Choux Pastry Sleep Facts

Flaky, hollow, and suspiciously light, choux pastry is the kind of delicate French dough that somehow became the backbone of everything from éclairs to swans. It’s made by cooking the flour before baking, which feels like cheating but makes for excellent bedtime reading. A soothing deep dive into pâte à choux—ideal for pastry fans, sleep seekers, and anyone too tired to whisk anything.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you learn a little and sleep a lot.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And tonight let's learn about choux pastry.

Choux pastry,

Or pata choux,

Is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries.

The essential ingredients are butter,

Water,

Flour,

And eggs.

Instead of a raising agent,

Choux pastry employs its high moisture content to create steam,

As the water in the dough evaporates when baked,

Puffing the pastry.

The pastry is used in many European cuisines,

Including French and Spanish,

And can be used to make many pastries such as éclairs,

Cream puffs,

Crullers,

Beignets,

Churros,

And funnel cakes.

The full term is commonly said to be a corruption of French pata choux,

Hot pastry dough.

The term choux has two meanings in the early literature.

One is a kind of cheese puff,

First documented in the 13th century.

The other corresponds to the modern choux pastry,

And is documented in English,

German,

And French cookbooks in the 16th century.

This dough was sometimes baked,

Sometimes fried.

Choux pastry is later widely documented in the 18th century,

Under names including pata la royale,

Or paste royal.

Popolans were common among aristocratic desserts in the 16th century,

And were flavored with cheese or citrus,

For example,

Lemon peel,

Orange blossom water,

Etc.

They were prepared from dough that had been dried over a fire to evaporate its water,

Which was called pata choux.

The royal chefs,

Jean Avis,

A pâtissier,

And Antoine Carême,

Who worked in the court of Marie Antoinette,

Made modifications to the recipe in the 18th century,

Resulting in the recipe most commonly used now for profiteroles.

The name Popolans,

Literally baby,

Small child,

Later Popolans,

Or Poupolans,

Is attested in around 1349 for a kind of cake made with flour and eggs.

Please forgive my French.

A widely repeated story claims that choux pastry was invented in 1540 by Pantanelli and Popolini,

Neither of whom is ever cited with a first name.

Supposedly the pastry chefs of Queen Catherine de' Medici,

The Italian wife of King Henry II of France.

This is part of the fiction that Italian cuisine was introduced to France by her retinue,

Apparently first mentioned in the 18th century.

Pantanelli supposedly invented the dough in 1540,

Seven years after the arrival of Catherine in France.

He is said to have used the dough to make a gâteau named Pata Pantanelli.

Over time,

The recipe of the dough evolved,

And the name changed to Pata Popolans,

Which was used to make Popolans,

Named after Pantanelli's successor,

Popolini.

However,

The story of Popolini,

Also called Popolans,

Only appears in the beginning of the 1890s in the writings of the French pastry chef Pierre Lacan.

The story is clearly fictional,

Given that Popolans are attested long before the 16th century,

And the name Popolini being created from the word Popolans,

And not the other way around.

Similarly,

Pantanelli appears to be derived from Pata.

The ingredients for choux pastry are butter,

Water,

And milk.

Flour and eggs.

Like Yorkshire pudding,

Or David Eyre's pancake,

Instead of a raising agent,

It employs high moisture content to create steam during cooking,

To puff the pastry.

The high moisture content is achieved by boiling the water and butter,

Then adding the flour.

The mixture is cooked a few minutes longer,

Then cooled before adding enough eggs to achieve the desired consistency.

The boiling step causes the starch in the flour to gel,

Allowing the incorporation of more water.

Choux pastry is usually baked,

But for beignets,

It is fried.

In Spain and Latin America,

Churros are made of fried choux pastry,

Sugared,

And dipped in a thick hot chocolate for breakfast.

In Italian cuisine,

Choux pastry is the base for Zeppole di San Giuseppe,

Which are cream-filled pastries eaten on March 19th for the Feast of Saint Joseph.

In Austrian cuisine,

One variation of Marlenknudel,

A sweet,

Apricot dumpling cooked in simmering water,

Uses choux pastry.

In that case,

It does not puff,

But remains relatively dense.

Choux pastries are sometimes filled with cream after baking to make cream puffs or eclairs.

A craquelin is covered in a crackly sugar topping,

And often filled with pastry cream,

Much like an eclair.

A chouquette,

A diminutive of choux,

Is a small,

Round,

Hollow choux pastry covered with pearl sugar.

Unlike eclairs,

Which are also made with choux pastry,

Chouquettes are bite-sized,

And the hollow inside is not filled.

Chouquettes originate from Paris,

France,

And can be enjoyed at any time of the day,

Typically for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Let's talk generally about pastry.

Pastry refers to a variety of doughs,

Often enriched with fat or eggs,

As well as the sweet and savory baked goods made from them.

