05. Gougères

Panko crusted Templegall choux buns filled with béchamel

Hello! 

Welcome to my Roll with it Newsletter. I’m happy you found me! 

This is a follow up to the article ‘05. What came first, the chicken on the egg’. I recommend checking that out before we deep dive into our egg recipe below.

Cissy… xo

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Gougères

Páte à choux is a pillar of classical French baking. It makes eclairs, crullers, beignets, profiteroles and so much more. Although it might seem complicated it’s actually quite simple (in theory). Choux paste is made by cooking out flour, liquid and butter on the hob (so basically a roux) before adding in eggs off the heat. The eggs are what helps the dough rise, as when it's heated the high percentage of water in them escapes and creates steam. Once fully puffed, they are crisp on the outside and have a honeycomb interior. 

Although I love all things sweet, I decided to make ultra cheesy Gougères. These are savoury choux buns from Burgundy, typically made with Gruyère or Comte style cheese and served with an aperitif or as an hor d’oeuvre. Sophisticated AF if you ask me. 

Before we get stuck in there’s a few things to know…

Our ingredients

Water / Milk: since Gougères are already rich in fat from the eggs and cheese we don’t want to incorporate more fat by using whole milk, this can often cause them to collapse in on themselves. I tested this recipe with only water and they worked perfectly, although slightly lighter in colour and a bit more crisp. I’m using a blend of milk and water here to get the best of both worlds - richer flavour and darker colour.  The liquid also helps gelatinise the starch in the flour. 

Butter: fat and flavour! The water in the butter also contributes to the rise. 

Flour: I use strong white flour here. Well, I actually just got a very exciting flour delivery from Emma and Pat at Oak Forest Mills. So for this recipe I’m using their stoneground white flour. I’ll be giving Irish grain the deserved attention it needs in another newsletter but for now all you need to know is to use strong white flour to create a good structure. 

Salt: flavour.

Eggs: as we mentioned, the eggs contribute to the rise of the dough but they also give it structure and colour. The expanding air gets trapped by the egg proteins, which capture the evaporating water. Whilst the liquids and fats help tenderise the gluten in the flour.

Honeycomb interior of Grougère

When do we add in the eggs?

It’s really important that we let the steam escape from the roux before we add in the eggs. If the mix is too hot then the eggs are going to start to cook and this can lead to collapsed choux (I have done this so many times before). If you want to get precise, between 35-40c is the best temp before adding in the eggs. 

How much egg do I add?

Knowing how much egg to add to your roux is a skill you develop over time. Unfortunately each batch of choux varies in the amount of liquid needed, as it is dependent on how much the flour can absorb. Sadly if we add too much egg there’s no going back. The batter will be too runny and it won’t be able to hold its own shape. If you slowly add in the egg bit by bit you’ll be ok. The best tell tale sign of when there is enough egg, is when the dough looks like a shiny, smooth batter and can hold a V shape.

Choux with only a small addition of egg (left), Choux ready to be piped (right)

What about the oven temperature?

I’ve seen and tested many different variations on the ‘right’ baking temp and method for choux. The main thing is that the oven is HOT HOT HOT. When the choux goes into the oven we want the heat to melt the paste, causing a rapid release of steam. Once this has happened we turn the oven down so that it crisps up and dries out. 

I know it’s tempting but please do not watch the oven. The choux will only rise towards the end of the bake so don’t be disheartened. 

If you open the door, decrease the temp too much or don’t bake the choux for long enough, they will collapse. So let’s stay calm and trust the process. Only open the door when the time is up. Tap the bottom of the choux to check it sounds hollow and feels light as a feather. If not, she ain’t ready so put them back in for a few minutes.

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Gougères

Makes 12-15 (ish)

Panko Crust

I saw our main man Dominique Ansel make deep fried choux covered in panko and I was like YES, love that for us. So I’ve taken that and spun it into a cacio e pepe vibe. I did trial a craquelin (choux crust) but they were not as delicious as this crunchy top. It’s easier to make too (result)!

• 30g panko (or breadcrumbs)

• 30g parmesan (or other cheese), grated

• Lots of cracked black pepper

Method

• Combine in a bowl and set aside.

