Choux Pastry 101

Choux Pastry 101


Yields1 Serving

This is the ultimate guide to making perfect choux pastry at home with consistent results every time!

The secret is first using the right recipe, but also, freezing the choux in silicon molds. This creates uniform choux as they are all the same size and weight, so you get consistency with every bake. Freezing them also means they can be stored until they are needed, so the choux can be prepped well ahead of time!

As this is more of a guide, the amount of choux buns (or other shaped choux) the recipe makes really depends on what molds you use etc but it will be enough to make at least 12-14 choux buns. 

If you want to put your choux into action, then try these classic chocolate eclairs!


 


 

Ingredients


Choux Pastry
 125 g Water
 125 g Whole Milk
 4 g Caster/White Sugar
 4 g Fine Sea Salt
 110 g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
 140 g Strong White Bread Flour11-14% Protein Content
 250 g Whole EggsThoroughly whisked
Craquelin
 60 g Unsalted Butter, Slightly Soft
 65 g Light Brown Sugar
 65 g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
 35 g Ground Almonds/Almond Flour
Equipment

Method


Choux Pastry
1

Start by weighing all of your ingredients and adding them into separate bowls. This makes the process much more streamlined! 

2

Into a medium saucepan, add the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. The combo of water & milk will bring steam (water) to help the rise of the choux, while the milk will bring richness and help with the colour of the choux. 

3

Place it over a medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately remove it from the heat and sieve in the bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content so will result in a choux that is less likely to collapse as the dough develops more gluten. 

4

Whisk the flour in by hand, then firmly tap the whisk to get rid of any choux stuck in the wires. Place it back onto the heat, set to medium-low, and switch to a rubber spatula.

5

Stir the mixture constantly, cooking it for 2 minutes. After this time, a thin film should form on the bottom of the pan. The process of cooking the choux pastry ensures the starches are gelatinized which is necessary to create the required strength and elasticity in the dough. 

6

Once cooked, immediately tip it into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and mix on a low speed until the mixture cools to between 50-55C (122F-131F) on an instant-read digital thermometer (not a laser gun thermometer - that won't read it correctly). The temperature is important as the warm dough will help to properly emulsify the eggs when they are added. 

7

Ensure the eggs are thoroughly mixed so there are no streaks of egg white, and slowly begin pouring them into the mixer, still on a medium-low speed. It is important to add the eggs slowly so the flour has time to fully hydrate and is able to absorb the moisture from the eggs. 

8

Wait about 20-30 seconds between each egg addition. Overall I usually take around 3-4 minutes to add the eggs. The amount of egg you need to reach this consistency will depend on the flour you have used and the amount of moisture you cooked out in the pan, so you may not need all the egg mixture. As you get closer to the consistency you are looking for, add the egg in very very small increments. It may take some practice, but eventually, you will learn the visual consistency you are looking for. Check the video for the consistency I am referring to.

9

When the dough is ready, it will be glossy, smooth and hold a ribbon when you drizzle it from the beater. 

10

At this point, cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour. Note - as we are piping these into silicon molds, it's not essential to let it cool, but it makes it much more stable for piping (especially if hand piping the eclairs) so I try to avoid skipping this part. 

11

We are going to use silicon molds to ensure consistent results for the Choux buns, Paris Brest and Eclair. These are all linked in the equipment list. 

12

The amount of choux this recipe makes really depends on how you use it and what mold you use.

13

For the choux buns, pipe it into the half sphere silicon mold, then smooth the top with a palette knife. For the Paris Brest pipe it into the donut mold, filling it about halfway. For the eclair, pipe it into the eclair mold and smooth the top. 

14

If you don't have the eclair mold, you can also add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle (linked in the equipment list) and pipe a long line, on a tray lined with a silicon mat. Once the lines are frozen, you can then cut them down to size.

15

Once you have piped all the choux, place them in the freezer until they are solid - about 3-4 hours. They can also be stored in the freezer until needed. 

Craquelin
16

For the craquelin, add the soft butter to a bowl of a stand mixer along with the brown sugar. Beat on a medium speed until smooth - about 1-2 minutes, scraping down as needed.

17

Tip in the flour and ground almonds, and mix on a low speed until it pulls together into a dough. 

