Choux pastry

elliehen wrote:
Riverside Community Truffles

Boil together for five minutes:
30 gm butter
1/2 cup milk
2 Tab cocoa
2 Tab sugar

Add 4 Tab coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped apricots
1/2 cup chopped ginger
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Select from the above optional dried fruits according to personal preference

Roll small balls in coconut and set in fridge

they sound divine. thank you. might make some for me too

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cameron-albany (1181 1181 positive feedback) 7:15 pm, Fri 25 Apr #5
Indulgent Chocolate Fudge Brownie (a Jo Seagar recipe) - absolutely divine! I made it a week or so ago and it kept well for about 4-5 days in an air tight container.

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carlosjackal (881 881 positive feedback) 8:08 pm, Sat 26 Apr #6

n

Yes ,I do and I have worked as pattiserie chef for many years

total rubbish. we used to have eclairs and profiteroles on our wedding menu's and some weddings i had to make them for 600 people. we only used standard flour and they turned out perfect.

I had a desire for chocolate eclairs a couple of days ago. Its been a while since I made them but never had an issue. This time they were flat! Didnt rise. I tried filling them with cream but they tasted yuck too. Where did I go wrong. I used the recipe in edmonds book. Thanks.

I use Alison Holst recipe for cream puffs/chocolate eclairs, never fails

Without knowing the exact recipe that you have used I wonder if you perhaps haven't beaten the mixture enough while beating in the eggs. I used to make choux pastry often using a food processor and never had a problem. The other possibility is that your oven was at the wrong temperature, so it wouldn't hurt to check your oven with a thermometer.

I experimented a lot with these. The one and only thing I found matters, is how long you cook them.
Cook longer than it says, keeping an eye on them of course. But you'll find they don't darken for ages. they won't sink then. They need to dry out properly inside.

Agree with this. Also need to beat for ages as adding the eggs so you get plenty of air into it

. this is part of a lesson and demonstration i did for a pastry class, it migt help, or then again, it might make you very confused.

. ok here's my take on choux pastry. which is not its original name. but like the recipe, it has evolved over time. choux pastry basically means pastry twice cooked. the flour is cooked firstly when you mix it into the hot liquid, and the second time, in the oven. different ingredients are used to make the pastry and they will achieve different results.
. gougères are little cheese savoury pastries (that can be filled with savoury fillings if you want) and best eaten hot. although the outside is crisp the middle hasn't dried out so much. this sort of choux pastry uses more protein such as milk, butter and cheeses in it, effecting the flour differently. the grated gruyere or other cheese is added after the eggs. profiterole (cream puffs) type choux has less protein effecting the flour, this creates a cruncher, drier pastry. water and fats are used to achieve this.
. whatever you're making, the same principles apply. the flour needs to be cooked before adding the eggs. steam from the liquid is the raising agent. and the oven needs to be hot enough to create the steam to set the flour and egg 'shell'.
. ok so i'm going to explain how i make cream puffs at home. i've had to adapt things to my lifestyle as i don't have access to pastry fats and flours that would easily achieve a good result.

1 cup water
120gm fat
. i use 1/3 butter for flavour, 1/3 lard because it has no protein and is stable at a high temperature, and kremelta because it has no protein, it's stable. and best of all, no noticeable flavour. if you want to miss out the lard, you could do 1/2 butter and 1/2 kremelta.

bring to the boil in a heavy based saucepan with the lid on, you don’t want to lose all that steam too early. take off the heat and add
140gm flour
. i just use fresh plain flour. you don’t need too much gluten because once you've cooked the flour a bit, the egg will do that job.

stir well with a wooden spoon until all the flour is mixed in. return to the lowest heat on the stove. keep stirring. i find the mix thinly coats the bottom of the pan and the rest forms into a ball. i keep stirring and mixing for about 1-2 mins. trying to cook the flour without burning it or forming a crust. a bit like when you cook off the flour at the beginning of a roux sauce. then i put it in a mixing bowl. i have an old kenwood that i use. it's hard knacker adding the eggs by hand. i mix it on very low for a good minute to let the hottest of the hot steam release. then i add
pinch of salt
5 eggs
. one at a time. depending on the size of the eggs. if i need less i will use 4 plus a yolk. if i need more, 5 plus a yolk. i'm looking for a smooth, glossy pastry that has the right consistency to hold it's shape when i pipe it onto a tray. it's really really hard to explain.
i put the mixture into a piping bag because it's so much easier for me to handle and way less mess but you can spoon it onto a paper lined tray. i find smaller ones do cook better as the pastry only creates one steam bubble in it when rising. i have my oven hot, 220c for 10mins without disturbing. then i turn it down to 200c for another 10 mins. longer cooking times for bigger shapes. they should be brown. not dark brown or burnt, but not too pale either. my darling brought me the most amazing oven and i have got temps and timing mostly sorted. every oven is different.
. and that is mostly what i know about choux pastry and what works for me.

I was taught many years ago to make a small hole or slit in the bottom of the eclairs or puffs as soon as they came out of the oven, to allow the steam to escape and stop them from going soft or soggy. No one else has mentioned this. Do any of you do it?

if you choux falls it is more to do with baking than production , when u mix your flour into your liquid to make your roux make shore u cook it well to get rid of most of the gluten in the flour ,once finished mix until most of your heat is out of you roux before u add your eggs remembering to scrape your bowl down after u add every stage of eggs to keep a even mix, when baking start your oven at 250 degrees solid when you put your choux in spray some water onto the bottom of your oven to start the steam production this will promote rise, than after the first 8 mins turn your oven down to your desired temp note do not open your oven until your choux is close to being done other wise u end up with pancakes , when done leave in oven turn off and leave oven half open and this will inshore they fully dry out

Do you use fan-bake or regular bake for these?

Good point, jynx. When I make eclairs my mixing and baking-times seem fine. When the pastries come out of the oven I cut them in half, then put back on the trays slightly off-set, to match bums to tops! I put back in the turned-off oven(door having been open a couple of minutes, you don't want crackers) and leave about 30 minutes. Always a good result here.

I have tried the various mixing techniques, the letting air out, the putting them back in etc etc.
None of it matters.
Cook them long enough and they don't sink.
I beat the eggs in with an electric mixer, I do mix the eggs together first, then add the beaten egg in and mix. that way I find you use the right amount, sometimes 1 egg less or more is not right and the only way to add half an egg is beat it first.

For years and years I used to make these by beating with a wooden spoon (as per the instructions in the recipe I was using), this took ages and was quite a chore. Now I mix using an electric beater and the end result is just as good, if not better! The secret I think is to beat each egg in until the mixture is glossy.

Choux Pastry
4oz Butter
1 cup Water
1 cup Flour (Use only High Grade Flour)
3 large Eggs

In a saucepan bring the water (or milk), butter, and sugar to the boil. Add the flour and stir for 4-5 minutes or until mix doesn’t stick to the side of the pan.
Add to a bowl, leave to cool.
Once cool fold the eggs in one at a time, either by hand or by using a mixer, making sure they are incorporated properly before adding the next one.
Drop from a teaspoon, or pipe the desired shape onto a well-greased baking tray (8cm rectangles for eclairs, 5cm circles for cream puffs, 3cm circles for profiteroles). For eclairs drag the tines of a dinner fork down the length of each eclair. The resulting stripes will encourage the eclairs to crack evenly when they bake. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220C until golden brown (20 mins approx).

Note: Only use high grade flour. If you use pure flour your choux with come out flat and doughy.