Paris in July: Baking Gougères from the Classic French Pâte à Choux (The Cook's Atellier)

On one of my sister's many trips to France, she and a friend attended a French cooking class at The Cook's Atelier in Beaune, France. 

My sister loved the class and bought me the book for my birthday.

I decided to try to make gougères for the first time using the recipe from the book. Gougères are made with classic French pâte à choux. I was very nervous about trying to make pâte à choux.

Gougères from The Cook's Atellier

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

2/3 cup (140 g) water

6 tablespoons (83 g) unsalted butter

½ teaspoon fleur de sel

⅔ cup (80 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 ounces (55 g) Comté or Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated (about ½ cup), plus 1 ounce (28 g) Comté or Gruyère cheese, finely grated (about ¼ cup), for sprinkling

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

½ teaspoon ground mustard (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a small bowl, whisk 1 of the eggs and set aside. Crack the remaining 3 eggs into a separate bowl or measuring cup with a spout. Do not mix; set aside. 

To make the choux paste, combine the water, butter, and salt in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter and bring the mixture to a full boil. Immediately add the flour, all at once, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until the mixture forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan and a film forms on the bottom of the pan, at least 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue beating the mixture to remove any excess moisture and dry out the dough, at least 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly then add the 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly with a wooden spoon after each addition.  The dough should be shiny and smooth. To test the consistency, use a wooden spoon to scoop out as much of the dough as possible.  Hold the wooden spoon over the pot and turn it on its side.  If the dough is ready, it will fall from the spoon in a thick plop or dollop.  If the dough is too thick, it will just stick to the side of the spoon.  If the the dough is too thick, add a small amount of the 1 reserved beaten egg to achieve the right consistency.  Be careful not to add too much of the reserved egg or the dough will become too thin.  If the dough falls from the spoon like a sheet, it’s too thin and you’ll need to start over.  When in doubt, it’s better to have a slightly dry dough to ensure gougères that puff properly when baking.  Add the coarsely grated Comté, along with the Dijon mustard and ground mustard, if using. Season with the pepper.  

Place the choux paste in a pastry bag fitted with a large tip.  Pipe a small amount of dough in the corners of a baking sheet then line the baking sheet with parchment paper.  Pipe roughly 1 ½ inch (4 cm) gougères onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, allowing enough room for them to double in size.  Use your fingertips to gently brush the tops of the gougères with a small amount of the reserved beaten egg, being careful not to smash them or let any excess egg fall on the parchment, which will prevent them from rising.  Sprinkle the tops with the finely grated Comté. Bake until the gougères are puffed, nicely browned, and feel light for their size, 22 to 25 minutes. Serve warm straight from the oven or let cool completely.

The recipe and more details about the recipe are here.

I assembled my ingredients.

Lots of butter. 

Water and flour are added to the melted butter.

This was the scariest part:

I had to add the eggs without cooking them.

Happily, it worked.

Lots of gruyere cheese.

One of the eggs is used for the tops of the gougères. 

More gruyere cheese is added to the top of each gougère

before it goes into the oven to bake.

The gougères puffed up nicely.

Light. Cheesy. Delicious.

I was delighted with these.

For more photos, link up at Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Create With Joy, Wild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.

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