Gougere techniques?

Posted by BananaMonkey, October 2, 2009 at 2:21 PM

Hi Eaters,

Made my first batch of gougeres this week and the b/f and I inhaled them down at an alarming rate. We had to restrain ourselves to keep just a couple back so we could enjoy it with the split pea and ham hock soup we were heating for dinner.

They were clearly a success, but I am not sure if they were as light as they could have been. In researching online, I am getting a lot of conflicting information on technique. Some say to start the oven hot and drop it after 10 minutes, others start moderate adn finish hot. Some don't change the temp at all. Also of some apparent debate are accepatble cheeses. Two were adamant that only a dry-ish cheese be used. Others said they used a young cheddar (what I assume to be moist). (I used parmesan, which was good, but would have liked some more moisture--don't know if that was a cheese or a cooking time issue) Another two said mix the cheese in the batter, others said absolutely don't mix the cheese in, just sprinkle it on top.

Obviously, all of these are fine options and there seem to be no hard and fast rules. My question is...how do you kids make your gougeres? Do you bring the water to a simmer or a boil before dumping your flour? Does it make any difference? Is it true they can't be re-heated well?

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