Classic Gougères
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4tablespoons/57 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1cup/136 grams bread flour
- 4large eggs, at room temperature
- 5 ounces/142 grams shredded Gruyère
- ⅓ cup/50 grams grated Parmesan cheese
Nutritional analysis per serving (66 servings)
30 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 30 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees, and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 2
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water, butter, salt and cayenne to a boil. Stir in flour all at once and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until dough pulls away from the sides of the pot, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 3
Scrape dough into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with a paddle until cooled slightly, about 30 seconds. (Or you can do this with a wooden spoon if you beat vigorously.) Add one egg at a time, letting each one incorporate before adding the next. Mix in Gruyère and continue to beat until it is mostly melted into batter.
- Step 4
Transfer batter to a large, sealable plastic bag, and snip off ¾ inch from one corner. Pipe 2-teaspoon-sized balls, spaced 1-inch apart, onto baking sheets. Or use a spoon to form the balls. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until golden and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly then serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
In France, groceries carry bags of unbaked frozen gougères. Freezing the prepared unbaked gougères works great, even for several weeks, making gougères a terrific make-ahead before a party. I like to freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a zip lock bag. Guests love them!
This is a recipe for which you must follow the instructions precisely. Since you say you didn't put the flour in the saucepan, you missed a critical opportunity to COOK the flour, and let it be absorbed into the water and butter. If you do it again, do it the proper way. What you've got here are the instructions for classic cream puffs -- eclairs, gougeres, etc. are in that category and must be made according to the rules. No improvising. Square one. put flour into boiling water.
Where's the video? I cook so much better after watching Melissa do it first. And she makes me laugh.
I have made gougeres many times before. The recipe I used previously used milk. I prefer this one, which only uses water. It stays crispy, and is less eggy tasting. I did this nearly exactly, using weights not volumes, and piped. Made two batches, and got 62 one-bite puffs. my tip: I have a small oven and could only do one tray at a time. I was doing a double barch, and could not mess with changing the oven temperature. I baked one tray for 15 mins on the bottom rack, then moved the tray to the top rack and baked for 15 min longer, while the next batch got started on the bottom rack. The top batch was protected a bit by the batch on the bottom. They did take the full 30 minutes to become browned and crisp. I poked them with a sharp charcuterie fork (poked 2 smalls without crushing the puff) and cooled on a rack, hole side up to let steam out.
Followed the recipe. My delight when they puffed up so prettily was great enough that I didn’t mind how bland they were. Used very good Gruyère, too, which felt like a waste. They’re fun to make, though. Worth trying with different cheese, seasoning.
Made these during the holidays and had to share the oven with a giant roast that was roasting at 350, so the high-heat bake for the first 15 wasn’t possible. To compensate, I just piped them out smaller, about 1t mounds, and baked on the bottom rack for 30m, rotating each tray about halfway through. The unbaked mounds (I had 3 piped half-sheets in all and could only bake one sheet at a time) held fine at room temp until it was their turn to bake, and it gave the family a steady supply of warm, delicate puffs to munch for a few hours before the roast was done. Will do again.