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Pâte à choux

January 19, 2014 by Jaye Aster Broder   

Today I wanted to talk about a dough that is trending (in its baked form of course): pâte a choux, a.k.a. choux pastry dough. But what is pâte a choux? A misguided direct translation is something along the lines of cabbage dough.  CooksInfo.com simply defines it as a dough designed to make hollow puffy pastries from. Unlike other doughs that use yeast, baking soda, or baking powder to rise, this dough rises by steam. It has a high moisture content that helps create the oh so typical light and fluffy air pockets.

The history of choux pastry dough dates from its creation in 1540. Catherine de Medici’s head chef Panterelli invented it and called it pâte à Panterelli. Over the years, it did undergo some changes from pâte à Pompellin to what we know at pâte a choux. Its utility increased from simply sweets such as profiteroles, eclairs, croquembouche, beignets, and cream puffs to savory foods as well. By adding some cheese, you can make fancy gougères to impress your friends. If you have a passion for patisserie after reading this post, consider Juillet Claude’s Classic Patisserie: An A-Z Handbook

One of the best aspects of this dough is that you do not need to be a skilled chef or have any fancy cooking utensils. The ingredients are very simple, flour, water, butter, and eggs (yolks or whole). You can also add salt and teaspoon or two of sugar. For a complete recipe, check out this link.

Now there are a lot of easy recipes in the world and a lot of French foods. What you might not have realized yet is that choux pastry dough is trending. This simple recipe impresses people with a simple elegance. It can be frozen and stored for a later date. According to BBC, eclairs are a trending food right now. They “are the new Parisian cupcakes.” Mark Bittman of the New York Times even wrote an article on choux pastry dough.

A simple delicious treat that can be made in a college dorm using a pot, a spoon, and a ziploc bag

I could not talk all about choux pastry dough without making some. Check out the experiment below. I focus on eclairs but ultimately cut back on the ganache and did more of a layer cake. The best part for me is that it can be made in a college dorm using a pot, a spoon, and a ziploc bag.


4 Comments »

  1. johny says:

    cooooooool ya butt

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  3. Quinn Albertson says:

    They look like dessert hot dogs! I know for me pastries seem so foreboding, but if you’re right, it must not be that bad to try. I feel like that kind of effect happens with a lot of cooking and baking: It looks so hard to do because the end product is very nice, but the reality is, a lot of the processes are natural. I think a lot more people could get into baking if they got over this road block.

    • Jaye Aster Broder says:

      We frequently create our own roadblocks. Typically The eclairs are dipped but I didn’t have enough plates or containers to do that effectively. What have you enjoyed baking in the past?

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