A Spontaneous Evening with Gougères, Wine, & Friends

We enjoyed a spontaneous weekday evening with friends over, eating Gougères fresh from the oven and catching up over a bottle of Gewurztraminer we picked up during our June wedding travels through wine country.

I’ve loved Gougères since I first discovered them during one of early morning visits to Thorough Bread & Pastry some years ago. After some long days, I felt the need to treat ourselves a little and started looking up recipes, part terrified of all the potential butter required, a bit intimidated by how complex they could be, but ultimately craved to create something new and lulled by a nostalgic indulgence.

While my husband was away for a haircut, I enjoyed a girl’s evening baking with Jinha. The recipe ended up being simpler than we imagined. Here’s the recipe listed out, with some minor modifications:

ingredients (serves 4)

1. 1 Pinch of salt

2. 75g (2.6 oz) grated Gruyère cheese (increase for more cheese flavor)

3. 5 tbsp butter

4. 1 cup flour

5. 1 cup of water

6. 4 eggs

supplies

1. Saucepan

2. Oven

3. Spatula

4. Measuring cup

5. Mixing bowl

instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.

2. Make a puff pastry by melting the butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

3. Remove from heat and all the flour at once, working briskly with the spatula. Put back on the heat and dry the dough until it comes off the pan.

4. Remove from heat, let cool.

5. In a separate bowl, mix all the eggs together with the salt. Incorporate a quarter of the salt-egg mixture into the dough at a time, mixing well with the spatula. Repeat until the remaining mixture is incorporated.

6. Add the cheese.

7. Arrange into small balls on a buttered plate. *Use two teaspoons or a piping bag.

8. Bake until puffed and golden brown (about 25 min).

One of tips I found from several blogs was to add salt to the egg first. From Cooks Illustrated:

“...the salt in our Gougères also improves their structure, allowing us to make puffs that are airy, not dense. But how the salt is added is critical. Rather than add it to the dough, we beat the salt with the eggs before they are combined with the flour mixture. Why?

Mixing salt with the eggs changes the electrical charges on the egg proteins so they uncoil at a lower temperature, allowing them to set up into a strong network earlier in the baking time. This means they can buttress the dough as it inflates, ensuring that it doesn’t collapse under the added weight of the cheese. Bottom line? Our Gougères contain fewer and larger interior bubbles, creating the airy results we were after.”

Thankful to have friends nearby who happily came over late in the evening with short notice. While some days can be tough, there is always a way to make the evenings just a little better - and a little special too.