Learn how to make your own Gluten Free Choux Pastry! Master this recipe, then use it as the starting point to make other classic pastries like cream puffs, beignets, crullers, cheese puffs and more. Bake it, fry it or boil it in water with an endless variety of sweet and savory ingredients.
What is choux pastry (Pâte à Choux)?
Choux pastry, also known as Pâte à Choux (“pot-ah-SHOO”) is a fairly simple yet incredibly versatile partially-cooked, pastry.
It’s also French for cabbage because baked choux buns looks like little Brussels sprouts.
Basic choux pastry dough ingredients include: water, flour, eggs and butter. Exact amounts and ingredients will vary slightly depending on what you want to make with it.
How to Make Choux Pastry
The magic of choux pastry lies not just in what goes into making it, but how you combine these ingredients. This is because you need to partially cook the choux pastry batter on the stove top to facilitate the gelatinization of the starch molecule before you cook it a final time.
Though this method weakens the gluten proteins in wheat flour, it’s an important step when making choux pastry because it makes the dough pipeable, but still somewhat elastic.
Fortunately for us – we don’t need to worry about gluten! As a result, this means that gluten-free choux pastry is just as easy (or difficult) to make as the gluten-filled versions.
As a side note/hot take – I suspect choux pastry has a reputation for being fussy and difficult to master is because of the weakened gluten. If you’re used to working with strong, sticky, wheat flour based breads and bakes it probably would feel weird to work with a weird not-batter/not-dough mixture. Seasoned gluten free bakers on the other hand deal with this every time we want to make a homemade loaf of gluten free bread!
Why it works:
As the flour heats up it swells to absorb the surrounding liquid. Eventually the starch molecules absorb so much liquid that some burst causing the mixture to the thicken up into a stiff, dough-like texture.
After the mixture cools down a bit, the eggs are beaten in which ultimately thins the dough into the finished choux pastry – too thick for a batter and too thin for a dough. This middle-of-the-road texture is perfect for piping into shape.
Just as it is the case for pies crusts and other pastries, choux pastry gets its puffed up, flaky texture through cooking with steam. When cooked, the moisture trapped in the flour from earlier vaporizes in the heat. As the steam escapes from the pastry dough, it goes up and out creating a beautiful, puffed up dome.
How to make GF Choux Pastry
Gluten Free Choux Pastry Ingredients
- water (or milk): Both work – use either one or a combo of the two. Milk is a great option if you want a little extra browning. Use water if you want to bake or cook on a high temp for a long time without worrying about the pastry getting too dark too soon.
- butter: The fat contributes to the crisp exterior & rich flavor. I recommend unsalted butter so you have better control of the flavor – I found it made my pastry way too savory/eggy.
- flour + starch: You need to use a blend of gluten free flours to make this, either from an all purpose mixture or your own blend of flours. I tested a few different options for you to choose from.
- eggs: Use room temp eggs because cold eggs won’t incorporate as easily into the dough. You’ll need 3 whole eggs and 1-2 tbsp of 1 whisked egg to get the right consistency. Save the leftover egg for your egg wash.
- optional: Sugar, cheese, vanilla, etc. You can get really creative with your choux pastry depending on what you’re making.
Recipe Steps
Step #1: Melt butter sugar and salt in a large pot until melted and dissolved.
Step #2: Whisk flour & water (or milk) with the flour and starches until smooth.
Step #3: Add the flour to melted butter and whisk until combined as it cooks.
Step #4: Continue to stir and cook the mixture until it thickens and clumps together forming a dough. Cook out the excess moisture and blot away/drain separated butter if needed.
Step #5: Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and cool to about 145°F (63°C) – any hotter and the dough will cook/curdle the eggs.
Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well in between each addition. Add 3 whole eggs and about 1-2 tbsp of 1 whisked egg.
Gluten Free Choux Pastry Consistency
The finished choux pastry should be thick, shiny and somewhat stiff, but not so thick and stiff that you can pipe it into shape. If it’s too thick, add 1 tbsp whisked egg until it’s right.