Cheesy panko crust

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Páte à choux

• 80g unsalted butter

• 85g water

• 85g whole milk

• 2g fine sea salt

• 80g strong white flour

• 140g eggs (around 3 whole eggs)

• 40g Templegall cheese, finely grated

• 10g dijon mustard

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 250c. 

• In a medium sized saucepan combine the butter, milk, water and salt. I like to use a silver pot so that I can see the bottom of the pan. Using a dark coloured pan makes it harder to tell when a film has formed when we cook out the flour. 

• Bring this to the boil. 

• Add the flour and beat vigorously. Continue to stir for around 2 - 3 mins, until the mix starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a film forms on the bottom of the pan. 

• Transfer the smooth mass to the bowl of a stand mixer. (You can totally do all of this by hand but using the stand mixer is my gift to me). 

• With the paddle attachment beat the paste for a couple of minutes to help release the steam then turn off and leave to cool for around 10 mins. It should be around 35-40c.

• Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.

• Once cooled, turn the mixer back on to a medium speed and begin to incorporate the eggs in very slow and small amounts. Each time wait until the egg has been fully incorporated before adding in more. This should take about 5 mins. Remember you might not need to use all the egg! 

• Once you have a smooth, glossy batter which can hold a V shape add in the cheese and spices. Mix for 1 min until incorporated. 

• Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch round piping tip. I’m a perfectionist so this is my M.O. but you can definitely just use 2 spoons here to drop the dough onto the baking sheet. If using a piping bag use a bench scraper to push all the mix to the bottom of the bag. This will get out all the air bubbles and make piping a lot easier. 

• Pipe 25-30g rounds onto a baking tray lined with paper. You can tare the baking sheet onto your scales but you can also just eyeball this. Make sure there is space between each as they are going to expand in the oven. 

  

  Piped choux

• Using a wet finger, gently push down the little peak that forms from piping (this step is not necessary but I like having a rounded rather than pointed/peaked Grougère). 

• Top each with a heavy amount of the panko mix. 

• Carefully place the tray in the oven and turn it down to 220c for 10 mins.

• After this first bake, reduce the heat to 180c and bake for a further 10 mins. You may need to give them a minute or so longer. 

• You can serve these straight from the oven or let them cool before filling with béchamel and covering with grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pep.

Notes

• Most choux recipes have a small portion of sugar in the dough. This does not make the dough sweet but rather gives it colour. You can by all means use a choux paste with sugar in it to make Gougères, it’s just not in my recipe. 

• Eggs are measured in grams, 1 egg is around 50g.

• I used Templegall (an Irish cheese similar to a Swiss/Comte style) but by all means use an alternative. A mature cheddar could work well, or generally anything low in moisture.

• You can freeze piped choux and bake from frozen. You will need to extend the bake time.

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Béchamel 

In case you want to level up your Gougères (or have a heart attack) I’ve included a recipe for a béchamel which can be piped into the cooled choux. I was thinking a chutney could also work well here. 

• 200ml whole milk

• 1 garlic clove (smashed open with the back of a knife, skin left on)

• 1 bay leaf

• Pinch of whole black peppercorn

• Pinch of fennel seeds

• 15g butter

• 15g plain flour

• 30g Templegall (or other) cheese

• 1g fine sea salt 

Method

• Pour the milk into a small saucepan. Add the bay, peppercorn, fennel and garlic Place over a medium heat (do not let it boil). Pour into a container and allow the aromats to infuse for at least 1hr or overnight. 

• After 1 hr or the next day, strain the infused milk back into a saucepan and warm. 

• In another small saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add in the flour and continue to stir with a whisk until it smells toasty (this is the roux). 

• Continue to whisk the roux whilst slowly pouring in the warm milk. 

• Cook for around 1 - 2 mins until smooth and homogeneous. 

• Take off the heat and add in the cheese and salt. If I’m bothered I’ll use a hand blender to make this even more smooth and silky.

• Pour into a container and place a piece of cling film directly onto the béchamel. Allow to cool before transferring to the fridge. 

• When your grougères have cooled, transfer the also cooled béchamel into a piping bag fitted with a ½ round piping tip. Pipe around 10-15g into the bottom of each choux bun.