What is the maximal thickness for choux pastry?
I recently made puff balls. I made pâte a choux, but instead of baking it as small spheres (profiteroles-like) or piping it for eclaires, I shaped it into 3 cm big balls and baked it. They puffed beautifully to more than double their original size, but the planes of dough inside remained rather moist, they were actually underbaked.
What thickness (pre-baking) can I use for choux pastry shapes so I can be sure that they will bake on the inside?
Best Answer
This is not necessarily under baked.
What you made is a perfect creme puff. The dough in the middle is not raw- it has just been steamed from the inside instead of being dried and crisped the way the exterior was. There is usually very little such dough on the inside and the filling hides it.
Many creme puff recipes call for scooping out the soft dough from the middle before filling.
I don't know that there is any size that can guarantee that there will be no un-crisped dough left in the middle. Even medium-sized eclairs can have a few threads of dough inside that stay soft.
Pictures about "What is the maximal thickness for choux pastry?"
How big should I pipe my choux?
It wasn't cooked enough or we added too many eggs. The choux pastry is too thick: If the choux pastry doesn't fall from the wooden spoon, then it's too thick. Whisk an egg in a bowl and gradually in a thin stream start adding a small amount of the whisked egg into the mixture, while mixing with an electric mixer.What happens if choux pastry is too thick?
If the choux pastry is thin and runny: A thin mixture means that you have added too much liquid, or that your eggs might be too large. Add the eggs one at a time: When you are adding the eggs to the mixture, beat each egg until it is thoroughly combined into the mixture before adding the next egg.Why is my choux pastry too thin to pipe?
Also, remember to give some space between your choux pastries to keep them from baking into each other. They might start out small, but they will expand as much as thrice its original size! If you have a bigger oven, using a bigger baking tray will help you bake multiple choux pastries at one go!Cream Puffs (In-depth Guide to Pate a Choux and Pastry Cream)
More answers regarding what is the maximal thickness for choux pastry?
Answer 2
Technique for working with choux is important.
Sounds like you have the right oven temp to get that initial POOF! but sounds like the second stage is missing for working with larger shapes.
What we do in the bakery is start off at the high temp to get that steam expansion and slight crispness to the outside. We then turn the oven down about 50F-100F and continue to bake them so the dough cooks all the way through. At about the 3/4 point we'll sometimes quickly poke the bottoms to allow steam to escape easier.
Once you stuff the shells with your filling they get soft again so a really crispy shell isn't a big concern for us. It's about getting the right colour and the complete cooking in the middle. Also, if it doesn't quick work out you can do as another poster said, scoop out the under done dough.
Good luck!
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Valeria Boltneva, Anna Shvets, Karen Laårk Boshoff, EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA