Instructions

Choux Paste

Combine 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 cup water, 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil and add 1 cup flour.  Mix with a wooden spoon quickly and don’t worry about the consistency just yet.  It will change rapidly into a smooth, soft, pliable dough.

Once the dough no longer sticks to the spoon, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

Add 4 room temperature eggs (1 egg at a time), stirring briskly with the wooden spoon until all are incorporated.

When finished, dough should be smooth and shiny and should be stiff enough to hold it’s shape when spooned, scooped or piped onto the baking sheet.

Gougères 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and combine 1 cup crumbled roquefort cheese or Swiss cheese with 1 recipe Choux Paste, recipe below.

Spoon, scoop or pipe onto a baking sheet fitted with parchment and sprinkle with 1/2 cup more cheese, if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake until brown and firm.

Instructions

For the Pâte Brisée

Begin by cubing butter, then placing in the freezer for 20 minutes before forming dough.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with either a plastic or metal blade, add flour, salt and sugar.

Pulse until all lumps are broken and ingredients are well-mixed.

Remove lid, scatter butter around the bowl evenly and replace lid.

Pulse until lumps are the size of nickels.

Add ice water a little at a time and pulse until dough comes together around blade.

Remove contents to a lightly-floured work surface and shape into a ball.

Knead quickly with the heel of your hand to check for butter lumps and re-shape into a ball.

Using a dough scraper, slice ball in half, wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap and press into a disc.

Place in the fridge and allow flour to absorb liquid and relax for at least an hour.  Dough can also be frozen at this time.

For the Pie Filling

Begin by poaching chicken.  Bring water to a boil and add chicken carefully.

Poach for 20 minutes, remove chicken and allow to cool before cutting into cubes.

Keep water (now chicken broth) boiling because you'll be adding vegetable scraps from your mirepoix to make white stock.

Prep mirepoix: chop 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery and 1-2 onions into a fine dice (making sure each piece is roughly the size of a pea).  Combine and set aside.  *Save all scraps for the stock and add them at this time.

Make roux: in a large cast-iron skillet (or any large heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan) add butter and mirepoix and cook for 5 minutes.

Add flour and whisk or stir to incorporate and coat each vegetable in flour, breaking up any lumps that you see.

Cook for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, add spoonfuls of hot white stock to the center of the skillet, whisking after each addition for 30 seconds to a minute to ensure that the roux (now sauce) is smooth and lump-free.

Continue to add stock until the sauce resembles gravy.

Add chicken and mushrooms and turn gently to coat.

Add thyme and peas and combine again.  Set aside to cool and preheat oven to 400 F.  Make sure to taste once cooled and add salt and pepper to taste, starting with 1/2 tsp of each and working up as needed.

Roll out dough

On a floured surface, work with one disc of dough at a time.  Remove from plastic and reshape.  If the dough is too cold, allow it to sit for 20 minutes, then try again.  *Dough should not crumble when rolled out.  It should be soft and elastic.

Using a floured rolling pin, work gently to pound out dough in a clockwise motion until easy to work with and 1/2 inch thick.

Working from the center outward, press gently as you roll pin, making sure to rotate dough disc often to prevent sticking.  Roll dough to 1 inch past the diameter of the pie pan you're using, using your pan as a reference.

Sprinkle flour lightly in the center of the disc, fold into quarters to transfer and place corner of folded dough in the center of your lightly buttered pie pan.

Unfold dough, arrange symmetrically in your pan and press into the bottom of the dish.  At this point, dough should still be cold to the touch.

Crimp edges or design in any way you like and return to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Remove from the freezer and pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork.

Place in your 400 F oven for its initial baking.

Bake until browned but not completely cooked, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove, allow to cool while you roll out your dough topper (if desired).

Add pie filling, add dough topper (if using) and cut slits if needed.

Brush with egg wash (if desired--1 yolk + 1 Tbsp milk) and place in the oven to finish baking.  At this point you'll want to reduce the oven temperature to 350 F for the remainder of baking.

Pie is done when filling is bubbling and dough is browned and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Instructions

Begin by bringing eggs and butter to room temperature.  I like to keep my butter out overnight in a cool place.  Eggs can be removed from the fridge an hour before or can go in a warm-water bath for 20 minutes.

Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk and 2 eggs.  Mix but don't expect the dough to come together yet.

With mixer on low, add each egg and wait a minute until absorbed before adding another.

Once all eggs have been added, increase speed of mixer to medium-high and beat dough for 5 minutes or until it is coming together and slapping the inside of the bowl.

While your dough is mixing, prep butter: peel each packet of butter so that it's ready to go when you are incorporating it into the butter.

Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and begin to add walnut-sized pieces of room temp (but still slightly cold to the touch--not warm!) butter, bit by bit, only adding more after the previous piece disappears in the dough.

Toward the end, you may have to wait longer in between additions.  Once all butter has been added, remove bowl from stand mixer and gently run your hands/fingers through the dough to check for butter lumps.  If you find any, smear them into the dough by squeezing them while spreading.

Pour dough into a large plastic bin and place in the fridge to rise overnight.  *A double batch of dough gets refrigerated as one unit, just make sure you have a large enough container.  A 4-quart with a lid works well.  Make sure to place something heavy on top since this dough has a mind of its own and will push open the top during rising, even in the fridge!

For Cinnamon Buns

When ready to bake in the morning, remove from the fridge, turn out carefully onto a floured work surface, shape into a rectangle (2 rectangles if you made a double batch) and roll out into a large rectangle measuring the length and width of your silpat or baking sheet.

Spread half of butter over surface with fingers or a pastry brush, then sprinkle with cini-sugar to cover everything but the top 1 inch (lengthwise).

Drizzle the rest of the melted butter over the cini-sugar, then roll in sides and bottom of the rectangle 1/2 inch.

Working with the bottom, roll up tightly until you reach the un-sugared top.  Spread with any leftover butter from the pan that you used to melt it in, and pull and press to seal your log.  At this point, if dough is warm, place in the fridge uncovered to chill so that cutting is easier.

Once dough is chilled, use a serrated knife to slice log in half.  Now slice each half in half, and keep repeated until buns are the size you'd like.  Remember that when they bake they will get huge, so sometimes smaller is better!

At this point, buns can be frozen* until ready to proof (rise) and bake, or you can let them sit on the counter, evenly spaced on a baking sheet covered loosely with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.  Place them in a preheated oven set to 375 F and bake until golden brown and springy when touched, about 15-20 minutes.

*If you do decide to freeze the buns, place them in a ziploc bag and simply prep some on a baking sheet the night before baking to thaw in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap.  Then in the morning bring them to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until ready to bake.  They should feel soft and springy, which means the yeast are active.