Why didn't my cream puffs puff?

[EggyEggoo]

I have made cream puffs many, many times in the past and they're usually successful. I made them the other night and they didn't puff! They turned golden and dry, and didn't taste terrible (kind of like a firm donut?) but they didn't puff up. I'm not sure what I did wrong this time. Any ideas?

FYI, I used Mark Bittman's method from How to Cook Everything:

1 C water
8 T butter
Pinch salt
1 C flour
4 large eggs
Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan; turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once and cook, stirring constantly, until the dough holds together in a ball, 5 minutes or less. Add the eggs one at a time, beating hard after each addition. This is a little bit of work; feel free to use an electric mixer. Stop beating when the mixture is glossy. Bake immediately for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days before using.

[sunshine842]

sometimes choux pastry just does what it wants to do.

You can make it exactly the same way every time, and once in a while it just won't play nice.

[Skippy1414]

Is it possible your oven wasn't hot enough? Even if you think it's been reliable, it can go off kilter. If you don't have an oven thermometer to check the settings, it's a good idea.

[Querencia]

I let the flour paste sit a few minutes before I beat in the eggs---I don't want the heat of the mixture cooking the egg---I want it raw in the oven to puff. And make sure your oven has preheated---the heat has to surprise the egg to make it puff.

[chefj]

Did they hold shape while you were piping them? or did they flatten out?

[travelerjjm]

Hard to tell. Here is some advice I have received:
- after adding the flour, cook the paste a few minutes to dry it out.
- remove from heat before adding eggs. Depending on exactly how dry the flour and the air in the kitchen are, you may need more or fewer eggs. After adding eggs, the dough needs to form a stiff peak on the spoon.

[EggyEggoo]

I did all of those, and some other things I've read suggest I maybe didn't let the dough cool enough before adding the eggs (I waited maybe one minute.) And I maybe didn't beat it enough either? It's so weird though, I've made them so many times before and never had a problem.

I used extremely fresh eggs from the farmer's market. Could that have mattered?

[travelerjjm]

I'm not sure about the freshness, but if the roux was too hot, it might have cooked the eggs. They need to cook in the oven.

[chefj]

Liquid and Flour do not a Roux make

[travelerjjm]

Of course not. I should have used quotes when I succumbed to what I've found to be not unusual language in describing this. Sorry, all, if I confused anyone..

[iluvcookies]

Recipe calls for large eggs... if your eggs were x-large or jumbo then you may have had too much liquid in the recipe.

[biondanonima]

How did you get the dough onto the baking sheets (piped, with a spoon, etc.)? Did you pierce them immediately after cooking to let the steam escape? 30 mins at 400 seems like too long a bake time, too - I might go a little hotter at first to get the steam going quickly, then cool it down. Maybe 10 mins at 425 and another 10-15 at 350?

[EggyEggoo]

I didn't pierce them, but I don't think that would have mattered. When I've made them before, they puffed in the oven, not after. I'll try to adjust the temp and see how that goes. Thanks!