Party Ready: Make-Ahead Gougère
Everyone's favourite party snack.
by Erin Henderson
By George, I think I've got it!
After many, many attempts at getting choux pastry right, I've finally landed on the recipe that works the best in Ontario's humid climate. And all the thanks goes to Sarah Fortunato, a brilliant pastry artist, my colleague at George Brown College, and my instructor for a croquembouche workshop in early 2025.
Here's a video from that class that will also make the lengthy and detailed instructions below much more understandable.
Maybe it's taken me this long to figure out what others (mistakenly!) say is easy because I came late in life to gougère.
While I have vague memories of the chef making these puffy little cheese pastries at the private club where I was a sommelier in 2009, I didn't really appreciate the full wonder of them until a trip to Burgundy, France 10 years later.
I took a day-long cooking class at The Cooks Atelier that taught French classics like soufflé, seasonal fruit tarts, and the arm-numbing practice that is pâté à choux.
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After class, lunch started with cold Champagne and warm gougère. It was simple and classic and oh-so-chic, and I immediately put that use in my own entertaining. Well, I tried. The recipe that worked in France, didn't translate to Ontario (perhaps the fault of the cook's). So I sampled a few other recipes, including from leading chefs and recipe sites, but I didn't hit consistent, reliable, fool-proof gold until the class with Sarah.
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Make Ahead Gougère
I apologize for the inimidatingly lengthy instructions, but I wanted to be really specific about making these. It's taken me a few different recipes and many different attempts, but below is the best I've found for making gougère in Ontario's humid climate.
But don't let that scare you off! It may take you one or two at-bats to get the hang of it, but the practice is well worth it.
I'm also aware it's a bit of a faff to separate the eggs, deal with extra dishes, etc. etc., but do it anyway. Once we get going, just like a waterslide, there's no turning back. It's best to mis en place, or have all your ingredients ready, before beginning.
Work your eggs into the dough one batch at a time. You can do this by hand, and I have, but it will require an arm-numbing amount of strength, and it does take some time. You can use a stand mixer, which is now what I do, though I've also used a food processor fitted with an "S" blade (ironically, not a dough blade.) (See Photo 2, above.)
After the second batch of egg is absorbed, check your dough. Scoop some dough with a wooden spoon. You're looking for dough that is bouncy, pliable, and slightly sticky. When you turn the spoon on its side, it should slowly stretch off the spoon in a point, plopping back into the bowl (see Photo 3, above.) If it sticks in a clump and doesn't fall, you need more eggs; radd the last batch. If the dough runs off too quicky, unfortunately, there's no saving it, and you need to start again. This is why I say add one egg batch at a time.
Makes: ~60, 2 inch diametre puffs
Chef level: moderate +
Special Equipment: digital scale, stand mixer, thermometer, piping bag (optional)
Ingredients:
- 500ml water
- 250g butter
- 10g salt
- 370g bread flour, sifted for lumps through a fine mesh sieve
- 9 large eggs: divided into 3 bowls of 3 eggs because they will be added a little at a time (plus one beaten for egg wash)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon, optional but recommended
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme, optional but recommended
- 1 cup/45g finely grated Gruyère cheese (alternatively: Comté, Parmesan, Pecorino, or Manchego)
How You Make It:
- In medium sauce pot, add the water, butter, and salt and bring to a rolling boil just long enough to melt the butter.
- Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously and continually to incorporate. Cook the dough until the dough balls together, coming away from the sides of the pot, and leave a thin film on the bottom of the pot.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to the work bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to cool to 65°F (I find beating it on low allows the steam to evaporate faster.)
- Once cooled, and with the beater running on medium-low, add three eggs to incorporate, scraping down the sides. Repeat this with three more eggs and then the last three.
- Check the consistency of your dough by lifting up the paddle. It should stretch from the paddle back to the bowl in a triangle. If it’s too sticky, add the reserved milk, a little at a time (you can only loosen dough not stiffen it) until it gets to the stretchy, soft consistency.
- Add most of the grated cheese (leaving some to top the gougère), the thyme, and the Dijon and stir well to incorporate both into the dough.
- Set your oven to 425°C and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Fit a piping bag with a ½ inch round tip and scoop the dough into the bag (or, if you're feeling lazy, just spoon out round balls with a spoon dipped in water. I've done both, but I do prefer the piping bag method.)
- Pipe the dough into mounds about the size of a quarter, leaving about 2 inches of room between each, on a parchment paper or silicone lined baking sheet. (You may need to do this in batches.)
- When done, with a wet finger, or the back of a spoon that's been dipped in water, smooth out any pointy tops.
- Mix an egg with a bit of water, and lightly coat the raw gougère with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle with the leftover cheese and place in the hot oven.
- After 15 minutes, drop the heat to 350°F, and bake for a remaining 8 minutes. (Keep an eye so they don't burn.)
- Once done, turn off the heat, open the oven door a few inches (if your door doesn't have a spring that will allow this, place a wooden spoon between the door and the oven, and allow the gougère to stay in the oven another 15 minutes or so to evaporate any remaining moisture but not over cook.
- Serve warm (or place in an air-tight container and freeze until needed, up to three months for freezing and three days in the fridge.)
Notes for Baking from Frozen and Refrigerated:
- For fully baked gougère that have been frozen: Bake in a 375°F oven for ~15 minutes.
- For fully baked gougère that has been stored in the fridge: Bake in a 375°F oven for 3-5 minutes.
Wine Pairing
Nothing beat a glass of cold Champagne with cheesy gougère!
