Profiteroles at home

Let's make profiteroles - small hollow choux pastry buns! They can be filled with absolutely any filling: be it cream or boiled condensed milk, cream cheese with mushrooms or liver pate. I will gladly share all the intricacies and secrets of this homemade baking with you in this step-by-step recipe.

In general, it is not at all difficult to prepare custard dough for profiteroles (and eclairs as well). It is only important to follow a number of rules and then everything will definitely turn out to be 5+. So, you need to understand exactly what the consistency of the choux pastry should be, so that the finished products do not disappoint either in appearance or taste. I will tell you about all the intricacies of preparing this type of dough below and will certainly share the result.

Ingredients

• Chicken eggs (4 pieces)
• Wheat flour of the highest grade (150 grams)
• Butter (100 grams)
• Water (125 milliliters)
• Milk (125 milliliters)
• Sugar (0.5 teaspoon)
• Salt (1 pinch)

Directions

1. To make homemade profiteroles, you will need the following ingredients: premium wheat flour, milk (any fat content), water, chicken eggs (I have 4 very large ones), butter (at least 72% fat), as well as very little salt and sugar for taste ...
2. We take a small saucepan (preferably with a thick bottom) or a saucepan, pour milk and water into it. We put butter there (best of all, soft, so that it melts faster, but this does not matter), a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of sugar and put everything on fire.
3. Let the liquid warm up and the oil melt completely. We bring everything to a boil, remembering to stir so that the milk does not stick to the bottom.
4. Now, stirring the mass in a circular motion, pour into the pan IMMEDIATELY ALL THE FLOUR. This is important - this way there will be no lumps in the choux pastry.
5. By constantly kneading and not removing the dishes from the heat (below average), we should get an absolutely homogeneous and smooth dough. I would say that during the brewing process, a thick and dense lump of dough is formed.
6. Now we need to dry the dough (another 2 minutes on the heat below average), for which, constantly kneading it with a spatula, wait until a thin crust of dried dough forms at the bottom of the dish. In this case, the lump itself will begin to lag behind the walls and bottom of the saucepan. This is also important when preparing choux pastry for profiteroles.
7. That's it: the dough brewing process is complete, it needs to be cooled a little. To do this, it is most convenient to transfer the lump to another dish, which it is advisable to cool in advance.
8. Use a spatula to break a lump of dough so that it cools down quickly to a very warm state (not hot!). If you start introducing chicken eggs into hot dough, they can curl up and nothing happens.
9. Now, one by one (!) Introduce raw chicken eggs into the choux pastry. After each, knead the dough very thoroughly with a spoon or spatula to achieve uniformity. I use 4 chicken eggs in this recipe, larger than average (75 grams each). You may need from 4 to 6 eggs - it all depends on their size. That is why, after adding the third or fourth egg to the dough, be guided by the consistency of the resulting mass. If you realize that the dough is still too thick and difficult to mix, add another egg. But not all at once, but break it into a bowl in advance and add a little. Maybe you need the whole egg, and maybe a third or half. It is important to stop in time, otherwise the dough will be too runny.
10. Since the consistency of choux pastry depends on many factors (for example, the quality and moisture content of wheat flour, the size of chicken eggs), you should understand what to expect as a result. The finished choux pastry (about 700 grams is obtained) should be completely smooth, shiny and free of lumps. It is neither thick nor liquid - it slides off the shoulder blade in a heavy, wide ribbon. Alternatively, you can do a bird beak test: take a little dough, lightly squeeze it between your thumb and forefinger, and then spread your fingers apart. The dough between them should form two triangles, similar to the beak of a bird.
11. If, for example, you make the choux pastry too thick, it will not only be difficult to remove it from the culinary bag, but the products themselves will not rise well, they will be too dry and tough. When cooking too much batter, the profiteroles will spread on the baking sheet and will not be able to keep their shape. We transfer the choux pastry to the culinary bag; it is not necessary to use the attachment at all. I just cut off the end of the bag to make a hole that is about 1-1.5 centimeters in diameter. If you do not have such a bag, place the blanks with 2 teaspoons or tablespoons - they will still be puffed out anyway.
12. Cover the baking sheet with baking paper and place the dough in the form of such blanks at a distance from each other (during the baking process, the profiteroles noticeably increase in size). In total, from the specified amount of dough, I get 25 pieces.
13. Ponytails that stick up, I advise you to smooth them down so that they do not burn out. To do this, you can use a teaspoon or coffee spoon dipped in water (so that the dough does not stick) or do it with your finger (also dip in water)
14. I almost forgot: the oven (I have a gas one) should be warmed up in advance - this is a must. Then choose your own version of baking profiteroles. 1. At 190 ° C for about 30-35 minutes. 2. At 200 ° C for about 20 minutes until golden brown, then lower the temperature to 160 ° C and dry the workpieces for another 10-15 minutes. I prefer the second option.
15. If you did everything correctly, the result will definitely please you! The finished profiteroles should be light, dry, and have a beautiful golden color. After baking, they do not lose their shape and do not deform - that is, they do not change at all.
16. You see, the blanks for the future dessert or snacks are hollow on the inside, while they have a crispy crust and soft inner walls.
17. You can store profiteroles for several days in an airtight container. Hope you find this simple homemade baking recipe useful. Bon appetit, friends!