Grease up a finger or spoon with a little bit of oil and run it through the batter. If the sides slowly start to cave into the path your finger made, but mostly stay in place – it’s ready.
What if the choux pastry is too wet & runny?
You have 2 options here:
- Option #1: Make a half batch of the butter + water + flour mixture on the stove top (no eggs). After cooking and cooling the dough, mix a small amount of the mixture to the wet choux pastry until you end up with the proper consistency. Do not just add flour to the pastry dough!
- Option #2: Add 1/4 – 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. You can mix it straight into the batter without any prep.
How to Bake Choux Buns
When you’re ready, line a couple of large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Tip! Brush the paper lightly with water. This will create an extra humid baking environment – ideal for baking choux.
Pipe
Transfer the pastry to a large pastry bag with a fitted nozzle, then pipe into small mounds, 2-inches apart.
Smooth down the pointed tips with a wet finger then brush with the remaining egg wash.
Bake
When you’re ready, bake first at 425°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350°F to bake another 12-15 minutes.
The idea is to subject the choux pastry to a sort of thermal shock to encourage a quick rise. The initial 425°F bake promotes a dramatic rise, forcing the steam in the pastry up. You can’t cook the the pastry at this temp the entire time though because it will burn the outside before the inside fully cooks.
The second, lower temperature allows the choux to finish baking internally without burning on the outside.
Tip! Don’t open the oven until the final few minutes of baking or too much steam will escape and the pastry will collapse!
Filling Ideas
Fill choux buns with runny sauces and curds by piping it straight into the bun through a small hole. Add thick creams and fillings by cutting the buns in half.
A few filling and topping options you might like:
- whipped cream
- pastry cream
- mascarpone whipped cream – I have a chocolate version coming soon!
- lemon curd
- pumpkin butter
- blueberry pie filling
- ice cream – any flavor
Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar and/or chocolate ganache on top.
FAQ’s
A few quick questions and answers to address before you begin:
Is it hard to Make?
Yes and no.
Choux pastry looks and feels intimidating at first glance, but it’s fairly straightforward once you get going.
Practiced bakers and cooks will likely catch on quickly. Bakers that aren’t yet confident in their skills might question themselves and the process a bit more.
Tips
A few tips to ease the process:
- Read through the recipe before you begin so you can get a better idea of what to expect.
- The dough will look weird and clumpy at several points – that’s totally fine. Just keep mixing!
- If butter separates from the cooked dough while cooling – just blot away some of the excess with a paper towel.
- Make sure to cool the dough before you add the eggs. It should be warm to touch but not hot.
- If the pastry dough is too runny after adding the eggs, refer to my tips above to fix it.
Can I Mix this by Hand?
Technically yes, but I recommend a stand mixer or hand mixer if you can. A food processor is also a great option to create a super smooth batter!
The dough gets quite thick and you need to really mix the eggs well to fully combine everything. If you want to do it by hand, be prepared to put a lot of ‘oomph’ into it!
Why did my cream puff pastries collapse after taking them out of the oven?
This is a sign that your choux pastry has too much moisture. This could be from underbaking – it didn’t get enough time to dry out in the oven.
It might also be a sign that the choux dough was too wet before baking.
What else can you make with choux pastry?
Gluten free cream puffs, profiteroles, eclairs, crullers, beignets, churros, gougères (cheese puffs), Parisian gnocchi, croquembouches – so many things!
Stay tuned for more gluten free choux pastry recipes in the upcoming weeks – I’ve done a LOT of recipe testing on these!
More Gluten Free Pastries
- Flaky Gluten Free Pie Crust
- Almond Flour Pie Crust (Paleo + Vegan Option)
- Gluten Free Strawberry Hand Pies
- Vegan Bakewell Tart
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Pop Tarts
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Gluten Free Choux Pastry recipe! I’d love to hear what you made with it and how it turned out! Please leave a comment and review with your thoughts and suggestions for me and future readers.
Gluten Free Choux Pastry + Cream Puffs
Learn how to make your own gluten free choux pastry then use to make to a wide variety of mouthwatering desserts - cream puffs, eclairs, cruellers and more!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (113g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white sugar (omit for savory recipes)
- 1 cup water or milk (240ml)
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (140g)
- 3 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch (21g)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature - read notes first*
Fillings: 2-3 cups of 1 of the following
- Whipped Cream
- Whipped Mascarpone Frosting
- Ice Cream
- powdered sugar - sift on top
Instructions
- Melt butter: Add butter, salt and sugar to a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer - melt butter & dissolve sugar.
- Whisk flour & water: While the butter melts, mix flour and starch in a jug or bowl. Add water (and/or milk). Whisk together until smooth.
- Add flour-water mixture: Add to the melted butter. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to combine. The batter will gradually thicken and look more like a dough as cooks. Make sure to keep stirring to smooth out the lumpy bits. Use your spoon or spatula to smooth it out across the bottom and sides of the pot to force out the excess moisture as it cooks.
- Cool: Cook until the dough clumps together in a ball and leaves an oily residue on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes or until the dough temperature is about 145°F (63°C). Any hotter and it will cook the eggs too soon. Use a paper towel to dab away excess oil that separates from the dough as it cools.
- Add eggs: Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time to the batter. Mix well on a medium speed with a fitted paddle attachment. Whisk the 4th egg in a small bowl or cup then add 1 tbsp of the whisked egg to the dough. The pastry batter should be shiny and thick but still pipeable. If the dough looks dull and is too thick to pipe, add another tablespoon of egg. To check the consistency: run an oiled finger across the dough. If the sides slowly start to cave into the path your finger made, but mostly stay in place - it's ready. Save the remaining egg to use as an egg wash.
- Use or Store: Use your choux right away or cover and refrigerate up to three days before using. You can even freeze raw choux up the 3 months.
Cream Puffs & Profiteroles
- Prep: Pre heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a couple of large baking sheets which parchment paper and set aside. Lightly brush the parchment paper with water to create a humid environment in the oven during baking.
- Piping bag: Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip for piping (Wilton 1A tip).
- Pipe: Pipe 2-inch mounds of the pastry onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave 2-3 inches of space in between each mound. Wet the tips of your fingers with water and gently smooth the pointed tips down. Brush the mounds with whisked egg.
- Bake: Place one baking sheet in middle of the oven. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 12 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake another 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Poke Hole (Optional): After baking for 12 minutes at 350°F, remove the baking sheet from oven then poke a hole into each bun with toothpick or knife. Return to oven and bake another 2-3 minutes so the insides dry out a bit more.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking tray fully. Repeat with the remaining pastry until completed.
- Fill: Cut in half to fill or poke a hole large enough to fit a piping tip in the side to pipe your chosen filling into the middle. Sift a light dusting of powdered sugar over the top.
- Store: Store filled cream puffs in the fridge up the 3 days in the refrigerator. Unfilled pastry can be kept at room temperature 1 day or in the fridge 5 days.
Notes
- Refrigerate. Store the prepared choux pastry in the fridge up to 3 days in an airtight container before using. No need to warm the pastry up to room temperature before baking. I recommend storing it in a piping bag with the fitted tip so you can pipe as soon as you're ready.
- Freeze raw choux pastry: Store inside a piping bag with a fitted tip. Make sure to store the piping bag into a large freezer-safe bag to keep it from drying out. Freeze up to 3 months and defrost in the fridge to thaw.
Alternative Flours:
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour (40g) + 2/3 cup tapioca flour (80g) + 3 tbsp cornstarch (20g) OR
- 1/3 cup white rice flour (50g) + + 2/3 cup tapioca flour (80g) + 1/4 cup cornstarch (30g)
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