Choux Pastry, also known as pâte à choux, is a french pastry dough, pronounced shoo pastry, and it may seem complicated but it really isn’t. It’s a very versatile pastry dough that can be used to make many different delicious pastries.

choux pastry.

If you’ve never made choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux, the thought of making it might seem intimidating, but after you make it one time, you’ll see that it’s not all that scary. Once you master this recipe, you can make lots of delicious pastries. Today, I want to show you how to make choux pastry. Then you can use it to make your favorite pastry. Ready?

Basic Ingredients

You might think you need fancy ingredients to make choux pastry, but you don’t. You need 6 simple ingredients…

  • butter
  • water
  • granulated sugar
  • salt
  • eggs
  • flour

Cooking the Choux pastry:

  1. Add the butter, water, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter melts and comes to a simmer around the edges. Using a wooden spoon, add the flour all at one time and quickly stir it in.
  2. Continue stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. The dough should come together and form a loose ball.
  3. There should also be a film on the bottom of the pan. See picture #3.

Mixing the Choux pastry:

  1. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer.
  2. Mix on low speed until the dough has slightly cooled, about 1 minute. It should be no more than slightly warm. If the dough is too hot it will cook the eggs.
  3. Increase speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Make sure to only add one egg at a time and thoroughly mix before adding the next egg. The dough cannot absorb all of the eggs at one time. See picture #3, where the two separate.
  4. Keep mixing and they will come back together. 
  5. Once it’s mixed, mix for about 1 additional minute.  The finished dough should be smooth and silky. It should drop slowly from the end of the paddle attachment, forming a V shape as it drops. If it doesn’t want to drop from the paddle, it needs more egg yolk. See my tips in this post.

PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE

  • Measure the flour correctly. If you can’t weigh the flour, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife.
  • Not all eggs are precisely the same size. This pastry dough calls for large eggs. Whether you use storebought or your own fresh eggs, the size of the yolks can vary. Therefore, don’t add the last egg until you’re sure you need it. The dough should be shiny, smooth, silky, and slowly drop from the mixing paddle. If your dough is almost there but not quite, you might only need 1/2 of an egg. That’s right. Nothing says you must use the whole egg yolk.
  • Regardless of what pastry you decide to make with choux pastry dough, make sure to NOT open the oven door while the pastry shells are baking or they will collapse. See picture below.

LARGE BOWL VS STAND MIXER

You can also mix the dough by hand in a large bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Allow the dough to cool (if the dough is too hot it will cook the eggs). It should be no more than slightly warm. Using a wooden spoon, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Each time you add an egg, the dough and egg will separate but keep stirring and they will come back together. Make sure you mix in one egg thoroughly before adding another one. The dough cannot absorb all of the eggs at one time. Once it’s mixed, mix for about 1 additional minute. The finished dough should be smooth and silky.

Now that you’ve mastered making the dough, start having fun by experimenting with different pastries. Check out my recipe for Cream Puffs, using this choux pastry dough recipe or my Coconut Eclairs recipe, using a very similar choux pastry dough recipe or you can use this one to make them.

If you make this recipe please leave a comment below on how it turned out, and rate it. I love hearing from you! 🙂

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choux pastry.

How To Make Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)

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  • Author: Cindy @mycountrytable
  • Method: Cook
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Description

Choux Pastry takes just minutes to prep and can be used in a variety of pastries such as cream puff, eclairs, profiteroles, beignets, french cruller doughnuts, and more. Make this recipe one time and have it mastered. 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut up into pieces (to melt quicker)
  • 1 cup water
  • 5 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 to 4 large eggs

Instructions

  1. Cook the Pate a Choux (dough): Add the butter, water, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter melts and comes to a simmer around the edges. Using a wooden spoon, add the flour all at one time and quickly stir it in. Continue stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, and there is a film on the bottom of the pan, about 1  minute. The dough should come together and form a loose ball.
  2. Mix the Pate a Choux (dough): Stand Mixer – Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until the dough has slightly cooled, about 1 minute. It should be no more than slightly warm. If the dough is too hot it will cook the eggs. Increase speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Make sure to only add one egg at a time and thoroughly mix before adding the next egg. The dough cannot absorb all of the eggs at one time. The egg and dough will separate at first but don’t worry, they will come back together.  Once it’s mixed, mix for about 1 additional minute.  The finished dough should be smooth and silky.   
  3. Now go use this dough to make your favorite pastries.                                                   

Notes

  • Large Bowl – You can also mix the dough by hand in a large bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Allow the dough to cool (if the dough is too hot it will cook the eggs). It should be no more than slightly warm. Using a wooden spoon, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Each time you add an egg, the dough and egg will separate but keep stirring and they will come back together. Make sure you mix in one egg thoroughly before adding another one. The dough cannot absorb all of the eggs at one time. Once it’s mixed, mix for about 1 additional minute. The finished dough should be smooth and silky.