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1
Preheat oven to 375u00b0F.
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2
Sift the flour, xantham gum, salt and sugar together 3-4 times, set aside in a handy location close to the stove.
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3
Break egg into a measuring cup and whisk to combine. Set aside.
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4
Prepare your hand mixer so that it is ready when needed.
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5
Measure milk and water into a deep heavy bottomed pan. Cut butter into smallish chunks and add them into the milk mixture. Heat gently until all the butter has melted.
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6
Increase heat on the butter milk mixture until is comes to a rolling boil.
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7
Remove from heat and pour flour mixture into the milk mixture all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon.
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8
Return to a low heat and continue beating with the wooden spoon until the flour forms a smooth paste and has come cleanly off all the sides and bottom (should be shiny and smooth). The recipe says to avoid over cooking this paste as the buns will become heavy.
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9
Remove from heat and slowly pour the egg into the mixture, beating well with the hand mixer, being careful to to make the paste too runny (the recipe indicates that the amount of egg required depends on the humidity, so add in smallish quantities). Continue to beat until shiny and stiff. The paste should firm but elastic and should be able to stand on its own when dropped by spoonfuls. This paste may be kept for a couple of hours covered with a damp cloth. Also, the recipe indicates that this paste can be frozen and used successfully (next time I will freeze excess balls individually on a cookie sheet, and bake individually as required in the future!).
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10
Prepare a cookie sheet by running it under cold water, shaking excess water off, but leaving it damp. Use two baking sheet to protect the bottom of each puff from burning.
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11
Place tablespoons of the mixture about 10 cm apart (the chou's will double to triple in size).
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12
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the exterior is golden - do NOT open the oven for the first 15 minutes. Chou needs to be golden otherwise they will collapse as cooling. All sides must be golden brown, if not, the inside has not finished baking and they WILL collapse!
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13
When done, remove from the sheet to a baking rack, piercing with a toothpick to allow steam to escape. Chou pastry may be reheated for about 10 minutes to crisp them up again.
