{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina French Cheese Puffs Recipe — Salt & Wind Travel (2024)

  • BY Aida Mollenkamp
  • PublishedJuly 1, 2016
  • Updated November 16, 2022

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Props to the French for always finding a way to sneak cheese into pretty much everything from soufflés to these French cheese puffs.

Okay, to call gougeres (pronounced “goo-zhehr”) cheese puffs really doesn’t do them justice. Gougeres are very special because they’re made with pâte à choux or choux pastry, which is the same dough as cream puffs. In other words, they’re basically savory cream puffs.

Origin Of Gougeres

It’s said that the French cheese puffs originated in France’s Burgundy region and they’re classically made with Swiss-style cheeses found in the region like Gruyère, Comté, or Emmentaler cheese. In fact, there is a specific town in Burgundy that takes great pride in saying that these airy cheese delights hail from their town.

A twist on that classic that we adore is these sweet, salty, herby gougeres with Pancetta, Fontina, and herbs.

{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina French Cheese Puffs Recipe — Salt & Wind Travel (1)

Tips For Making Gougeres

Make Them Classic

The classic style is pretty fantastic. If you want to make the classic French cheese puff recipe, simply omit the pancetta and thyme and swap Gruyere or Comte cheese for the Fontina.

Don’t Mess With The Ratios

This is a dough where the ratios are very specific in order to achieve a cheese puff that is adequately risen, perfectly puffy, and flavorful.

Cook The Dough Until Dry

Don’t skip this step! You want to make sure you cook the dough ball in the pan until most of the moisture is cooked out and that it doesn’t stick to your hand when you touch it. Do this before you add the eggs for a dough that rises well.

Beat The Eggs In Completely

Also, make sure each egg is beaten in well before you add the next. If you have the eggs not fully beaten, the final dough will have a gummy consistency.

Make Them Gluten Free

Use your favorite gluten-free flour blend to make these gluten-free.

Make Them Ahead

These French cheese puffs can be made ahead of time. Just bake them and then keep them at room temperature for up to one day before serving. Warm them up in a 200°F oven until just warmed through before serving.

High Altitude Adjustments

Trying to make French cheese puffs at a high altitude? Here are our adjustments (tested at 8,000 feet):

Add 1/4 cup more milk or water to the dough. Shape gougeres as directed but let them chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.

Bake at 425°F for 15 to 20 minutes then let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing. These gougeres will spread a tad more than in the photo but turn out great at high elevations with these adjustments!

Gostock up on all your cooking essentialsthen head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us bytagging@saltandwindand#swsocietyon social!

{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina French Cheese Puffs Recipe — Salt & Wind Travel (2)

{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina French Cheese Puffs Recipe — Salt & Wind Travel (3)

{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina Cheese Puffs Recipe

A recipe for the classic French snack, gougeres, but with a twist thanks to the addition of pancetta, Fontina cheesee, and herbs. These French cheese puffs are our go-to for co*cktail parties.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Appetizer

Cuisine French

Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings 30 gougeres

Calories 90 kcal

Ingredients

For The Pancetta:

  • 4 ounces pancetta

    small dice

For The Pate Au Choux Dough:

  • 1 cup whole milk plus 1 tablespoon
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 5 large eggs plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
  • 3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated (about 3/4 cup)
  • 3 ounces Fontina cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

    finely chopped

Instructions

  • Prepare The Baking Sheets:Heat oven to 400°F and arrange racks in the upper and lower third. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.

    If making the pancetta, line a plate with paper towels and set aside. Place pancetta in a medium nonstick frying pan and cook until crisp. Remove pancetta to paper towel-lined plate and set aside to drain.

    TIP: Pancetta can be crisped up to one day ahea of time. Store refrigreated in an airtight container until ready to use.

    4 ounces pancetta

  • Cook The Pate Au Choux Dough:Meanwhile, make the choux pastry dough. To do so, combine one cup of the milk or water with the butter and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, dump in all the flour, and stir vigorously until flour is incorporated.

    Cook, stirring constantly, until the dough comes together in a ball and feels dry to the touch, about 2 minutes.

    1 cup whole milk, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • Beat In The Eggs:Transfer dough to a food processor fitted with a blade or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Pulse or beat in five of the eggs, one by one, letting each egg completely incorporate before adding the next.

    Reserve 3 tablespoons of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese then add pancetta, remaining cheese, and thyme; pulse or mix on low until thoroughly incorporated.

    5 large eggs, 3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, 3 ounces Fontina cheese, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

  • Arrange On Baking Sheets:Drop tablespoon-size portions of dough on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart. Whisk remaining egg yolk with the remaining 1 tablespoon milk and brush tops of cheese puffs then evenly sprinkle reserved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over top.

    Bake The Gougeres:Place in oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

    TIP: Gougeres can be baked up to two days ahead. Rewarm in a low oven within 30 minutes of serving.

