Choux pastry - looking for tips

duckmoon, Jul 7, 1:49am
I made choux pastry this week, but find it a bit hit and miss.

Any tips are invited.

And I have a specific question, once you have made the pastry, do you immediately put it into a piping bag (if you use one), or wait till cool.

I find it very hot when handling (putting in and when piping), comment invited
dezzie, Jul 7, 1:53am
Well, I do, but usually its cooled a fair bit from beating in the eggs! Maybe its just the way I do it, I flip it out of the pot into a glass bowl, then beat it with my handheldbeater with the dough hooks in.one egg at a time like ya supposed to.
sarahb5, Jul 7, 2:56am
I haven't made it since I was at school but from what I remember we piped it straightaway but that was in the olden days when piping bags were made of cloth not plastic so probably didn't feel so hot in our hands either.I recall vaguely that the oven had to be very hot and that we had to split the buns or eclairs quickly when they came out of the oven to let the steam out or they went soggy/chewy and at the same time remove any uncooked choux
davidt4, Jul 7, 3:12am
You are supposed to beat the flour/butter/water mixture well to stretch the gluten, then leave it to cool for about 10 minutes before you start beating in the eggs.Then by the time all of the eggs are incorporated the mixture isn't all that hot.

Maybe this is why your results have been inconsistent.Your dough might not have been beaten enough.
duckmoon, Jul 7, 4:19am
i didn't know you were to leave the mixture for 10 minutes.
nor transfer from pot to bowl.
both those things might mean I can hold the piping bag.

thanks folks
gardie, Jul 7, 4:49am
To ensure fail proof choux pastry ensure you cook the flour for at least one and preferably two minutes once you have added it to the water/butter mix.Many recipes say to remove from the heat and add flour all at once - that is ok but you MUST put it back on to cook the flour a bit.I just do it all on the stovetop these days.When beating in the eggs, I just put the whole mix into my Kenwood and beat it with K beater whilst adding the eggs one at a time.It has cooled sufficiently once this process has finished.When doing this bit by hand, I found the heat was held more - electric mixer fixes this.