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Gluten Free Parmesan Gougères from the Food Network Kitchen

Chloe Heckman
Jan 13, 2016
4 min read

I think most would agree that the worst thing about having a gluten allergy is not being able to eat bread. Jay would probably vote in favor of beer but bread takes the cake for me any day.

All the times I have stood in windows, salivating at croissants, french bread, freshly baked blueberry muffins... it's absolute torture. Visiting Paris was one of the best and worst weekends of my life for that reason... the amount of 'gluten temptation' in that city... it was just cruel.

When I got home from Paris, I was determined to find a good gluten-free bread to satisfy my carb cravings. I tried dozens and found some amazing bakeries in the city. I highly recommend Meredith's Bread if you're looking to purchase. That being said, you may need to take out a second mortgage if you become a regular gluten-free bread shopper... it isn't cheap. I wanted bread to be a part of my diet again without totally breaking the bank so I decided the best option was to learn how to bake it myself. Last year, I tried pizza crust (which I never quite got right), muffins, popovers, dinner rolls and more.

The first week of 2016, however, my life changed a little bit thanks to The Food Network Test Kitchen.

On January 6th, I had the opportunity to attend a dinner at The Food Network Test Kitchen in Chelsea Market in New York City. When 'Ricotta Cavatelli' was featured on the entryway chalkboard, I was a little nervous about my fate for the evening. 1 2/3 cup flour wouldn't be a great way to start my night.

When I saw the menu, the disappointment started setting in. First course: Gougeres. A gougère in French cuisine, is a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough mixed with cheese. There are many variants. The cheese is commonly grated Gruyère, Comté, or Emmentaler, but there are many variants using other cheeses or other ingredients. At Food Network, they were stuffed with prosciutto and arugala and everything about them was perfect. I think Jay ate a dozen of them by himself (or maybe I only saw him eat a dozen... )

Elizabeth Gunnison describes them best: "I'll never forget the meal's opening salvo, a silver tray holding burnished Gruyere pastry puffs called gougeres, which arrived steaming from the oven, exuding the swoon-inducing scent of toasted cheese. They were featherlight, tender, and silky with eggs and butter, far more fragile than my familiar baguettes yet far more savory. Tasting such intense flavor in a tiny wisp of choux pastry was astonishing, a promise of the wonders still to come."

When I got home from that dinner, I was determined to make a gluten free version of these delightful, fluffy, puffy, cheesy doses of heaven. And that I did. Jay was Chopped for using regular flour.

I halved the recipe the first time (and we totally regretted it)... they keep up to a week in the fridge and taste amazing both warm and cold. I ate some plain, some with butter, some with jam, some with tomatoes... ugh. They are just perfect.

Gougeres Recipe

Adaptated from Food Network Kitchen

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 stick of unsalted butter (cut into tablespoons)
Sea salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup gluten free flour (I used Cup4Cup)
5 large eggs
1.5 cups grated Parmesan cheese (however, I believe you can probably use whatever cheese you like best. The traditional recipe is made with Gruyere)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (which is surprisingly expensive in New York City by the way...). Stupid Fairway.

Using a medium saucepan, bring the milk, butter, sprinkle of salt and cayenne pepper to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add all of the flour. Use a wooden spoon and mix for 1-2 minutes until it feels like a dough. Transfer to a bowl.

Using an electrix hand mixer (or a fancy one if you have it), beat one egg into the dough. Repeat until you've added all five eggs but make sure you add them one at a time or you'll mess up the consistency.

Stir in the cheese with a spoon.

Get a freezer-size plastic bag and spoon the entire mixture into the bag. Move it to one corner to form a makeshift piping back. Cut the tip with scissors. Make sure not to cut it too small or the bag will break and dough will go everywhere... trust me :-)... i made this mistake the first time.

Pipe tabsespoon-sized dollops onto prepared baking sheets. Leave a bit of space in between but don't worry too much - they don't really spread out.

Bake about 30 minutes until they are BEAUTIFUL (as demonstrated by the photo above). I'd rotate the baking sheet halfway through cooking.

You can keep them chilled in a plastic bag for almost a week or put them in the freezer (but I'd imagine this will take away some of their puffiness). You can reheat in the toaster or in a 350 degree oven for about ten minutes.

You can eat plain or make little sandwiches like this too!

You can see more photos from the amazing food network event here: