Posted by Gerard on September 07, 1998 at 08:08:18:
In Reply to: creme puffs posted by Melanie Jean on September 06, 1998 at 22:15:43:
Melanie, Anything can be the variable, too much flour, not enough water , too much fat, too hot, too cold, is it crusted over before baking.? hard to say without your recipe.
Commercial bakeries typically use el cheapo method.
1 qt water
1 lb marg or oil
1 lb 2 oz bread flour
Boil the first 2 , cook the flour into it, if there is any loose liquid fat at the bottom add a bit more flour.
18-20 eggs
Start mixing and add eggs slowly, bakeries use pasteurized egg for big quantities, the liquid (frozen) eggs produce an eclair that is very soft, fresh eggs make a better eclair that won't collapse when it cools. Either way, they always puff up.
In our convection ovens its very important to allow them to sit in the hot oven at least 10 minutes before powering up the circulation fans, a still oven seems to work best.
Home recipes I've looked at are VERY convoluted and confusing, using butter , milk and sugar none of which are necessary.
You can cut the above recipe in half and give it a go.
Some pastry chefs eggwash the puffs and stripe with the back of a fork, that won't help it puff if theres something basically wrong though.
Also try baking just a couple of puffs to see what happens, keep a damp towel over the rest of the batch to prevent crusting, if it doesn't puff enough try adding 2 more eggs and test again.
Gerard(puzzled)