff a LOT.
I go through my testing above, but I recommend a 50/50 mix of water to milk if you prefer a richer pastry.
You can use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour, but the final texture will be slightly softer.
Likely too much egg was added. Add the eggs slowly in small amounts until you have a shiny dough that is still pipeable. The ideal texture should fall off the spoon in a “V” shape.
Even if you already added the 3 full eggs, you may need to add a bit more for the perfect dough.
Either the eggs were added when the dough was too hot and scrambled or the mixture just needs to be mixed further.
It’s totally normal! Keep mixing until the egg is incorporated. It will turn into a smooth dough.
Basic Pâte à Choux (Choux Pastry)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup water
- 85 g unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 90 g bread flour
- 3 large eggs beaten, room temperature
Instructions
- In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt over medium heat. Stir with spatula or wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil.3/4 cup water, 85 g unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Take pan off heat and pour in flour all in one motion (flour will look slightly like oatmeal at first). Return to medium heat and stir until the mixture forms a smooth, solid dough and leaves a slight film on the bottom of the pan. About 30-60 seconds.90 g bread flour
- Transfer dough to the bowl of a stand-mixer or large bowl. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes – until mixture is barely warm.
- With stand-mixer paddle, or wooden spoon, add the beaten eggs in several small additions. Mixture will look gloopy until the egg is incorporated, keep stirring. Add enough egg until the mixture falls from the spoon or paddle leaving a smooth "V" shape of dough behind.3 large eggs
- Once the egg is added, continue mixing until the mixture is shiny and smooth, another minute or two.
- Dough can be used according to recipe directions or follow steps below.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Spoon or pipe dough as desired. To pipe dough, place in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2" round piping tip*. -Pipe 12 small puffs in 1.5" round mounds-Pipe 8 large cream puffs in 2.5" round mounds.-Pipe 4.5" long, 1" wide eclair logs, about 16.
- Use a finger dipped in water to smooth any peaks down.
- Bake for 15 minutes in a 425°F (220°C) oven. Turn heat down to 350°F (175°C) and bake another 8-10 minutes for small puffs, or 10-12 minutes for large puffs, 3-5 minutes for eclairs, until golden brown. Do not open oven until pastry looks browned.
- Remove pan and turn oven off. Pierce the sides of the cooked pastries with a small knife to release the steam. Return to the off oven and allow to cool with the door cracked for 15-20 minutes to allow the pastry to dry out inside.
- Once cooled, fill immediately as desired just before serving.
Notes
- *Ziploc bag with the corner cut will work in place of a piping bag.
- Choux dough should be baked immediately after making.
- Baked, unfilled choux pastry can be stored in an air-tight container and frozen for up to 3 months.
- Fill pastry shells just before serving for best texture.
- Refresh shells in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 3-5 minutes if necessary to re-crisp before filling.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