18

Scoop the mixture out and place it in between two silicon mats (or pieces of parchment paper) and roll it out (don't worry about the shape), until it is roughly 3-5mm thick. The thicker you go, the 'bigger' the cracking effect on the choux will be. If you go thinner, the cracking effect will be much finer. 

19

Place it into the freezer for 30 minutes (or longer if needed).

20

Once chilled, you need to work quickly as the craquelin will soften at room temperature. Peel off the silicon mats or parchment paper and then cut the required shapes. for the choux bun, you need to cut a disc bigger than the mold, roughly 60mm wide. For the Paris Brest, you need to cut a donut shape. Use a 70mm cookie cutter to cut a circle, then, the tip of a small round tip nozzle to cut the centre (about 12mm). Finally, for the eclair, you need to cut a rectangle, roughly 122x35cm (that is assuming your frozen eclair is around 112mm long)

21

Place these onto a silicon mat and freeze again. 

Baking
22

Once your choux has frozen, it is ready to bake. Now - if you have piped the eclairs by hand, you need to trim the long lines of choux dough down to size. Use a sharp knife to cut them so they are around 112m long/4.4". Keep these in the freezer while you pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F Non-Fan Assisted.

23

The best thing to bake choux pastry on, is a perforated tray with a perforated mat (linked in the equipment list). This will ensure even airflow, and also allow any excess steam to escape. Baking on silicon mats can make choux go a little soggy (I find!) but if you don't have these, a baking tray lined with parchment will do but just know a perforated mat/tray combo will result in a much much better final product. 

24

Take the frozen choux and pop them out of the silicon molds, and space them out evenly onto your lined tray. 

25

Take the craqeulin from the freezer and carefully balance it in the centre of the choux. This is a little tricky (especially for the choux buns) as both the choux and the craquelin are frozen so it makes it a little wobbly. But you really want to centre this as best as possible so that it doesn't flop to one side in the oven. 

26

Immediately place the tray into the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (this applies to Choux Bun, Eclair and Paris Brest). Do not open the oven door otherwise, the steam will be released from the choux and they will collapse. You can only open the oven once they look very golden. At this point the structure *should* have set so there is less danger that they will collapse. If your choux collapses - it's because you didn't bake them for long enough. 

27

Remove the golden choux from the oven and place them onto a wire rack. They can be filled fresh or frozen to be used another time. If you freeze them, place them back into a hot oven (175C/345F) for about 5 minutes to crisp them back up. 

Ingredients

Choux Pastry
 125 g Water
 125 g Whole Milk
 4 g Caster/White Sugar
 4 g Fine Sea Salt
 110 g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
 140 g Strong White Bread Flour11-14% Protein Content
 250 g Whole EggsThoroughly whisked
Craquelin
 60 g Unsalted Butter, Slightly Soft
 65 g Light Brown Sugar
 65 g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
 35 g Ground Almonds/Almond Flour
Equipment

Directions

Choux Pastry
1

Start by weighing all of your ingredients and adding them into separate bowls. This makes the process much more streamlined! 

2

Into a medium saucepan, add the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. The combo of water & milk will bring steam (water) to help the rise of the choux, while the milk will bring richness and help with the colour of the choux. 

3

Place it over a medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately remove it from the heat and sieve in the bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content so will result in a choux that is less likely to collapse as the dough develops more gluten. 

4

Whisk the flour in by hand, then firmly tap the whisk to get rid of any choux stuck in the wires. Place it back onto the heat, set to medium-low, and switch to a rubber spatula.

5

Stir the mixture constantly, cooking it for 2 minutes. After this time, a thin film should form on the bottom of the pan. The process of cooking the choux pastry ensures the starches are gelatinized which is necessary to create the required strength and elasticity in the dough. 

6

Once cooked, immediately tip it into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and mix on a low speed until the mixture cools to between 50-55C (122F-131F) on an instant-read digital thermometer (not a laser gun thermometer - that won't read it correctly). The temperature is important as the warm dough will help to properly emulsify the eggs when they are added. 

7

Ensure the eggs are thoroughly mixed so there are no streaks of egg white, and slowly begin pouring them into the mixer, still on a medium-low speed. It is important to add the eggs slowly so the flour has time to fully hydrate and is able to absorb the moisture from the eggs. 

