I'll just come right out and say it. These gluten-free choux puffs are legit. Very legit. The kind of legit when someone may not even notice they are gluten-free!   And with a few tips and loads of images for visual cues I share in this post, they're quite easy to make. I also avoided a recipe that required blending an assortment of gluten-free flours and starches together. Sorry, I don't have time for that. I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour (not sponsored) which is very accessible at most grocery stores or online.

You can fill them with a variety of things. In a sweet application you can scoop in ice cream for profiteroles, pastry cream, whipped cream and fruit, jam, yogurt, etc.  You can make bite-sized savory appetizers too by filling them with smoked salmon, sliders, egg or tuna salad, sauteed mushrooms or some kind of meat and cheese combination, etc.  They are really so versatile.  For people eating gluten-free, I think a recipe like this is a major food win!    

It took me a while to attempt this in the first place.  Something about the choux pastry making process and my experiences so far with gluten-free flours screamed to me that gluten-free choux pastry DOES NOT WORK. It shouldn't.  It can't. And yet it did. I am still kind of astonished about how well. That said, you better believe I went through some trial and error to get here. When I decided I wanted to make gluten-free pâte à choux (as it is en français), my first step was to of course consult the almighty Google. Upon seeing a small handful of links pop up, I thought, AWESOME I don't need to invent any wheels today. 

Wrong. A batch of lumpy and oddly deflated choux puffs later, I realized the Internet lied to me. It is not almighty afterall.

In hindsight, some of those recipes involve creating your own blend of gf flours and starches (which as I mentioned I was trying to avoid in favor of easily accessible pre-packaged gf flour blend) and it would make sense that the dough might behave differently depending on the mix.  I also found a lot of the recipes lacking in some necessary details.   As someone who is not a trained pastry chef (me), some finer details would have been super helpful had they been highlighted in the recipe.  I made sure to do that here, of course, summarized below. The full recipe follows.

Tips to Save Your Life (or at least your choux)

1) RUNNY DOUGH. 

This is a major factor determining whether you end up with actual puffs or deflated discs. In other words, too wet and the puffs deflate as it cools down. Although there is a generally accepted ratio for pate a choux ingredients, there are two variables that can screw you over.  The main one being actual size of your eggs because not every "large egg" is actually identical in size.  You really should use a kitchen scale to weigh the egg used in this recipe because a bit extra or too little can ruin your dough.  If you don't have a kitchen scale, you must use your judgement and watch the dough consistency closely as you make it, rather than blindly tossing in all the eggs listed in the recipe.  A second, smaller factor is the evaporation of water (in the form of steam) from the dough during cooking and beating, which would also affect the moisture content.   

Lesson Learned: Hold off on the last egg until after you've beaten all the other ingredients well together, then add that last egg (lightly whisked) bit by bit to make sure dough doesn't become too runny.  Runny dough = deflated discs.  On the other hand, have an extra egg as back up in case dough is not wet enough (no glossy sheen) after adding the four eggs.
 

2) MAN VS MACHINE.

When I used to make traditional (wheat flour) choux puffs, I always beat the dough by hand.  I didn't enjoy lugging the heavy stand mixer out from the lowest shelf of my pantry, not to mention washing the extra bowl and paddle.  One obvious difference I noted in making these with gluten-free flour is the dough doesn't smooth out very well by hand. In fact it looks all kinds of lumpy and all kinds of wrong no matter how much arm power I apply. 

Lesson Learned:  It is essential to use a stand mixer to achieve that glossy, smooth dough for gluten-free choux pastry. Don't let anyone or any recipe tell you different.  Remember, the Internet lies.

3) BAKING TEMPERATURE. 

So many choux recipes call for higher initial oven temperature to puff the pastry and then lowering the temp to better dry it out during the rest of baking time. I've also seen recipes calling for one constant temperature. I tried both.  

Lesson Learned:  Baking the puffs at a constant temperature of 375f yielded great, stable results for me. When given the choice, I take the path of least work...so one oven temperature it is, thanks!  I also read it is helpful to stick a wooden spoon in the oven door to keep it ajar during baking which releases some of the steam to encourage, you guessed it, proper drying out aka no deflation.  Finally, I leave the finished puffs inside the turned-off oven for at least 30-60 minutes to help the inside dry out. You can pull one out and cut into it to test dryness and go from there.  

Knowing the above would have easily saved me a few failed batches. As it were, my screw-ups are your kitchen successes!  That's what I'm here for right?!  Tell me if you've got any good tips for gluten-free choux too.  

