Pâte à Choux Dough (Cream Puff Dough)

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces)water
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon (.21 ounces) salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon (.22 ounces)  sugar
• 2 cups (7.06 ounces) Swans Down® Cake Flour
• 5 large eggs, room temperature

1. PREHEAT oven to 425℉.
2. BRING water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil in a medium sauce pot.
3. REMOVE from heat and quickly stir in flour with a wooden spoon.
4. RETURN to stove over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until dough comes away clean from the sides of the pot and forms a smooth ball.
5. REMOVE from heat and place in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment and beat until steam dissipates.
6. ADD eggs one at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding the next.
7. REST in refrigerator for about 10 minutes to cool.
8. TRANSFER dough, which should have a soft consistency, to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Pipe small mounds of dough, about 1 ½-inches wide onto baking sheets leaving about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350℉ and continue to bake until puffed and golden brown about 15 minutes longer.

Kitchen Tips:
Don’t open the oven while it bakes.

The puffs should be hollow inside and slightly crisp on the outside. Halve the puffs, fill with desired filling, and replace puff tops. Baked pâte à choux can be stored in refrigerator for 1 to 2 days or in the freezer for up to a month. (To defrost, warm in a 325℉ oven for 6 to 8 minutes.)

Baking times will vary depending on what you’re making with the dough. To make puffs for filling with pastry cream or savory fillings, preheat oven to 400℉ and pipe small mounds of dough (about 1 ½ inches wide) onto baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between them. Bake about 25 minutes, shifting baking sheets from top to bottom and back to front, until browned and puffed.