PERSONAL NOTES

Click here to add your own private notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gougereCalories: 90kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 147mgPotassium: 42mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 189IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 1mg

Keyword classic french food, french cheese puffs, vegetarian appetizers

Tried this recipe?Mention @saltandwind or tag #swsociety!

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About The Author

Aida Mollenkamp

Aida Mollenkamp is a food and travel expert, author, chef, Food Network personality, and founder of the boutique travel company, In all that she does, Aida aims to help discerning travelers taste the world.

Posts By This Author →

Aida Mollenkamp

Aida Mollenkamp is a food and travel expert, author, chef, Food Network personality, and founder of the boutique travel company, In all that she does, Aida aims to help discerning travelers taste the world.

View Posts By This Author →

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{Gougères} Pancetta Fontina French Cheese Puffs Recipe — Salt & Wind Travel (2024)

FAQs

Why don t my gougères puff up? ›

The secret to gougères' puff is the addition of eggs, but here's the thing — too many eggs and the dough will be too wet to properly puff. Whats more, the number of eggs your dough will need varies depending on the flour you use, how long you cooked the paste, and the weather (seriously!

What are French cheese puffs made of? ›

Gougères are composed of pâte à choux dough and cheese. While my traditional pate a choux recipe is slightly sweet, this recipe is savory. These cheese puffs are soft and pillowy and have just the right amount of cheese.

How long do gougères keep? ›

Storage: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Re-crisp in a warm oven before serving. Make ahead: Unbaked gougères can be frozen for up to 2 months.

What are gougères in english? ›

Known in English as “cream puff dough,” gougères are cheese puffs made by folding cheese into the dough, then baking them in little rounds. You can vary the flavor by deciding what type of cheese that you'd like to use.

What happens if you add too many eggs to pate a choux? ›

Pâte à Choux is too Eggy

This is a problem if the recipes calls for too many eggs. The solution is make another batch with one less eggs to see if that fixed the problem. Also, if the puffs do not bake long enough, then they may taste slightly eggy because the insides haven't cooked long enough.

Can you refrigerate gougere dough? ›

The dough/batter can be made up to 3 days in advance of cooking, store in an airtight container in the fridge. I personally feel that gougères are best served fresh and warm, but leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container and then reheated in a warm oven before enjoying.

What makes cheese puffs puffy? ›

The extruder uses heat, moisture, and pressure to further work the dough, until it finally pushes the dough through a special tool called a die to form its shape. Some dough may become cheese puff balls and other dough may become cheese puffs cylinders, depending on the shape of the die.

Is there real cheese in cheese puffs? ›

Cheese puffs, cheese curls, cheese balls, cheese ball puffs, cheesy puffs, or corn curls are a puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders. They are manufactured by extruding heated corn dough through a die that forms the particular shape.

Can I refrigerate pate a choux? ›

Keep raw choux dough in the fridge in an airtight bag for up to three days if you're not baking it right away. Once baked, store choux pastries in an airtight container for two to three days, or in airtight bags or containers in the freezer for two to three weeks.

How to tell if gougères are done? ›

Bake until gougères are puffed, deeply golden brown, and feel hollow when lifted, 20 to 25 minutes.

What can I use instead of Gruyere cheese in gougères? ›

Best cheese for Gougeres

The cheese that is traditionally used is gruyere, Emmental or Comte. I've also made these with Swiss, cheddar and tasty (Aussie/NZ cheese) and they came out just as good. So I imagine they will be just fine with any other cheese as long as it's the melting sort (ie not feta, parmesan, ricotta).

What do French call appetizers? ›

The amuse-bouche is the French answer to an appetizer.

What does pâte à choux mean in French? ›

noun. (ˌ)pä-tä-ˈshü : a very light dough used to make pastries : choux pastry.

Why aren t my puff pastries rising? ›

A dull edge can cement layers together and prevent pastry from rising. Always cut Puff Pastry straight down, never on an angle, to prevent layers from sticking together and inhibiting the rise. Cut up and down, and don't drag the knife. You can brush an egg-wash glaze (1 egg plus 1 tsp.

Why didn't my eclairs puff up? ›

Another reason your eclairs may not have risen is because there is too much moisture in the dough. Once you have melted the butter, remove the pan from heat, add all the flour at once and stir, then place the pan back on the heat and mix quickly until the mixture forms a dry ball that comes away from the pan.

Why don t my pancakes puff up? ›

Making pancake and waffle batter ahead of time is a huge no-no and will lead to flat, dense results every time. Even letting your batter hang out for just a few minutes after you've mixed it before you start ladling it onto the griddle will lead to less fluffy results.

Why is my puff not puffing? ›

Temperature is a key factor in baking up puff pasty that actually puffs. Set the oven dial too low, and the pastry is likely to fall flat. Follow this tip: As a rule of thumb, a higher oven temperature (400°F is ideal) results in puff pastry with a higher rise.

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