The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity.

Sweetened pastries are often described as baker's confectionery.

Common pastry dishes include pies,

Tarts,

Quiches,

Croissants,

And pasties.

The French word pâtisserie is also used in English,

With or without the accent,

For many of the same foods,

As well as the set of techniques used to make them.

Originally,

The French word pastisserie referred to anything,

Such as a meat pie made in dough,

Paste,

Later pâte,

And not typically a luxurious or sweet product.

This meaning still persisted in the 19th century,

Though by then the term more often referred to the sweet and often ornate confections implied today.

The precise definition of the term pastry varies based on location and culture.

Common doughs used to make pastries include phyllo dough,

Puff pastry,

Choux pastry,

Short dough,

Pâte brisée,

Pâte sucrée,

And enriched doughs.

Pastries tend to have a delicate texture,

Often flaky or crumbly,

And rich flavor.

Simple breads are thus excluded from the pastry category.

Pastries also tend to be baked.

Pastry bag or piping bag.

A disposable or reusable bag that is often cone-shaped,

Used to make an even stream of dough,

Frosting,

Or flavored substance,

To form a structure,

Decorate a baked item,

Or fill a pastry with a custard,

Cream,

Jelly,

Or other filling.

Pastry board.

A square or oblong board,

Preferably marble,

But usually wood,

On which pastry is flattened.

Pastry brake.

Opposed and counter-rotating rollers,

With a variable gap through which pastry can be worked,

And reduced in thickness for commercial production.

A small version is used domestically for pasta production.

Pastry case.

An uncooked or blind-baked pastry container,

That is used to hold savory or sweet mixtures.

Pastry cream.

Confectioner's custard.

An egg and flour-thickened custard,

Made with sweetened milk flavored with vanilla.

It is traditionally used as a filling for flans,

Cakes,

Pastries,

Tarts,

Etc.

The flour prevents the egg from curdling.

Pastry cutters.

Various metal or plastic outlines of shapes,

E.

G.

Circles,

Fluted circles,

Diamonds,

Gingerbread men,

Etc.

,

Sharpened on one or both sides,

And used to cut out corresponding shapes from biscuit,

Scone,

Pastry,

Or cake mixtures.

Pastry blender.

A kitchen implement used to chop the fat into the flour,

Which prevents the melting of the fat with body heat from fingers,

And improves control of the size of the fat chunks.

Usually constructed of wire or plastic with multiple wires or small blades connected to a handle.

The European tradition of pastry making is often traced back to the shortcrust era of flaky doughs that were in use throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times.

In the ancient Mediterranean,

The Romans,

Greeks,

And Phoenicians all had phyllo-style pastries in their culinary traditions.

In the plays of Aristophanes,

Written in the 5th century BC,

There is mention of sweet meats,

Including small pastries filled with fruit.

Roman cuisine used flour,

Oil,

And water to make pastries that were used to cover meats and fowls during baking in order to keep in the juices,

But the pastry was not meant to be eaten.

A pastry that was meant to be eaten was a richer pastry that was made into small pastries,

And that were often served at banquets.

Greeks and Romans both struggled in making a good pastry because they used oil in the cooking process,

And oil causes the pastry to lose its stiffness.

In the medieval cuisine of Northern Europe,

Pastry chefs were able to produce nice,

Stiff pastries because they cooked with shortening and butter.

Some incomplete lists of ingredients have been found in medieval cookbooks,

But no full,

Detailed versions.

There were stiff,

Empty pastries,

Called coffins or huff-paste,

That were eaten by servants only and included an egg yolk glaze to help make more enjoyable to consume.

Medieval pastries also included small tarts to add richness.

It was not until about the mid-16th century that actual pastry recipes began appearing.

These recipes were adopted and adapted over time in various European countries,

Resulting in the myriad pastry traditions known to the region,

From Portuguese pastes de nada in the West to Russian pirozhki in the East.

The use of chocolate in pastry making in the West,

So commonplace today,

Arose only after Spanish and Portuguese traders brought chocolate to Europe from the New World,

Starting in the 16th century.

Many culinary historians consider French pastry chef Antonin Carame,

1784-1833,

To have been the first great master of pastry making in modern times.

Pastry making has a strong tradition in many parts of Asia.

Chinese pastry is made from rice or different types of flour,

With fruit,

Sweet bean paste,

Or sesame-based fillings.

The mooncakes are part of Chinese mid-autumn festival traditions,

While char siu bao,

Steamed or baked pork buns,

Are a regular savory dim sum menu item.

In the 19th century,

The British brought Western-style pastry to the Far East,

Though it would be the French influence maxim in the 1950s that made Western pastry popular in Chinese-speaking regions,

Starting with Hong Kong.

