Last week, I attempted to bake Gougères for the first time. It was my first attempt at baking with Pate a Choux. The recipe I followed called for six large eggs, but I knew adding the last egg would make the dough runnier than the optimal consistency. When I added the mixture into a piping bag, it was watery and didn't hold shape. Is there a technique or something I can add to the dough mix to correct the dough from being so liquidy? May I add flour to the runny dough and mix it in an electric mixer to tighten the consistency, or is that not recommended because I already mixed the eggs into the dough in a previous step?
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1Suggested title change: "How can I fix a liquidy choux pastry dough?" Gougère is a specific pastry made with cheese added to the choux pastry, but I don't think it matters too much in that case, and your question applies also to other scenarios (eclairs, profiteroles, etc).– LescurelCommented Oct 26, 2022 at 13:59
1 Answer
Most of the sources I've seen online say that you absolutely shouldn't add more raw flour to liquidy choux dough.
The recommended solution seems to be to make half a batch of dough without the eggs, and mix that with the overly-eggy dough, either a bit at a time until the correct consistency is reached, or all at once, and then add more eggs to the combined doughs if necessary.
Another solution is to put the dough back into a pot, and cook, stirring constantly, over very low heat until the dough thickens to the proper consistency.
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1I would be terrified of heating it on the stove at that point. Even a runny choux would be quite viscous and difficult to keep stirred up, and overheating the bottom by just a few degrees would turn the stuff to chunks.– SneftelCommented Oct 26, 2022 at 13:13
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@Sneftel I totally agree - knowing me, I might make it way more toasty than it needs to be, and it might taste really funny from the char. So will be careful if this ever happens, and I have to actually attempt back on the pot and reheat suggestion Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 14:14