Blog

What is a Popelini?

What is a Popelini?

by Our Paris Guide September 7, 2014. This bakery — named for the Italian cook who supposedly invented pâte à choux — sells only cream puffs. Tiny, adorable cream puffs.

What is the secret to making choux pastry?

Choux Pastry Baking Tips

  1. Use unsalted butter.
  2. Your choice of flour matters.
  3. Give the flour a vigorous stir.
  4. Cool down the flour mixture immediately.
  5. Add eggs in several additions.
  6. Test your dough’s consistency.
  7. Use the right piping tip, and space them apart.
  8. Bake at a high temperature.

Which flour is best for choux?

Using bread flour can produce pâte à choux that has a thicker shell, and will rise less than choux pastry made with AP flour. Bread flour does result in profiteroles and eclair shells that are more sturdy, and hold their shape better. So for that reason I prefer using bread flour to make my eclairs.

What are the four ingredients when making choux pastry?

It’s a ‘traditional’ choux recipe, made with butter, flour, water, and eggs.

What is on top of Popelini?

Polpelini uses thin dough, slightly chewy and well baked on the sides and covers it with a craquelin (a crunchy layer of pate sable posed on top and with a crunchy consistency), which is a crunchy layer of sugar, making it special and different from a profiterole.

Why is choux pastry difficult?

Common problems: Failure to rise There are two common problems encountered when making choux pastry. Firstly, if you add the eggs to your hot water and flour mixture before it has cooled, the eggs will cook in the paste and refuse to rise in the oven.

Why did my cream puffs not puff?

The temperature you are setting may be a bit too high. Try setting it back to 375 and baking for a longer time. Higher temperature may brown the puffs too quickly, before the structure has had time to firm up, resulting in the collapse on standing.

Why does my choux pastry not rise?

What raising agent is used in choux pastry?

steam
There is no leavening agent in choux pastry. Instead, these pastries rely on the steam produced during baking to puff up and form the hollow center. Choux pastry can be shaped prior to baking to make a variety of products.

What does egg do in choux pastry?

The eggs will eventually set, as cooked eggs do, to help support the structure and create the crisp outer shell of baked choux paste. However, if under-baked, the proteins will recoil and cause the choux to shrivel up and collapse. As with many other pastries, eggs also provide flavor and color to choux pastries.

How do you know when choux is done?

Beat it vigorously with a wooden spoon, slapping it against the side of the saucepan. You know it’s done when the dough looks a little shiny, a thick film has formed on the bottom, and the dough curls away from the corners of the saucepan. Pastry logs that are about to grow up and turn into éclairs.

How do you make choux pastry crisp?

The choux can also be baked and frozen. If soggy, baked choux can be re-crisped in a hot oven for several minutes. Read below, then go forth and bake with confidence. The dough is cooked on the stove until the raw taste of flour is gone and it’s slightly dried out—this takes several minutes.

Why did my cream puffs not rise?

Do not open the oven too soon or it may cause the puffs to collapse or not rise at all. They should be nice and golden brown on the top when done. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool while you make the sweetened whipped cream.

What is the difference between puff pastry and choux pastry?

Unlike puff pastry that uses fat to puff up in volume, pâte à choux relies upon the high water content in eggs as leavening to steam open the paste. When formed into a mound on the baking sheet, it bakes into the classic Profiterole or cream puff look.

What are 2 types of choux pastry?

Profiteroles, croquembouches, éclairs, French crullers, beignets, St. Honoré cake, Paris-Brest, quenelles, Parisian gnocchi, dumplings, gougères, chouquettes, craquelins and churros. Choux pastry is fun and versatile and relatively easy to make.

How do you keep puffs crispy?

Store the puffs in an airtight container for up to 2 days and re-crisp them in a low oven for 5 minutes on the day you intend to use them (let them cool before filling). For the filling we suggest you use a creme patissiere rather than just whipped cream. You can find plenty of creme patissiere recipes on-line.

Why is my Craquelin not crunchy?

The dough is forgiving, so if the craquelin becomes too soft to handle while you’re stamping out rounds, quickly pop it back in the freezer for several minutes to let it firm up. You can even gather the leftover scraps, re-roll it, and cut out new rounds to save for a future batch.

What are the qualities of a good choux pastry?

Choux (pronounced “shoo”) is a type of rich pastry dough used for making items such as éclairs, cream puffs (profiteroles), gougères and beignets, among others. It is characterized by a crispy outer shell with a light, airy interior.

Is egg wash necessary for puff pastry?

Without egg wash, the pastries look dull and dry, and not appetizing. Egg wash is also a great glue for making two pieces of pastry stick together (like the edges of a double pie crust), or adhering seeds and grains to the top of bread and rolls. So next time, don’t skip the egg wash. Your pastries will thank you!

What to do with choux pastry?

Eclairs – This is a very popular use for choux pastry in France. The dough is piped into logs, baked, then filled with pastry cream and topped with icing.

What temperature do you bake choux pastry at?

For larger puffs, after 20 minutes of baking, lower the oven temperature to 375° F (190°C), and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer. To insure that the inside of the choux pastry does not get soggy after baking, pierce each puff and return the tray to the oven that has been turned off.

Who invented Choux paste?

Many references I could find credit the invention of choux paste to an Italian chef working for the queen of France, Catherine de Médicis (1519-1589). However, there seems to be some disagreement over his name.

Do choux pastry shells need to be refrigerated?

They can be refrigerated for several days, but they will no longer be crispy on the outside. Choux pastry shells can also be frozen. To defrost, place frozen shells in a 425°F (210°C) oven for three or four minutes.