The term Western cake is used to refer to Western pastry,

Otherwise Chinese pastry is assumed.

Other Asian countries,

Such as Korea,

Prepare traditional pastry confections,

Such as tteok,

Hangwa,

And yaksik,

With flour,

Rice,

Fruits,

And regional specific ingredients to make unique desserts.

Japan also has specialized pastry confections better known as mochi and manju.

Pastry confections that originate in Asia are clearly distinct from those that originate in the West,

Which are generally much sweeter.

Let's learn about the different types of pastry.

Shortcut pastry is the simplest and most common pastry.

It is made with flour,

Fat,

Butter,

Salt,

And water to bind the dough.

Pot brisé is a French version of classic pie or tart shortcrust pastry.

The process of making pastry includes mixing of the fat and flour,

Adding water,

Chilling,

And then rolling out the dough.

Chilling before rolling is essential since it enables the fat,

Like lard,

Butter,

Etc.

,

To harden again and thus create flaky layers in the dough.

It also allows for even hydration and inhibits gluten formation.

It results in a tender,

Flaky pastry.

The fat is mixed with the flour first,

Generally by rubbing with fingers or a pastry blender,

Which inhibits gluten formation by coating the gluten strands in fat and results in a short,

As in crumbly,

Hence the term shortcrust,

Tender pastry.

A related type is the sweetened sweet crust pastry,

Also known as pâte sucrée,

In which sugar and egg yolks have been added rather than water to bind the pastry.

Flaky pastry is a simple pastry that expands when cooked due to the number of layers.

It bakes into a crisp,

Buttery pastry.

The puff is obtained by the shard-like layers of fat,

Most often butter or shortening,

Creating layers which expand in the heat of the oven when baked.

Puff pastry has many layers that cause it to expand or puff when baked.

Puff pastry is made using a laminated dough consisting of flour,

Butter,

Salt,

And water.

The pastry rises up due to the water and fats,

Expanding as they turn into steam upon heating.

Puff pastry come out of the oven light,

Flaky,

And tender.

Choux pastry is a very light pastry that is often filled with cream.

Unlike other types of pastry,

Choux is in fact closer to a dough before being cooked,

Which gives it the ability to be piped into various shapes,

Such as the éclair and profiterole.

Its name originates from the French choux,

Meaning cabbage,

Owing to its rough cabbage-like shape after cooking.

Choux begins as a mixture of milk or water and butter,

Which are heated together until the butter melts,

To which flour is added to form a dough.

Eggs are then beaten into the dough to further enrich it.

This high percentage of water causes the pastry to expand into a light,

Hollow pastry.

Initially,

The water in the dough turns to steam in the oven and causes the pastry to rise.

Then,

The starch in the flour gelatinizes,

Thereby solidifying the pastry.

Once the choux dough has expanded,

It is taken out of the oven.

A hole is made in it to let out the steam.

The pastry is then placed back in the oven to dry out and become crisp.

The pastry is filled with various flavors of cream,

And is often topped with chocolate.

Choux pastries can also be filled with ingredients,

Such as cheese,

Tuna,

Or chicken,

To be used as appetizers.

Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry dough that is used in many layers.

The phyllo is generally wrapped around a filling and brushed with butter before baking.

These pastries are very delicate and flaky.

Hot water crust pastry is used for savory pies,

Such as pork pies,

Game pies,

And,

More rarely,

Steak and kidney pies.

Hot water crust is traditionally used for making hand-raised pies.

The usual ingredients are hot water,

Lard,

And flour.

The pastry is made by heating water,

Into which the fat is then melted,

Before bringing to the boil,

And finally mixing with the flour.

It can be done by beating the flour into the mixture in the pan,

Or by kneading on a pastry board.

Either way,

The result is a hot and rather sticky paste that can be used for hand-raising,

Shaping by hand,

Sometimes using a dish or bowl as an inner mold.

As the crust cools,

Its shape is largely retained,

And it is filled and covered with a crust,

Ready for baking.

Hand-raised hot water crust pastry does not produce some neat and uniform finish,

As there will be sagging during the cooking of the filled pie,

Which is generally accepted as the mark of a handmade pie.

Different kinds of pastry doughs are made by utilizing the natural characteristics of wheat flour and certain fats.

When wheat flour is mixed with water and kneaded into plain dough,

It develops strands of gluten,

Which are what make bread tough and elastic.

In a typical pastry,

However,

This toughness is unwanted,

So fat or oil is added to slow down the development of gluten.

Pastry flour can also be used,

Since it typically has a lower level of protein than all-purpose or bread flours.

Lard or suet work well because they have a coarse crystalline structure that is very effective.

Using un-clarified butter does not work well because of its water content.

Clarified butter or ghee,

Which is virtually water-free,

Is better,

But short-crust pastry using only butter may develop an inferior texture.

If the fat is melted with hot water,

Or if liquid oil is used,

The thin oily layer between the grains offers less of an obstacle to gluten formation and the resulting pastry is tougher.

A good pastry is light and airy and fatty,

But firm enough to support the weight of the filling.

When making a short-crust pastry,

Care must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid.

To ensure that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to develop gluten.

On the other hand,

Over-mixing results in long gluten strands that toughen the pastry.

In other types of pastry,

Such as Danish pastry and croissants,

The characteristic flaky texture is achieved by repeatedly rolling out a dough similar to yeast bread dough,

Spreading it with butter,

And folding it to produce many thin layers.

Pastry chefs use a combination of culinary ability and creativity for baking,

Decoration,

And flavoring with ingredients.

Many baked goods require a lot of time and focus.

Presentation is an important aspect of pastry and dessert preparation.

The job is often physically demanding,

Requiring attention to detail and long hours.

Pastry chefs are also responsible for creating new recipes to put on the menu and they work in restaurants,

Bistros,

Large hotels,

Casinos,

And bakeries.

Pastry baking is usually done in an area slightly separate from the main kitchen.

This section of the kitchen is in charge of making pastries,

Desserts,

And other baked goods.

A Danish pastry,

Sometimes shortened to Danish,

Especially in American English,

Is a multi-layered laminated sweet pastry in the viennoiserie tradition.

Like other pastries in this category,

Such as croissants,

It is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-leavened dough that creates a layered texture.

It is thought that some bakery techniques were brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers and originated the name of this pastry.

The Danish recipe is,

However,

Different from the Viennese one and has since developed into a Danish specialty.

The origin of the pastry itself is also not clear.

Danish pastries were brought with immigrants to the United States,

Where they are often topped with a fruit or cream cheese filling,

And are now popular around the world.

In Danish,

Norwegian,

And Swedish,

The term for Danish pastry is viennebrød,

Meaning Viennese bread.

The same etymology is also the origin of the Icelandic viennabrød and Estonian viennesei,

Viennese pastry.

In Vienna,

Conversely,

The Danish pastry is known as Københagene plunder,

Or simply Københagene,

After Copenhagen,

Or Danish plunder.

Danish pastry is made of yeast-leavened dough,

Of wheat flour,

Milk,

Eggs,

Sugar,

And large amounts of butter or margarine.

A yeast dough is rolled out thinly,

Covered with thin slices of butter between the layers of dough,

And then the dough is folded and rolled several times,

Creating 27 layers.

If necessary,

The dough is chilled between foldings to ease handling.

The process of rolling,

Buttering,

Folding,

And chilling is repeated multiple times to create a multi-layered dough that becomes airy and crispy on the outside,

But also rich and buttery.

Butter is the traditional fat used in Danish pastry,

But in industrial production,

Less expensive fats are often used,

Such as hydrogenated sunflower oil.

The origin of the Danish pastry is often ascribed to a strike amongst bakery workers in Denmark in 1850.

The strike caused bakery owners to hire workers from abroad,

Among them several Austrian bakers who brought along new baking traditions and pastry recipes.

The Austrian pastry of Plundergebæk soon became popular in Denmark,

And after the labor disputes ended,

Danish bakers adopted the Austrian recipes,

Adjusting them to their own liking and traditions by increasing the amount of eggs and fat,

For example.

This development resulted in what is now known as the Danish pastry.

One of the baking techniques and traditions that the Austrian bakers reportedly brought with them was the Viennese lamination technique.

Due to such novelties,

The Danes called the pastry Viennebrød,

And that name is still in use in Northern Europe today.

At that time,

Almost all baked goods in Denmark were given exotic names.

Danish pastries,

As consumed in Denmark,

Have different shapes and names.

Some are topped with chocolate,

Pearl sugar,

Glace icing,

And or silvered nuts,

And they may be stuffed with a variety of ingredients,

Such as jam or preserves,

Usually apple or prune,

Ramonza,

Marzipan,

And or custard.

Shapes are numerous,

Including circles with filling in the middle,

Known in Denmark as spandauers,

Figure 8s,

Spirals,

Known as snails,

And the pretzel-like kringles.

There is also the frundsnapper,

Which is a twisted pastry sprinkled with sesame and poppy seeds.

The pastry is often filled with marzipan or custard.

Interestingly,

The term frundsnapper has no unique meaning,

And is only used to refer to the dish itself.

Danish pastries of all variations have come to symbolize hygge,

A significant concept within Danish culture that embodies a sense of coziness and comfort.

Reviews

Choux pastry did the trick! I learned a little and slept a lot. (And it didn’t make me feel hungry 😋) Thank you Benjamin!

I drifted off craving pastries, there could be worse things right? 😂
Thank you Benjamin! ☺️