Choux Pastry
/shoo/also called pâte à choux
Choux pastry is a twice-cooked dough — first cooked in a pan, then baked — that puffs into a hollow, crisp shell powered by nothing but steam. There is no raising agent and no lamination: the moisture in the dough does all the lifting. It is the base of éclairs, profiteroles, cream puffs and gougères.
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What it is
Choux begins as a panade: flour is beaten into hot liquid and butter on the stove until it forms a glossy paste that pulls away from the pan. This first cooking gelatinises the starch and drives off some moisture. Eggs are then beaten in gradually until the paste is smooth, shiny and pipeable. In the oven, the water left in the dough flashes to steam, inflating each piece into a hollow shell while the eggs set the walls.
Why it matters
Choux is the rare dough defined by what it leaves behind — a cavity. That hollow is the whole point: it gets filled with pastry cream, diplomat cream, chantilly or ice cream to become éclairs, profiteroles and religieuses. Understanding that steam is the engine explains every rule of choux baking, including why opening the oven early makes the shells collapse.
Common mistakes
Adding eggs too fast, or all at once, gives a loose paste that spreads instead of puffing — the dough should fall from the spoon in a slow, reluctant ribbon. Underbaking is the other heartbreak: shells that look golden but are still damp inside will sink as they cool. Bake choux until the cracks and crevices are coloured too, and resist the oven door.
Related terms
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is choux pastry cooked twice?
The first cooking, on the stove, turns flour and hot liquid into a thick paste — it cooks the starch so the dough can absorb eggs and hold steam later. The second cooking, in the oven, is where that trapped moisture becomes steam and inflates the shell. Skip or rush the first stage and the second cannot work.
Why did my choux collapse or not puff?
Collapse usually means underbaked walls — the shell was still soft and damp inside when it came out, so the steam pressure vanished and the structure fell. Failure to puff usually means the dough was too loose from excess egg, or the oven lost heat early. Both come back to respecting steam as the raising agent.
What desserts are made from choux pastry?
Éclairs, profiteroles, cream puffs, Paris-Brest, religieuses and croquembouche on the sweet side, and cheese gougères on the savoury side. The shell is deliberately plain because the filling carries the flavour.
Tastethetechnique
Everything in our kitchen is baked fresh to order — eggless and vegan variants available.