Final answer:
Pâte à choux is made by boiling water and butter, adding flour to form a dough, cooling slightly, gradually adding eggs, and then baking the piped dough until puffed and golden.
Step-by-step explanation:
With pâte à choux, or choux pastry, the steps to making this classic French dough that serves as the base for items such as cream puffs and éclairs involve combining flour, water, butter, eggs, and a pinch of salt. The process begins by boiling together water and butter, to which flour is added and stirred vigorously. This step is crucial as it cooks the flour and starts to form the dough. The next phase is to transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool slightly before adding eggs one at a time until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy. Finally, the choux pastry is piped onto a baking sheet into desired shapes and baked until they puff up and turn golden brown.