{"id":167,"date":"2009-03-29T19:14:58","date_gmt":"2009-03-29T23:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breadcetera.com\/?p=167"},"modified":"2010-02-25T16:02:51","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T21:02:51","slug":"gougeres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.breadcetera.com\/?p=167","title":{"rendered":"Goug??res"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I think it was in a Szechuan Chinese restaurant where the list?first began.? After a bite of a particularly spicy?serving of mapo doufu (spicy bean curd), I grabbed my glass of water, downed about half of its contents and, after reducing?the fire on my tongue to a mere smolder, turned to my wife and remarked, “Water has to be one of the world’s greatest inventions!”.? Thus, my list of the World’s Greatest Inventions was born.<\/p>\n

Now before I get?comments pouring in, pointing out that?water isn’t strictly an ‘invention’, I ask that you bear with me and allow me the latitude to use the word ‘invention’ in the broadest possible sense.??Why the requested forbearance?? Because my list of?the World’s Greatest Inventions includes inventions, discoveries, natural resources… well, you get the picture.? And what does all this have to do with goug??res?? ?Goug??res?happen to be?made with two ingredients that are on my?World’s Greatest Inventions list; water, #2?on my list?and cheese, #4?(anyone care to guess what #1 and #3 are?).<\/p>\n

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Goug??res, those?light-as-air French-style cheese puffs, make?an ideal?hors d’oeuvre or appetizer when having guests over for dinner or a party.? They are quick and easy to prepare?and require only a few simple ingredients.? Goug??res are made from a very fluid, egg and butter enriched dough called p??te ?? choux.? Leavening is accomplished not by yeast or chemical leavening agents but by?the steam that is produced within the dough during baking.? It is for this reason that?it is very important to whip?as many small air?bubbles into the p??te ?? choux?as possible during its preparation.<\/p>\n

The recipe presented here?was modified considerably?from that presented in Larousse?Traditional French Cooking by Curnonsky.? Because I enjoy a more substantial, less?creamy center?to?my goug??res, I’ve omitted the small amount of heavy cream in the original recipe.? For the same reason, I’ve substituted water for the originally specified milk.<\/p>\n

P??te ?? Choux<\/strong><\/p>\n