This classic dough is one of the most versatile doughs in a French kitchen. The list is long, but some of the things you can make with it are éclairs, profiteroles, and gougères. This dough is for a sweet application like a cream puff or éclairs, so if you are using it for a savory dish like gougères, you would want to leave the sugar out and add cheese and other spices once you have formed the dough.

Pâte à Choux

Ingredients

1 cup flour (125g)

½ cup milk

½ cup water

1 stick unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

Instructions

1. Measure out your 1 cup flour, and set it aside. 
2. Combine your ½ cup milk, ½ cup water, 1 stick of butter, 1 Tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom. 
3. Bring your liquid mixture to a boil. 
4. As soon as the mixture is boiling, dump in your flour all at once and stir quickly and firmly with a large wooden spoon. 
5. Keep cooking and stirring until your dough comes together in a large ball and does not seem to want to stick to the edges of your pot any more. It should be about 175℉ if you measure it with a a meat thermometer.
6. Add your dough to a stand mixer or large bowl. 
7. Mix dough until it cools off slightly and you don’t see much steam coming from it anymore. It should be about 145℉. You can mix it a few times to help cool it off, but you don’t want to overmix it.
8. Crack one egg into a bowl. Add it to your dough bowl and mix to combine the egg well with the dough. Scrape the edges of the bowl with a silicone spatula. 
9. Repeat with your remaining three eggs. 

Notes

• This choux pastry can be used to make cheesy gougère, cream puffs, éclairs, and many other French pastries. 
• If you live in a very wet climate, you may find that you do not need the 4th egg. You want a dough that is thin enough to be piped out of a large tip, but thick enough to hold it’s shape when piped.