If you make these, I would love to know what you fill them with.  I filled mine with this lilac-infused vanilla ice cream with lemon curd profiterole I shared on Instagram - working on writing up that recipe as we speak, will go live first thing tomorrow.  Keep your eyes peeled if you're interested!  [UPDATE: here is the recipe!]  You can also subscribe to my email list (on this page's sidebar or scroll down on my home page) if you want to make sure you don't miss any new recipes!

MAKE IN ADVANCE:  Choux puffs freeze very well. After baking and cooling completely, store them in airtight freezer-safe container or ziptop bag.  To use, simply heat them up (un-sliced) straight from the freezer in a 350f oven until warm ~10-15 minutes. Sometimes when I’m impatient I just toast them in my countertop oven. Then slice and fill.

RECIPE

Perfect Gluten-Free Choux Puffs

Makes 26 x 2" choux puffs

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C or 1 stick (4oz or 113g) organic grass-fed butter

1/2 C (4 fl.oz) water

1/2 C (4 fl.oz) organic unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice

1 tsp maple sugar or raw cane sugar (omit for savory)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 C (4.5oz or 130g) gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour)

1/4 tsp xanthan gum *ONLY IF gluten-free flour blend above does NOT already contain xanthan gum*

4 large eggs, preferably measured by weight 8oz or 227g, room temperature

plus 1 more egg for egg wash (whisked with a pinch of salt added)

optional: sliced almonds for sweet pastry or for savory pastry, you can use coarse salt, sesame seeds, everything-but-the-bagel blend, etc.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375f.  Line two large baking sheets (if your oven can hold both, or else do one baking sheet at a time) with parchment paper.  Set up your stand mixer with paddle attachment, a piping bag ready to be filled, and room temperature eggs.  

If your gluten-free flour mix does not already contain xanthan gum (check the label), whisk it into your flour now.  I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour which already contains it so I skip this step.

Heat butter, water, milk, sugar (if using for sweet pastry) and salt in a medium pot over medium heat.  Once it comes to a boil, take it off heat and immediately dump in the gluten-free flour, beating with a wooden spoon until combined and a dough begins to form and pull away from the side of the pot.  Put the pot back on medium heat and let it cook and dry out a bit, about 20 seconds. 

Put the dough in a stand mixer and beat it with the paddle attachment at low speed for a few minutes to cool the dough down and release the steam. { image below }

Next, we add eggs one at a time.  { image above}   For best results, you should measure out your eggs by weight since even "large eggs" vary in size.  For choux pastry like this, even a bit too much or too little egg can cause the dough to go from perfect to too runny or too thick.  Whether you have a kitchen scale or not, it is wise to use your eyes to tell you when you have put enough egg or not, directions as follows.

Beat in one at a time, the first 3 eggs, on medium speed of stand mixer, allowing each to be completely incorporated before continuing with the next.  Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed.  After 3 eggs, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the dough smooths out, about a minute. { See the 3 images above for progression }

Then, lightly whisk the 4th egg and start beating it in bit by bit and check consistency.  The dough should be thick (not runny), glossy, a little sticky but still pliable and pipeable when put into a piping bag.  Have a look at the below 3 images for a visual of what the correct consistency should look like in the bowl, the piping bag, and the piped mounds. Pipe one out as a test if you’re unsure, If after the 4th egg, the dough is still too thick, whisk some of a 5th egg a little bit at a time while beating until you achieve the right dough consistency.

Snip the tip of the piping bag into ~1/2" opening. Use a spatula to scrape the dough into the bag - do this in two batches if you can't fit all the dough at once.  First schmear a small dot of dough on all four corners of the baking sheet to keep the parchment paper down during baking.  Holding the piping bag straight up and down (not at an angle), pipe out ~1.5" mounds.  These will puff up to ~2" in diameter so leave some space between your piped mounds.  Use finger tips dipped in water to gently smooth out lumps as needed.  Repeat for the second baking sheet. Use a soft pastry brush to brush on the egg wash.  Sprinkle toppings like nuts or sesame seeds, if using.   

Place the baking sheets in the oven, close the door but wedge a wooden spoon to keep the door ajar.  Bake in the oven for ~30 minutes, or when the tops are golden brown (with the spoon in place the whole time).  Turn off oven and allow to cool for 30-60 minutes to properly dry out all the way (take one out and cut with a knife to be sure).  Once fully cooled, these can be stored in airtight container or ziptop bag in the freezer. Warm directly from freezer in a 350f oven for 10-15 minutes or til warm and crispy. 

Enjoy them filled with something delightful inside - sweet or savory! 

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