Gougères
Gougères
Makes about 45 Gougères.
Gougères are made of pâte à choux, which means “cabbage dough” in French because it looks like a cabbage when baked. It’s a versatile dough that can be deep-fried into beignets, baked into chouquette, or used to hold ice cream for profiteroles or pastry cream for éclairs. It can be filled with lobster salad for mini lobster rolls. The possibilities are endless. Gougères are mixed with Gruyère for what’s possibly the most perfect appetizer around.
Have all your ingredients and equipment ready to go before you start. Once you begin making pâte à choux you cannot step away; the dough must be made from start to finish.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, plus more for coating the baking sheets
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the baking sheets
½ cup whole milk
½ cup water
½ teaspoon fine salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg white, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (or a milder cheese, like cheddar, if serving to kids)
1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange one rack in the middle.
2. Coat two baking sheets with butter, dust each with flour, then flip and tap to remove any excess flour; set aside.
3. Fit a pastry bag with a ½-inch round tip or cut a bottom corner of a gallon plastic bag to ½ inch; set aside. (If
you don’t have these, you can just scoop the finished dough out using a spoon.)
4. Place 6 tablespoons of the butter, the milk, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until the butter has melted.
5. Increase heat to high, bring mixture to a rolling boil, then remove from heat. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough forms, about 30 seconds. Return the saucepan to medium heat and stir constantly to remove excess moisture and cook the raw flour, about 3 minutes. (A film should form on the bottom of the saucepan.)
6. Transfer the dough to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Let sit, stirring the dough with the mixer on low speed for just a few turns (every 30 seconds) to release steam until the dough is slightly cooled, about 3 minutes. (If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix by hand, but it’s a workout.)
7. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. (The dough will separate each time you add an egg but will come back together.) Mix in the egg white. Once combined slowly beat in the grated cheese. Transfer the dough to the pastry bag.
8. Pipe the dough into 1¼-inch-round mounds (about the size of a Ping-Pong ball), lifting the bag as you form them and setting them 1 inch apart on one of the baking sheets (about 24 per sheet).
9. Coat your finger with butter and dab each Gougère. Bake one sheet at a time, for 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue baking until the Gougères are golden brown all over, about 10 minutes.
10. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool and immediately pierce each Gourgères side with a paring knife to release steam. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
11. Return the oven to 400°F and repeat baking the remaining sheet of dough. The Gougères are best eaten warm but are also delicious several hours after baking. Once cool, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer. Before eating, thaw frozen Gougères and reheat in a 300°F oven until crisp again, about 5 minutes. By Jill Santopietro.