Eclair is an oblong dessert of French cuisine, which is made from custard dough and cream. Not every housewife dares to cook this culinary miracle at home. After all, choux pastry is considered one of the most difficult. Confectioners from France believe that mastering choux pastry is nothing more than a dedication to the master of confectionery. However, it is important not only to knead the dough correctly. The end result also depends on the temperature and baking time.
Baking time and temperature of eclairs
Before you send eclairs in the oven, you need to warm it up properly. Usually in the oven eclairs are baked first at 220 degrees, and after 10-20 minutes the temperature should be lowered to about 180-190 degrees. The exact time of baking eclairs can not be specified, because each oven works in its own way, but to understand that the eclairs are already fully prepared is quite simple. To do this, do not even need to open the oven. Just note: if the eclairs have acquired a golden crust and there are no bubbles in the cracks on the surface of the dough, then they are ready.
Do not rush the dough pieces immediately removed from the oven. First, hold them in the oven for 1 hour. When eclairs become room temperature, you can start filling them with cream.
The nuances of making delicious eclairs
To make the eclairs tasty, crunch and melt in your mouth, follow these recommendations:
- Always pay attention to flour sifting. Thanks to this procedure, the flour is not only purified from all kinds of impurities, but also saturated with oxygen. When preparing the choux dough, flour should be introduced into the dough not in parts, but all at once.
- Compliance with the amount of ingredients is also very important when preparing choux pastry - any violation of proportions may not have the best effect on the result.
- Butter, which is a part of choux pastry, does not need to be melted separately. Add it to the total test mass - it should melt in it gradually.
- When making choux pastry, you should not be distracted by other matters. If the process is interrupted or not completed, the eclairs will fail.
- Before adding eggs to the choux pastry, it should be cooled a little. After adding each egg, you need to knead the dough thoroughly and only then add the following. During this process, pay attention to the consistency of the dough - it should not be too liquid or too thick. In the first case, the eclairs will quickly settle in the oven, and in the second - they will not rise. The consistency of dough is ideal when it reaches for a spoon, keeping its shape. Eggs must be at room temperature.
- For whipping choux pastry it is best to use a whisk. It is advisable to do this quickly so that the dough is still warm.
- It is best to bake eclairs before the dough has cooled completely.
- Pastry bag - the best option for planting eclairs. Because of this, they will turn out smoother and more spectacular. Do not forget to leave a distance of about 7 centimeters between cakes, because during baking they will increase.
- To keep the dough dry, it is advisable to place a ceramic bowl of cold water at the bottom of the oven.
- While cooking eclairs, do not open the oven for at least the first 15 minutes, so as not to damage the dough - it may settle due to the temperature drop.
- Filling cakes with cream can be done in two ways: either cut the workpieces in the middle, or make small holes in them.
- Eclairs will be easier to glaze if they stand in the fridge for about 20 minutes before that.
All of the above secrets belong to the French confectioners, so do not doubt them. If you follow them, then eclairs will surely be such that you will lick your fingers.