8

Wait about 20-30 seconds between each egg addition. Overall I usually take around 3-4 minutes to add the eggs. The amount of egg you need to reach this consistency will depend on the flour you have used and the amount of moisture you cooked out in the pan, so you may not need all the egg mixture. As you get closer to the consistency you are looking for, add the egg in very very small increments. It may take some practice, but eventually, you will learn the visual consistency you are looking for. Check the video for the consistency I am referring to.

9

When the dough is ready, it will be glossy, smooth and hold a ribbon when you drizzle it from the beater. 

10

At this point, cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour. Note - as we are piping these into silicon molds, it's not essential to let it cool, but it makes it much more stable for piping (especially if hand piping the eclairs) so I try to avoid skipping this part. 

11

We are going to use silicon molds to ensure consistent results for the Choux buns, Paris Brest and Eclair. These are all linked in the equipment list. 

12

The amount of choux this recipe makes really depends on how you use it and what mold you use.

13

For the choux buns, pipe it into the half sphere silicon mold, then smooth the top with a palette knife. For the Paris Brest pipe it into the donut mold, filling it about halfway. For the eclair, pipe it into the eclair mold and smooth the top. 

14

If you don't have the eclair mold, you can also add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle (linked in the equipment list) and pipe a long line, on a tray lined with a silicon mat. Once the lines are frozen, you can then cut them down to size.

15

Once you have piped all the choux, place them in the freezer until they are solid - about 3-4 hours. They can also be stored in the freezer until needed. 

Craquelin
16

For the craquelin, add the soft butter to a bowl of a stand mixer along with the brown sugar. Beat on a medium speed until smooth - about 1-2 minutes, scraping down as needed.

17

Tip in the flour and ground almonds, and mix on a low speed until it pulls together into a dough. 

18

Scoop the mixture out and place it in between two silicon mats (or pieces of parchment paper) and roll it out (don't worry about the shape), until it is roughly 3-5mm thick. The thicker you go, the 'bigger' the cracking effect on the choux will be. If you go thinner, the cracking effect will be much finer. 

19

Place it into the freezer for 30 minutes (or longer if needed).

20

Once chilled, you need to work quickly as the craquelin will soften at room temperature. Peel off the silicon mats or parchment paper and then cut the required shapes. for the choux bun, you need to cut a disc bigger than the mold, roughly 60mm wide. For the Paris Brest, you need to cut a donut shape. Use a 70mm cookie cutter to cut a circle, then, the tip of a small round tip nozzle to cut the centre (about 12mm). Finally, for the eclair, you need to cut a rectangle, roughly 122x35cm (that is assuming your frozen eclair is around 112mm long)

21

Place these onto a silicon mat and freeze again. 

Baking
22

Once your choux has frozen, it is ready to bake. Now - if you have piped the eclairs by hand, you need to trim the long lines of choux dough down to size. Use a sharp knife to cut them so they are around 112m long/4.4". Keep these in the freezer while you pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F Non-Fan Assisted.

23

The best thing to bake choux pastry on, is a perforated tray with a perforated mat (linked in the equipment list). This will ensure even airflow, and also allow any excess steam to escape. Baking on silicon mats can make choux go a little soggy (I find!) but if you don't have these, a baking tray lined with parchment will do but just know a perforated mat/tray combo will result in a much much better final product. 

24

Take the frozen choux and pop them out of the silicon molds, and space them out evenly onto your lined tray. 

25

Take the craqeulin from the freezer and carefully balance it in the centre of the choux. This is a little tricky (especially for the choux buns) as both the choux and the craquelin are frozen so it makes it a little wobbly. But you really want to centre this as best as possible so that it doesn't flop to one side in the oven. 

26

Immediately place the tray into the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (this applies to Choux Bun, Eclair and Paris Brest). Do not open the oven door otherwise, the steam will be released from the choux and they will collapse. You can only open the oven once they look very golden. At this point the structure *should* have set so there is less danger that they will collapse. If your choux collapses - it's because you didn't bake them for long enough. 

27

Remove the golden choux from the oven and place them onto a wire rack. They can be filled fresh or frozen to be used another time. If you freeze them, place them back into a hot oven (175C/345F) for about 5 minutes to crisp them back up. 

Notes

Choux Pastry 101