Gougères with manchego cheese

By polloazul

Ingredients

• 310 * 310ml skimmed milk (or a mixture of whole milk and water at 50%)
• 140 * 140g unsalted butter
• 1/2 * 1/2 tsp salt
• 140 * 140g AP flour (in fact I usually make them with spelt)
• 5 * 5 medium eggs
• 130 * 130g soft manchego cheese, coarsely grated
• * Black pepper to taste
• 1 * 1 aditional egg for glazing
• * Finely grated manchego cheese for sprinkling (optional)
• * Some herbs for sprinkling (optional)

Details

Servings 90

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC if convection type, some 10ºC more if only radiation type.
2. To make the choux dough, put the milk, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil (heat to 90°C in the Thermomix, about 5 minutes on low speed). Once the mixture is hot, tip the flour in all at once and, without removing the pan from the heat, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough coheres into a ball and starts to detach from the walls of the pan, about a minute (Thermomix 20 seconds, speed 4).
3. Turn off the heat, allow the dough to temper about five minutes and then add the eggs one at a time, stirring well to absorb each time before adding the next egg (in Thermomix speed 4, no time). You will have a soft, sticky dough.
4. Add the cheese and mix with a spatula.
5. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
6. With a silicone spatula, transfer the dough to a pastry bag (you will need at least two batches) with a round nozzle of about 8mm. Close the bag with a clip and, keeping the pastry bag tip at 1cm above the tray, pipe small mounds about 4cm in diameter (you do not have to be very accurate, of course), and leaving 2-3cm between them (although they rise more than expand).(*)
7. Beat the aditional egg and gently brush the dough mounds. Sprinkle with more cheese or herbs, if desired. The last time I made them I did not brush them with egg, but just sprinkled with a herbed salt mixture from La Camargue... delicious.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, be careful not to let them get burnt. When done, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
9. If there is still dough left, keep baking for as many batches as necessary and remember that the parchment paper can be reused.